It’s not ok to be not ok. Well it is, but it isn’t. A letter to the church.

It’s certainly ok to be not ok. There has been too heavy a stigma on mental health, and too much of a silly ‘just-pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps’ hyper-masculine narrative for far too long. Of course, it’s ok to be not ok!

However, we’re not meant to remain helpless, wounded, struggling people – alone and isolated – without care or support. That is not ok. It’s simply not ok just how many people are not ok without any support, connection, or help. That is not ok.

We were designed by God for community, for relationship, for connection, and for mutual strength and resilience (Gen. 2:18; Jn. 13:34; Col. 1:24; 1 Cor. 12). We were designed to stand in the gaps together (1 Cor. 13:1-13; Phil. 2:4; Matt. 25:40; Lk. 3:11; Rom. 12:10). We were meant to be together in the fog and in the pain (1 Cor. 10:24; Jam. 2:14-17; Heb. 13:16; 1 Jn. 3:17). And church, as the hope of the world, is called to catalyse and maintain healthy connections between people (Acts 2:42-47; Gal. 5:14; 6:2). Is that what we do?

Before we go any further, I’m not attempting here to add anything to the ‘should church be allowed to continue to meet’ discussion. That’s important, but that’s not what this post is about.

What I’m talking about is the dog-eat-dog world of organised and often vocal Christianity. The greatest enemy of Christianity is rarely secularism – it’s us. Brennan Manning famously said this,

“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

It sometimes seems like church spends an inordinate amount of its efforts on maintenance and control. To ‘keep going’ rather than helping people keep on going. But the amount of institutional hurt-credit that has been built up by the church is verging on unforgivable.

We are the visible representation of Christ. We are people’s first impression of what our loving Lord and Saviour is like. What impression are we making?

My example today, is an obvious one. Whatever you think of President Trump (and full disclosure, I’m not a fan), it’s absolutely not righteous to revel and delight in his sickness. This too, is not ok.

There are so many hurting, needy, struggling, pained, and alone people in the world. They need the hope that only Jesus can bring. And far, far too many are dying without that hope because we were too busy squabbling online.

What are the needs of your area, and how can you as Christians and church meet those needs? What is your voice in the public arenas you interact with? How is your voice an advocate for Christ? How will that frame and provide context for people’s introduction to Jesus, and how much easier will it be to share the gospel when everything we do and say points in the same direction as that gospel?

The most powerful message we have is the saving message of Jesus. And the most effective carrier for that proclamation (and yes it should be proclaimed) is our otherworldly generosity, our extravagant kindness, and our immense joy in the face of adversity.

Maybe we’re just very tired. And that’s ok, but that’s also not ok.

We’re in this together, right?

So how about – rather than harpooning people for not sharing our political aspirations, or skewering people who use a different version of the Bible than we do – we share the message of Jesus first and foremost, and support that by being an accurate representation of Him. Our hearts are growing far too accustomed to being didactic and cruel.

No don’t get me wrong, I’m a big believer in teaching sound doctrine through a healthy use of the Bible – but it’s exactly that belief that has drawn me to these conclusions. We can’t pick and choose the bits we want to believe, and the Fruit of the Spirit in Gal. 5:13-26 particularly gives us a solid lead on exactly what it looks like to be ‘clothed in Christ’ (Gal. 3:7). I recently gave a talk about this online that you can watch here.

Come on church, we can do better! There are so many people right now who are lost, lonely, and just not ok. The church, as the body of Christ, should truly be the hope of the world. With Jesus as our message and our truly loving, extravagantly caring, self-sacrificial actions to back that up, then we can make a measurable difference in our towns and cities.

Our neighbours need this.

I sometimes think that Christians spend an inordinate amount of time angry and irate – especially online. What a waste of energy! I’m all about righteous anger in its proper context (Eph. 4:25-32… which actually ends with a plea for us to be tender-hearted towards each other as a sign of Christlikeness), but endless rabbit-holes, monotonous political loops, and incessant gnat-straining is not only a waste of effort, but truly detracts from advancing God’s work (1 Tim. 1:3-7) and it actively drives people away from Him (Matt. 23:23-28).

It’s just not ok for so many people to be not ok while church spends an overindulgent amount of time grumbling about each other and demeaning or lambasting anything or anyone that doesn’t meet our expectations.

Maybe that’s what I’m doing now.

But please hear my heart. I want to be part of a Christianity that’s known for uncommon kindness, obscene generosity, outlandish grace, and outrageous mercy. I think that’s who Jesus was, and we need to run-and-leap to follow His example.

Gough-out.

Photo by Ayo Ogunseinde on Unsplash