There is a book that used to be standard reading for ministry leaders and pastors. It's entitled 'Deep and Wide' by Pastor Andy Stanley. If you don't know Andy, then you may know his father, the late Dr. Charles Stanley. Both men are powerful preachers in their own rite, and both have pastored megachurches. One thing that shows up frequently in this book, is the idea that whenever churches succeed in remaining faithful to Scripture, it often results in a tension between propagating both grace and truth. It is in fact, akin to the image of the double-edged sword that is mentioned coming out of Jesus' mouth in the book of Revelation. On one hand, we should offer grace to people in the same way that Christ offered grace to us. But on the other hand (think of it as the other side of the sword), churches also bear the responsibility of telling people the truth as it pertains to behavior and salvation. As you can imagine, sometimes this isn't easy. And as Andy Stanley would say, this is when things get messy.
But real life is often messy, isn't it? If you have been attending church long enough, at some point in time you have probably been witness to the "mess" as well. Imagine for example, someone new begins attending services who doesn't necessarily fit in with the rest of the church culture. Maybe they don't say churchy things, or they don't wear what some would consider the right type of clothing. Deep down, I think most believers know that Jesus would not only welcome this person into the sanctuary, but also meet them where they are at. Over time, the Holy Spirit will go to work on their shortcomings, and in the meantime they are subject to hearing the Word preached from the pulpit on any given Sunday. Jesus will work on them slowly but surely, the same way he did for most everyone who affirms their Christian faith today. But it may be messy for a while. People may get offended, impatient, or complain. Afterall, the new person isn't "churchy" yet.
Likewise, when a pastor fills the pulpit and preaches Christ crucified, he must be committed to presenting both grace and truth together. He can speak about a loving and sacrificial God, but he had better be preaching about repentance from sin also. Churches can and should be welcoming and open to seekers, but they also need to be aware of the tension that arises when bringing the demands of Scripture into real life. I suspect it has always been this way, even in the beginning. If you look at the epistles of Paul back in the first century, we can clearly see how hard he was trying to direct church leaders and help them do church correctly. Telling them to hold fast to the teaching of the apostles, but also reminding them that they were saved by grace through faith (and not because of their good deeds). This results in tension.
And the tension is always there ... Andy Stanley says, "it should be managed, not resolved." I love this statement. In one sentence, he encapsulates what church should be in the twenty-first century. Bringing people to the cross isn't clean and tidy. It involves identifying sin, asking God for His forgiveness, and then welcoming people into the fold; not always in that order. We welcome and love, Jesus forgives and saves, then God gets the glory. Alter this formula at your own peril. And above all else, try to avoid relegating Christianity from a movement to an institution. They tried that in the Middle Ages, and it didn't go so well.
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