| When the Church* Fails You - article by Joel Hempel It hurts! When the church calls life sin and sin life. When the church calls the truth a lie, and a lie the truth. When the church fails to forgive and follow God. When the church fails to reach the lost, the forgotten, and the unseen. When you need help, and the church disappoints you. When you need to be loved and held, and the church is deaf and blind. It hurts! God knows it hurts. He truly feels the pain. And on behalf of his Bride, he is sorry. God created and appointed the church to love, serve, teach, and equip. When the church fails us, it fails God. God does not take kindly to his representatives hurting when they should be healing. But God forgives, and he asks that we forgive. Forgive a failing church? A disappointing church? A church that too often serves only itself? Yes! Because we are the church! We need to be forgiving to receive forgiveness. We need to be merciful, for we have received mercy. The church is all we have here until we get there. There is no better group of believers, no better religion or philosophy, and no other hope this side of heaven. For reasons that are beyond our comprehension, God chose us! We are here for each other and for those who do not yet know God’s love and Jesus as Savior. We are it! Let’s figure out how to make it work – and not just talk about its failings. God’s grace and His Word will guide us. *Church – in each of these statements – may or may not include a specific congregation or denomination. | 
