Unforgiving churches

This morning I received one of those calls that every denominational minister hates to receive. It was about a church that continues to decline due to factions within the church. I was told that two more people have announced they are leaving this small bivocational church to find another place to worship. I don't know all the details, but they are tired of the disagreements and battles that are going on in the church. These battles have been on-going for a couple of years now, and they have had their toll on the church which is down to nearly half of its former attendance.

We are great at preaching grace in our churches, but we are not so good at extending that grace to one another. We will treat a former reprobate who has repented and turned his or her life over to Christ better than we often treat a fellow believer who has been worshiping beside us for the past ten years. In 1984 Jack Van Impe wrote a powerful book titled Heart Disease in Christ's Body, and we continue to suffer from the same ailment. I'm afraid that if God extended His grace towards us the same way we offer it to others we would all be condemned to hell.

In most churches the problem exists because of a small handful of people who have been hurt over something that has happened in the church. Smaller, bivocational churches can be most susceptible to this problem because everyone in such churches are so closely connected. People get upset over something and then refuse to ever forgive the offenders. It sometimes seems they carry their hurt like a badge of honor and make sure that everyone within earshot hears how offended they have been by the actions or words of another. They are allowed to rant and rage, and seldom will anyone confront them about the divisions they create in the church. Not only do the churches suffer, but the unchurched around them suffers as well because such antics cannot be kept within the church family. People observe how we treat one another and decide that the last thing they need is Christianity. They have enough people attacking them and making their lives miserable without having Christian "brothers" and "sisters" doing the same thing. How many men, women, and young people have died eternally separated from God because Christian people have refused to forgive one another and treat each other with respect and dignity?

My heart grieves over this church and too many others like it.