heart

does the heart of a person really matter? in my four years of ministry i have seen some people with great big hearts. it really is an amazing thing to come to the realization that when someone cares one can change change the world, maybe not the whole world, but atleast the whole world for somebody. the same can be said when hearts are cold. it can bruise an wound other hearts around it.

in my first ministry, the song leader would lead the congregation in worship but would refuse to pray out loud. whether it was nerves or lack of confidence i am not sure. it did not matter if it was in front of the congregation or in a board meeting the man refused to pray. was it his heart?

during the last few years there has been a war of sorts. traditional vs modern worship. hymns vs choruses. hymnals vs projectors. unfortunately for the most part young vs old. i have attended churches with both styles. when i was in college i was in a traditional setting. with all the chapels during this time being more modern. in my first ministry position the pastor was trying to take the congregation to more of a contempory/early 90's setting. in pulaski we were relatively modern. at fall creek we have a service for each. at any time while attending these churches i have never really considered changing the style of music. but in so many other churches people are arguing about style. i question why this actually happens. is the argument about the style of music or an issue with the heart?

i have visited mega-churches that are very traditional but yet are thriving and tiny churches with a very modern feel. not to say that the size of the church reflects the heart, but to show that the style of music does not reflect being relevant.

in greenville one sunday right before the service was about to start a teen came to me and told me that an adult blew her off when she had handed her a flyer for our fundraiser coming up by laying it down 2 seconds after it was given to her only to walk away. this situation not only reflected the heart of this lady but also crushed the heart of the teen. how is it that the heart can be affected this much?

when will this end? not that all churches have all sorts of trouble. i bet the percentages are less then one thinks. but i think it is the the smaller percentage making a bigger splash. all of these are issues of the heart. when i go into a church and music plays it doesnt matter how it is played or what is playing it. but the squabbles of the few are affecting those outside the church. they are starting to take notice.

in a recent article on thechristianpost.com titled how do unchurched americans view christianity, "A full 72 percent of the people interviewed said they think the church ‘is full of hypocrites,’" said LifeWay Research director Ed Stetzer. "At the same time, however, 71 percent of the respondents said they believe Jesus ‘makes a positive difference in a person’s life’ and 78 percent said they would ‘be willing to listen’ to someone who wanted to share what they believed about Christianity."

unfortunately what the world sees is not the truth. while the church does have some hypocrites, i truly believe with all my heart that it is full of loving and faithful people who occassionally mess up. i believe the church has a good heart. while sometimes misrepresented or misguided at times i believe their is a lot of loving God and loving neighbor being done. what my hope and prayer is that the world starts to see it.