Put On a Happy Face

This past Sunday was the 20th Anniversary Celebration at my church. Now, typically, when churches are in celebration mode, and honestly, when most churches are just in everyday mode, they tend to want to put their best foot forward, right? I mean, you want to celebrate all the good things God has done in the lives of people. All the buildings that have been built. Well, not so much at Oak Mountain. Right in the middle of the service there was a 13 minute video that highlighted the history and founding of the church 20 years ago. To begin that trip down memory lane, the video started out with members of the church who have experienced or who are experiencing tremendous brokenness, grief, and/or loss.

What?! This is a celebration. You're not supposed to put "those people" and "those situations" up on the screen! I mean, that's what we whisper about, we don't want to show that kind of stuff. I don't even know if those people should be members here, anyway. I definitely don't want folks getting the wrong idea about us.

Here's the thing: there's nothing biblical about celebrating sin. Not even in the name of authenticity do we parade out our sins for the world to see in any kind of way that would glorify or sensationalize them. To the contrary, part of Christ's work on the cross is so that we can be free from the guilt and shame of past sin. At the same time, there's nothing biblical about acting like Christians have it all together. I'm so tired of Christians acting like once they put their faith in Christ that somehow they have to spend the rest of their lives acting like the people that God by his Spirit is making them into. The world, non-Christians are hurting. They're sinful and they know it, and most of them are honest enough to admit it. Why can't Christians do the same? I can't think of a better way to celebrate a church!

One of the guys in my small group on Sunday night, who just happened to join the church on Sunday morning put it so well, "After watching that video with all the hurting, broken people, I was even more thankful that this was the church I was joining."