How Your Church May Resemble the Sochi Olympics

We have all seen the pictures.

They are terrible: the sub-luxurious hotels, the bugs in food, the unfinished roads, the unsafely constructed jumps and courses, and probably much more than we have not seen.

They tell of a city that may have bitten off more than it can chew. Russia bidded and won the most expensive Olympics in history. So this caused expectations to be high. We demand only the best of the world’s most popular sporting event. When a country spends over 51 billion dollars on something, there needs to be something to show for it rather than a place that made us all wonder if the Olympics should even happen.

People sometimes view the church this way.

Those looking from the outside in may look in to see people that appear to not be doing their jobs. All these people giving money, and where is it going? Was all the money the Russians were spending going to where it needed to go?

Does the fact that the church is serving Jesus mean that everything and everyone looks and performs sloppily? Sometimes we say, “People should just come to church to worship Jesus!”

Yeah well I can’t worship Jesus when I notice the guy in the nursery has a creeper stash and ungroomed hair. He would not ever touch my kids (if I had any). Oh another technical difficulty? No problem, we are just here to worship Jesus. Oh, the powerpoint looks like it is from the 1800’s? It’s okay because we are doing it for Jesus. The gardens and playground looks like it has not been cared for in a year? The roof is leaking and paint is chipping? No one greeted me when I came in? I had no where to park? It’s okay, because this is Jesus’ house and we are only here to worship Him.

Some churches have become the epitome of unprofessionalism.

There is a verse for that (10 points to whomever gets that reference). Actually a couple.

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Col. 3:17).

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ (Col. 3:23-24).

Should churches get “professionals” to do everything? Of course not. But if the person in a position is being disobedient to the passages above, they should be disciplined in some way. Excellence should be a characteristic that defines the church.

The church should not be thought of as a joke like the Sochi Olympics. She is the Bride of the Lamb who was slain. Therefore, she should act like it.