Reading the story of the early church in Acts, one might think that it was vibrant and healthy because the leaders didn't make mistakes. And then we come across stories like Paul and Barnabas arguing over church politics, Peter becoming legalistic, Mark the evangelist abandoning his team and many other mistakes that church leaders and members made.
Today, many church congregations are still driven by the notion that a perfect, spotless and holy church glorifies God. While that's true, what we sometimes forget is that what makes a church perfect, spotless and holy—especially in the eyes of God—is not what the members and the leaders are capable of doing but what Christ has already done for them.
Perfectionism is found in Christ, not in the body
When the pastor makes a preaching mistake, or the worship leader sings out of tune, or the usher spills juice on the stage—it doesn't mean that we aren't being the church God wants us to be.
Church was never meant to be built on the perfection of leaders, members or systems, but rather on the perfection of Jesus Christ. Only Jesus will make whole the things that are broken in our churches and in us.
No one will ever be perfect, you included
The call God makes for the church today is the church He describes in 1 Corinthians 12—one where members are given a chance to exercise their roles and where leaders fight for unity, not uniformity.
The saddest state a church can exist in is to be the church full of people quick to point out the mistakes and failures of others while failing to realise that Romans 3:23 tells us, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
The flaw in perfectionist and judgmental thinking in church is that it fails to realise that we have all made mistakes and we are all ultimately unqualified.
God calls the church to love and serve even if it is done in an imperfect manner
God doesn't call us to do things right, but to try to do things even if we may get them wrong along the way. As long as we live out 1 Corinthians 10:31 as much as we can by doing things "for the glory of God," and find it in ourselves to love and serve one another, we are right where God wants us to be.
God is not calling a perfect church. He calls a faithful and loving church that knows that in Christ we are now a perfect church and that through the power of the Holy Spirit, we will get better and better if we simply stick together.
