When it comes to understanding the purpose of the church, we often have it backwards.

So, I was flipping through my Bible today and found this page that was written by the people at Zondervan, or whoever writes the inserts that go into my Bible. Anyway, I found that it speaks to my frustrations with FBC.

“When it comes to understanding the purpose of the church, we often have it backwards. The church does not exist for us, though we are central to its existence. The capital-C Church—which is the big-picture, universal Church that includes all believers—exists for Jesus alone. The Church is his bride (see Revelation 19:7; 21:2). The little-c church—near you—is how God reaches the masses with His gospel and love. It is also an incubator for baby Christians, a hospital for hurting people, a gathering place for all to worship and an opportunity for maturing believers to hone their spiritual gifts through serving on another. Although it is human nature to make life “all about me,” the church is all about serving Jesus through serving his people.

That is why petty arguments about the music being to loud, the music being to dull, the pastor talking too long, the service starting to early, the service starting too late and all the other rationales for why we resent the church for not catering to our preferences are just that—petty preferences that do not matter. The next time you try to make church all about you, remember this:

The church is Jesus’ body (see 1 Corinthians 12:27).

Jesus promises to build his church—regardless of our personal tastes (see Mathew 16:18).

Jesus loved the church so much that he died for it. The church matters to him, so it should matter to us (see Ephesians 5:25-27).

When we being to make church more about Jesus and less about us, we look for ways to love the body of Christ. Ironically, God rewards our unselfish actions by meeting our needs in return—if we will just put him and his church first (see Matthew 6:33).”

The page also has a quote on it from Rick Warren.
“The local church is the classroom for learning how to get along in God’s family. It is a lab for practicing unselfish, sympathetic love.”

I guess I just let my frustrations just get the best of me from time to time.