Friday, October 1, 2010

Hypocrites in the Church

Not long ago I was doing leadership training at a particular church. During the breakout session, the young people in attendance made a profound statement. They said, “The folks here are nothing but hypocrites.” Of course, this was nothing foreign for me to hear so I attempted to explore the issue and determine the validity of the statement. After pursuing the matter, it was determined that these young people were like many in the congregation, they just didn’t feel they had a place that or their ideas were being considered as important.

Barna Research Group conducted a survey among various religious congregations of people from ages 16-29, specifically to whether many people within this age bracket didn’t go to church or left church because of hypocrisy. The results showed overwhelmingly that it was a lack of being allowed to participate that caused them to not go or to leave because “the folks were hypocrites. The Barna Group’s survey also revealed that most people never actually left a congregation because of hypocrisy. The results showed that most people in the targeted age group left because the congregation was too insensitive, didn’t have enough activities for kids, had differing theology, or there was a small issue that was brushed aside and never addressed.

Now don’t get me wrong, hypocrisy is alive and well. It is an issue in almost every congregation. Jesus himself addressed the issue. I noticed, however, the only time Jesus hurled the charge of hypocrisy was when people were doing something deliberately to appear outwardly different from what they were inwardly. For example, He spoke about people who gave to charity “…so that they may be praised by others.” (Matthew 6:2) Likewise, He spoke against those who “…love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corner, so that they may be seen by others.” (v. 5) He also scolded the scribes and Pharisees for putting on the appearance, saying, “ For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside looks beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and all kinds of filth.” (Matthew 23:27). Jesus called all of those people hypocrites, and the Greek word that is translated “hypocrites” actually means “actor” or “stage player.”

How many people do you think get up on Sunday morning and think, “I’m going to church so I can pretend to be righteous and appear to be holy?” Not many. When church people admit to being hypocrites, we aren’t usually confessing to playacting. But more often, we mean that we have failed to follow through on our good intentions or that we still see the gap between the people we feel called to be, and the people we actually are. But most of us are not intentionally trying to deceive anyone; we’re seeing where we still need to work to bring our behavior up to the level of what we really believe.

The great challenge of the church is to give all people a place in their congregations. We must strive to make everyone feel a part and have everyone know their ideas are heard and, at least, considered. And if someone complains about hypocrites in church, the response should be, “there is always room for one more.”