In 1860, Edward Spencer (1840-1863) was a seminary student at Northwestern University. He also volunteered as a member of a life-saving squad. One night two ships collided in the icy waters of Lake Michigan and over 300 died that night. However, seventeen were saved by the heroic acts of Spencer. That experience changed him. He never fully recovered and died several years later. History tells us none of the seventeen people he saved attended his funeral. Many believe Edward Spencer’s story is the story of contemporary America. Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the world, but few take time to worship him. I am not talking about walking into a church building on Sunday morning. I am talking about truly worshipping him. When was the last time you truly worshipped? That takes us our scripture reading.

Our reading is Psalm 100. David reminds us of two basic things. First, God made us. Without God, we would not exist. Second, God loves us. God did not create us and set us adrift. God created us and hungers to be part of our lives. All God expects in return is our worship. Verse four says, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” The divine truth is as true today as it was generations ago. That is where the problem begins. According to Gallup Research Group, only 30% of Americans worship regularly. That number has dropped by 12% in the last decade. That means that 70% of Americans don’t worship regularly. They are like the survivors in the Edward Spencer story. That is sad, yet the problem doesn’t end there. I do not want to sound critical, but I want to be honest. It is possible to enter a church building and not worship.

I was in the ministry for forty years. I did not retire because I grew tired of preaching or pastoral care. I retired to escape the negativity within the local church. Every congregation has this problem. My last church is the perfect example. I was there for twenty-eight years, so I am qualified to say they had a difficult time getting along. How many examples do you need? People that liked traditional worship didn’t care for the people who went to the contemporary worship service. They considered contemporary worship the flavor of the month. The people who attended the contemporary service saw the traditional worshippers as living in the past. The traditional and contemporary worshippers didn’t care for my early convenience service and wanted to end it. They believed those people would make a change and attend “their” worship service. That simply wasn’t going to happen. People didn’t care for the youth because they never went to worship and only participated in the annual mission trip. The kitchen crew criticized anyone who didn’t help. The choir criticized anyone in the congregation who had a musical opinion. The organist played too loud. The praise team sang too long. The second-hand clothing store made the church smell funny and took up too much space. The daycare never paid enough rent. The district office brought strangers into the building. The sewing ladies believed the whole church was against them, but no one knew they existed. The custodian was too talkative and lazy. The secretary wasn’t welcoming and loved drama. Everyone knew how to fix my church, but it wasn’t broken. The church was welcoming new members and was financially sound. By the end, I was exhausted. Everyone knew I took a nap on Sunday afternoon. They thought I was tired from preaching three times. Truth be told, I took a nap to recover from all the complainers. Every Sunday morning, I spent hours talking to people, but Jesus wasn’t brought up one time. It is possible to go to church and not worship.

Mark Twain (1835-1910) had a point. He once said, “80% of the people who listen to your complaints don’t care. The other 20% think you deserve it!” This is also true, those that criticize the most, are criticized the most. I love retirement because I get to go to church and worship God. Very few talk to me, and I don’t care. I also don’t care what songs are sung, or if the bathroom lights are shut off. This is the question I must ask you. What is your attitude when you go to church? Are you more concerned about having your complaint heard, or are you more interested in praising God? Negative words in the life of the church cause damage in three ways.

First, critical words deny God’s sovereignty. When you enter his gates with critical negative words you deny God sovereignty. Complaining people are telling the world they are not happy, and things are not up to their standards. When you complain it is all about you! You are the one who is setting the standard. That is why people who don’t act like you frustrate you. That is why you aren’t happy when things are done your way. That is why people who don’t think like you or hold your core values irritate you. When you complain it is all about you! This is the problem: church is not about you, church is about God. It is God who sets the standard. People don’t come to church to hear about you. People come to church to hear about Jesus. People come to church to experience God!

Second, your critical words disrupt Christian unity. In the perfect church we are all united in the name of Jesus. That sounds easy, but it is hard to do. As a matter of fact, it doesn’t happen very often. The most challenging part of any pastor’s job is uniting the people. If you have ever uttered those words, “Why don’t people support this?” then you understand my frustration. It is my experience church seldom unites around a program. People will unite around a crisis. Churches will unite when the building burns down. Churches will unite at some natural disaster. Churches will unite during some national crisis. The good news is we don’t face a crisis very often. They seldom come so the church is generally not united. Satan loves this fact. A content church is the perfect breeding ground for complainers. I used to think people complained because they had a lot of problems. Experience taught me people complain because they feel like they lack influence. Complaining doesn’t change anything or make situations better. Complaints amplify frustration, spread discontent and discord. Proverbs six tells us there are six things the Lord hates – one of those things is a person who stirs up conflict in the community.

Third, critical words discredit your witness. American clergyman A. W. Tozier (1897-1962) said, “Among those sins most exquisitely fitted to injure the soul and destroy the testimony, few can equal the sin of complaining.” This is as practical as I can make it. In church people vote two ways. First, people vote with their feet. If they like what is happening, then they come. Second, they vote with their wallets. If they like what is happening, then they give. If they don’t like what is happening, then they don’t come or give. There is something ugly about that behavior. As a pastor I was not afraid to let those people walk away. They didn’t really come for the right reason. I have never been interested in membership, I was only interested in discipleship. Never forget! You are an ambassador of Jesus Christ. In other words, you are to be representing Jesus in this world. How are you doing with your assignment? You may be the only Bible someone ever reads. Are you representing Jesus in a way this is pleasing to him or are you an embarrassment?

I am not going to end this blog with an inspirational story. I am going to end this blog with a challenge. I challenge you to evaluate your attitude about your church.

Is your heart filled with gratitude? Are your words affirming, or are your words critical? Satan loves your critical words. Critical words deny God’s sovereignty. Critical words destroy Christian unity. Critical words discredit your witness. I hope the words you utter at church are positive and affirming. Those are the words that God loves. Do you remember today’s scripture? 

Enter his gates with thanksgiving  
and his courts with praise;  
give thanks to him and praise his name.