The more time I spend in church, the more disillusioned I am by certain occurrences among Christians. Discussing this with friends my age, I see that I am not the only young person that feels this way.

Some friends have even stopped being part of a congregation altogether. They prefer to read Christian books and listen to sermons of pastors thousand of miles away on another continent than to be a member of a church in their own country. We are tired of witnessing disasters within the body of Christ, and we do not want the observing world to associate us with these failures at all.

I also disappoint myself

However, one day, something happened: I failed myself. What’s more, I find myself in situations where I disappoint myself over and over again.

These incidences of failure have taught me to rely on the grace of God, his power inside of me that enables and strengthens me to grow more like Jesus. I am learning not to depend on my own willpower, determination, or even the programming I received while growing up in a Christian home.

God’s greatness in his grace

As 1 Corinthians 15:10 says, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect”. I am what I am by grace, and by this same grace I will be built up to become more like Jesus. No one knew this more than the apostle Paul who persecuted many Christians.

In view of this great grace, I have become more merciful to myself. Now when I struggle in my Christian walk, I try to lean more into the arms of this grace rather than chastising myself to do better. I remember that indeed I am weak but God is great.

Encouraging one another

In the same way, when church disappoints, I let it be a reminder of how great God is. Recently, when I heard that a particular church was entangled in a shocking scandal, I was surprised to find compassion rising in my heart for them. Rather than deleting them from my life as I usually do, I found that I was praying for them.

Don’t misunderstand me. Bad and sinful behaviour should be called out in the family of God. We should speak out against injustice and misconducts. But while we scold with one hand, we must remember to encourage with the other hand.

As Hebrews 10 says:  

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another”.
Hebrews 10:24-25

I wrote this article for Our Daily Bread Africa and it was originally published in September 2022.