Another look at the "Dear Church" Article

Today I was grateful to finally get a chance to read the "Dear Church, Why people are actually leaving you" Article. In my personal opinion I found it to be absolutely insightful and very true. But after reading some things that avid church goers were saying along with their posts of the article itself, i found myself discouraged and in all honesty hurt. I wanted to take a moment and share my take of the article. First let me say, I am blessed to have been able to experience BOTH sides, and as such i feel obligated to speak out as a believer and fellow church goer. 

CHURCH PEOPLE..... This is NOT the time to defend the church.... This IS a time to defend JESUS! The Bible says in Proverbs 12:15 "The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice." The article was written to raise awareness to Church goers everywhere. Not raise your arms in defense of how you've never seen it go wrong, which is in all honesty, irrelevant. The writer... or should i say... the Hurting... are not saying "We've said our piece about you... Now is your chance at a rebuttal" The hurting are SCREAMING "LOVE ME, ACCEPT ME, I NEED YOU!" The church being run by imperfect people is a given, Sometimes its going to go wrong and people will get hurt. But don't be the one on the "Never been hurt by the church side" being the first to speak out about how this article does not portray churches appropriately. Because that is exactly what it is doing. This article is calling out the sinners for being sinners. Don't get me wrong, its also not saying there is an expectation for the church to be perfect. That will never happen if we are involved. So please for the LOVE of GOD think before you come back at this article so fast for misrepresenting the church. Every church in the world has in some way or another let at least 1 person down. So please Church people, stop thinking that just because you haven't been let down personally, that it hasn't happened. I know both sides, i was for a LONG time the church girl... I rarely did things without my Church friends. My church people were the only ones i knew and to be honest the only relationships i truly invested myself in. When i got hurt by the church i lost all those friends. I moved and i was an inconvenience to get to, so very few came to see me... let alone shoot me a text every now and again to say they hadn't forgotten about me. The truth is that once you get involved deeply in a community like that it is very hard to remember the ones NOT included in that community. I never would have seen that, had i not been removed from that situation. I said in the beginning that i was blessed to be on BOTH sides because i am. I was so blessed to have been able to experience community like i did. It was beautiful, its what introduced me to Christ. But losing that turned my world around. I then became the opposite of what i had ever intended to be. I was no longer a church girl. I was so broken and mistrusting that it took me nearly 2.5 years to even consider getting that involved in a church again. Not to be confused with me losing my faith... GOD is my life, and was during that hard time. What is beautiful about being on the other side is that your eyes are opened. My eyes were opened to see the sin in my own life, and it didn't happen when i was in the church. It happened when i left it. I saw that as involved in the community of my Church friends as i was, i was more judgmental than i ever wanted to be. When you only hang out with healthy people, you lose compassion for the sick. Sick being Sin. You lose compassion for sin that you don't understand. You lose compassion for those who had an abortion for no other reason than just because. You lose compassion for the couple having premarital sex. You lose compassion for the liar. The homosexual. The one cheating on their boyfriend/girlfriend. The one who stole food to live. The Atheist. The believer who doesn't practice their faith. You lose compassion for being themselves. When we should accept people AS THEMSELVES. Not accept them as GOD wants them or how you want them, but accept them as they are in this moment, space and time. Jesus didn't love the broken because he wanted them to change. He just loved them. The church is beautiful, if you're accepted. The Church is life changing, if someone is willing to invest their own time in you... Not just church time. The church is a place where Jesus dwells, if it happens outside ALONG WITH within 4 walls with cool lights and talking points. Jesus even said Healthy people don't need a doctor. Sick people do!Church, Before you speak out against this article. Open your eyes. Defend Jesus and his good work. Don't let this be a stumbling block, let it be a consuming fire! Listen to what it says and LEARN. Invest in people that take you out of your comfort zone. Because even if they don't believe, they will teach you something you wouldn't have learned elsewhere. Make time for people that are outside your clique. And yes, its a clique if it has had the same people involved for more than 6 months. Let other people in.... Being an outsider, coming from an outsider, sucks. Jesus hung out with the unpopular, lost, hated, broken, unsaved, sick, sinners.Church, Do you?