Yes, we should be ashamed of ourselves! The Church looks too much like the world. We are supposed to be different, on purpose.
The Church is supposed to be a place where gossip is absent, but it still rages. We are supposed to be like Jesus, not the world. Jesus exuded love, acceptance, and forgiveness. The Church should be a safe place for spiritual babies, where we care for them and nurture them toward maturity.
I don’t want this to be all about how we are not doing our job. I want to highlight what the Word says about our purpose. Saul, who became Paul, is a great example. God got his attention on the road to Damascus in a dramatic way and “saved” him. Paul’s life would never be the same.
At first, for good reason, the Church was sceptical about Paul’s conversion, but the Holy Spirit made them know that he was genuinely changed. Then Paul spent several years being taught by the disciples as he was being readied for ministry. So the Church should allow newborn believers to be sufficiently taught before throwing them into ministry.
Paul always seemed to have a “buddy” with him as he went about teaching and ministering. Our leaders should also be mentoring someone along the way. It’s a good practice. It keeps us humble and aware that we are being watched all the time. Accountability is a good thing.
If we want a picture of how the Church is supposed to be, we need only look to the Word of God. The book of Acts depicts how the early Church was to operate. The many epistles show us how to encourage and discipline each other.
If your church looks like a rock concert during worship, with people running around a stage with lights flickering and bouncing back and forth, if the people around you are jumping up and down, or if the sermon sounds like a self-help talk, then maybe you're not in the right place for spiritual growth and true worship of God.
If your church resembles the early church in Acts or one of the epistles, you’re probably in safe hands and positioned for healthy spiritual growth.