Amid today’s unprecedented criticism, I thank God for the church!

Last month a long-distance and longtime friend made an observation I’ve been thinking about.

“I continue to be impressed by your support network,” he said. “I’ve never seen one stronger.”

His words prompted me to renewed gratitude for so many who have encouraged us in so many different ways. And then I got to thinking, The vast majority of our support has come from the church!

Not just one local church, mind you, although many in our particular body of believers have reached out in significant ways. But beyond them, as I run down the list of those who have helped, I keep coming back to one source: the church at large, if not the church where we worship on Sundays.

Examples:

Our local church

We currently have six weekly or at least regular caregivers. We’ve known all of them at church or received recommendations for them from someone in the church.

I met the couple consulting with me about care facilities at church. A fellow who’s an administrator of a large senior care community in Cincinnati reached out to me offering advice and encouragement. We were once good buddies at our church.

We receive cards and cookies and casseroles from members of the church. Sundays we are warmed by handshakes, hugs, and heartfelt encouragement when we walk the hallways in our church.

The church at large

Regularly I have breakfast or lunch with guys I’ve known for years. One of these was my colleague at Standard Publishing, a company whose mission was to serve the church. Another is a former staff member from our church. Another was a college roommate at our school whose primary goal was to prepare workers for the church.

We’re close to two couples we’ve known for decades. All four of them are involved with the church. Two taught with Evelyn at the school where we graduated, preparing students for life in the church. One was a pastor with whom I served awhile on the staff of our local church.

We stay in touch in many ways with friends all over the country who graduated from that same college. Their concern for us is prompted by the faith and values they learned through their lifetimes in the church.

And that fellow I quoted above? We’ve been associated in a variety of ways in a variety of projects for many decades. All of it was prompted by or in service to the church.

Unique to us

Now, I’ll admit our experience is influenced by a couple of factors that can’t be true for everyone.

Evelyn taught at that Christian college for some 35 years, and former co-workers as well as a host of former students have provided encouragement and prayers not everyone could enjoy.

I worked at Standard Publishing for more than 40 years, as editor first for one and then another magazine internationally circulated to leaders and members of local congregations. This has put me in touch with many reading my blog now because we were in contact during those years.

Thoughts for anyone

But even with the factors unique to us, some of what I’m thinking might speak to anyone.

In a day when the church is subject to unprecedented scrutiny and criticism, at a time when more people in our country are leaving the church than ever before, I thank God for the church.

Admittedly, the community of believers has certainly not been the only source of our strength. I’ve written about my online support group and our wonderful doctors; I can’t imagine where we’d be without them. We have wonderful, although busy, neighbors. And I speak with one or both of my kids, living hours away, almost every week. But none of these can offer the daily balm we experience from folks we first knew through the church.

I’ll also readily agree that the church isn’t perfect. I resonate with much of the criticism and concern expressed in so many circles today. But we’d feel very alone if we had given up on the church. If we had decided to ignore or condemn from the outside instead of trying to make the church better from the inside, we’d be poorer indeed.

Needing healing

And flawed churches are really nothing new. From the beginning, church after church described in the New Testament was troubled if not tragic.

Scripture writers heaped on advice for improving those churches, but they never suggested leaving them.

By the way, virtually every family described in the Bible was severely broken, too. But God still wants us to pursue ideals for the family contained in his Word. Abandoning the church or the family will not heal them.

The fact is that any human institution will demonstrate very human shortcomings. But the only human I have any hope of changing is myself. I find guidance and resolve and examples for doing that from the church.

So I’d advise others (even though I know no one’s asking my advice!) to find a way to be the church and be in the church (there’s more than one way to do this), regardless of their frustrations with it. We need each other.

And one more conclusion from my vantage point after more than 70 years of living: In or out of church, we do well to foster friendships when we’re young—or right now if we’ve become old. Too many get to my stage of life alone and without support because they did not nurture meaningful relationships in their 40s and 50s and 60s.

I realize now how my wife and I avoided that mistake. We stuck with the church.