A Safe Church

In John 9, the Lord gave sight to a man born blind. A staggering feat! Changed the guy’s life in more ways than one. But the miracle was worked on a Sabbath. As in John 5, the Jewish leaders used that to condemn Jesus for His work of healing mercy. Back to John 9: the same bunch called the now-sighted man into the principal’s office and raked him over the coals. Later, they confronted his parents with the situation. Mom and dad were so afraid of the Pharisees that they refused to come to their own son’s defense. Why were people so afraid of the Jewish leaders? The answer is that those guys were not safe to be around. (This is the background for Jesus’ analogy in John 10 of shepherds, hired hands, and sheep. Notice the stark contrast between Jesus and the religious hierarchy of those times. Why did the lost and broken and bleeding turn to him and not to them? Why did they come to Him with their issues and questions and children? It was because He proved Himself to be a safe place for them. He did not exploit or hurt them. Is not Matthew 11:28-30 about that?)

In the Acts 10 account of Cornelius and Peter, we see that Peter was not safe for a pagan to be around. Notwithstanding the fruitfulness of his preaching in Jerusalem (Acts 2), his Jewishness bled over into how he handled the gospel. It took the direct intervention of God to persuade the apostle, for the gospel’s sake,  to look at some things differently. Don’t be too hard on Peter. He was just being true to his roots and conditioning. Thanks to the gracious intervention of the Lord, Peter ultimately was God’s instrument for bringing an entire family to Christ.

Some people are not safe to be around. In their presence, people are made worse not better, weaker not stronger. They hurt people more than help them. That is true of life. Sadly, it also can be true of a church congregation. Say what? Yes, it is so. Some churches just are not safe places for either members or guests. On the other hand, there are those in which people are blessed and built up and equipped and empowered to joyfully serve both God and man. (And, yes, I know we have hammered the need to be a “scriptural church,” a point not to be argued. But, in our zeal to be “scriptural” have we ceased to be safe? Have we made it okay to hurt or hammer people in the name of “truth?”) That aside, what would you consider to be marks of a safe church? Here is what I have on it at this time:

Relationships. In a safe church, relationships are more important than “being right” – Romans 14:19. (Indeed, Ephesians 4:4-6 itemizes some essential truths which bring us together in Christ. But 4:1-3 gives us what will keep us together!) The church in Rome was becoming unsafe due to infighting and spats about nonessential matters. Know this: if we insist upon making every conviction or practice a test of fidelity to Christ, then unity in Christ will continue to elude us. The apostle lifts up the cross as the great peacekeeper in the great house of God. In the cross there is peace and safety in the presence of both God and man. The church should be a “no fire zone” in which brethren feel safe to work through their ideas without fear of being labeled and branded. My brother is my brother because we both belong to the same Christ. That relationship ought to be honored in all circumstances.  Matter of fact, how can I really be right if I am treating my brother wrongly? What matters most to me: the positions I hold or the people I behold? In a safe church, relationships are more important than “being right.”