We don’t sing enough hymns!
The music is too loud!
I wish we would get rid of the drums!
I don’t like that person on stage!
We need more preaching and less music!
What happened to all the soloists?
I don’t like the choir swaying when they sing!
The musicians should tuck in their shirts!
The pastor doesn’t wear a suit and tie!
The lights are kept too dark!
The temperature is too cold!
I don’t like the idea of small groups!
Our church is too big!
I have to park too far away from the building!
My teen doesn’t fit into the youth group!
I don’t like the structure of the children’s program!
The nurseries are too crowded!
The times of our services should be different!
“Do all things without grumbling or disputing so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you appear as lights in the world holding fast the word of life so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain!” (Philippians 2:14-16)
The music is too loud!
I wish we would get rid of the drums!
I don’t like that person on stage!
We need more preaching and less music!
What happened to all the soloists?
I don’t like the choir swaying when they sing!
The musicians should tuck in their shirts!
The pastor doesn’t wear a suit and tie!
The lights are kept too dark!
The temperature is too cold!
I don’t like the idea of small groups!
Our church is too big!
I have to park too far away from the building!
My teen doesn’t fit into the youth group!
I don’t like the structure of the children’s program!
The nurseries are too crowded!
The times of our services should be different!
“Do all things without grumbling or disputing so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you appear as lights in the world holding fast the word of life so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain!” (Philippians 2:14-16)
12 comments:
Pastor,
Are you saying (and is this passage saying) that there is NO place for complaints/criticism in any sphere of life, including the church? And how would this apply to the Apostle Paul when he leveled some pretty strong corrections and criticism at various churches?
Thanks,
Jen B.
Hi Jen! Thanks for the question. I would encourage you to go to our church website (www.lgbc.org) and watch the sermon from Sunday. The issue of grumbling and complaining I am speaking of is in regards to our own personal prefrences, like when things don't happen at church the way I would like it. When it comes to wrong doctrine and issues of principle, that is different. It is obvious from the first 4 verses of Philippians 2 that Paul is speaking here of grumbling that comes out of our own selfishness an the pursuit of our own personal interests.
Are those examples of grumbling real?
Ed H.
Oh, Ed, if you only knew!! It is amazing what people, even followers of Jesus, find to grumble about. Thus the urgency of Philippians 2:14!
May I 'grumble' about the services being too short? LOL
I just thought I'd interject some light-heartedness into your day =)
Merry Christmas.
Where can we order one of those signs for our church?
The services are two short?!?!? Now, anonymous, that is the type of grumbling I can handle!!
As for you, Jeff, you may just see one of those signs in our church foyer real soon!
Superman + complainers = Supercomplainers
Trust me, Anonymous, there may not be such a thing as a SUPER MAN but there is defintiely such a thing a SUPER COMPLAINER!
Pastor Scott,
Couldn't we indeed say that some of the comments you provided on your list of "example complaints" are not only personal preferences, but also doctrinal, theological, and philosophical in nature? Certainly our philosophy and personal preferences for doing church can easily become a distraction for why we meet together as a corporate body on Sunday mornings. But that isn't isolated to the "person in the pew".
Pastors and Elders can just as easily be guilty of "complaining" because the "church" does not agree with their particular personal preferences or church philosophy. Personally, I find myself doing battle all week long with the flesh and the world, that I'm tired out (spiritually) by Sunday morning. I'm in need of a radically different experience from what I just went thru all week long. In other words, I find it completely distracting from God-centered, biblical worship (that I desperately need) when the church is constantly trying to bring secular things into it's gatherings or when it trys to imitate the world. This is true when anything Sunday mornings conflict with both my tradition and preferences, and even more so when it conflicts with a biblical definition of the church gathered together. I don't want more of "me" on Sunday mornings....I need something much higher, different, greater than myself and what the world has to offer....I need worship that leads us to the praise and glory of the King of the universe!
So I find your blog post and related sermon to be absolutely true....I agree completely. But I can also see in that list of "complaints" a parallel truth. We have a people crying out for something radically different than themselves and the world. Dimmed lights, un-tucked shirts, rock bands, loud music, etc...can just be misplaced complaints and criticisms for the real issues.
John K.
John K,
Great comment! There is no question that "motive" plays the biggest part in determining complaint. However, it is my experience that most comments like these are not driven by the issues you suggest but rather by personal prefrences of people. But even if the source is more philosophical in nature, I do not think the answer is to "complain" if the intention of the complaining is to "get my way"!
By the way, the greatest complaint I have about your comment is your title. As a Cleveland Browns fan, it was really difficult for me to post anything under the title "Broncos Fan"!
Pastor Scott,
I didn't realize you where a Browns fan? I'm finally glad to actually meet one :-)
In all seriousness, you make great points. Thank you for this blog ministy,
John
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