How To Keep Shining As A Church Community When Things Go Wrong

Lights are meant to shine. And when they shine strong and true, they drive away the darkness.

Likewise, the church is supposed to be a light for the world—a distinctive community that lives so differently to the world around it—so united, sacrificial, generous, truthful and joyful—that others are brought into the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:14-16).

But there are challenges along the road to our growing in godliness; potholes and barriers that can derail our walk with God.

There’ll be personal failures and ongoing weaknesses.

There’ll be trials we go through that will stretch and test our faith.

There’ll be scandals in the church that bring the name of Christ into shame.

And sadly, there will be those we love and fellowship with, who will appear to abandon the faith and walk away. How do we cope with these trials?

Paul gives us some tools in Galatians 6:1-10 that will help to restore, repair and refuel us to keep walking.

“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself… Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

1. Gently restore each other

The church community should be the safest place to be when we fail, as every one of us inevitably will. In many other contexts, failure is difficult to admit to because of its consequences. People will take advantage of your failure to promote themselves. Or they’ll look down on you and shun you.

The church community should be the safest place to be when we fail, as every one of us inevitably will.

But as part of the people of God, no failure is so total that you can’t be restored in a spirit of gentleness. Perhaps no story better exemplifies this than that of Peter. Failing to follow Jesus doesn’t get any worse than actually denying the Lord multiple times when he was only a stone’s throw away and on trial for his life.

Peter could have been left in misery and despair. He had put confidence in his own strength and wagered his integrity, and he had lost badly in a spectacular failure. Yet the risen Jesus moved towards him in love. He forgave him and gave him the opportunity to receive grace and be restored.

So, rather than ignoring what is happening, we will confront with gentleness those who wander away from the Lord and his ways. We won’t feel superior to them, but will work to help them get right again with the Lord again.

The church community should also be a place where, when people fail, they find ample opportunity to be restored if they’re willing. This is yet another way in which the church stands in contrast to the rest of the world. Rather than using one another as stepping stones, we empathize with those caught in sin, rather than condemn them. Because we know that we too are sinners who could so easily be in the same place. We are no better. So we need to keep watch on ourselves knowing that we can be caught just as easily.

2. Support Each Other

Walking in the Spirit can be a heavy burden. We struggle with our own sins. We struggle to honor Jesus in our daily decisions. Swimming against the tide can lead to exhaustion and despair. The gospel tells us that Jesus was pleased to bear our burdens on the cross. He sets the pattern for how we should bear one another’s burdens. As a fellowship, we can face the things that might otherwise overwhelm and discourage us because we don’t face them alone. We face them with brothers and sisters who are prayerfully supporting us practically, emotionally and spiritually.

It may be someone struggling with parenting.
It may be a family dealing with a sudden sickness.
It may be a couple going through a difficult time in their marriage.
It may be someone wrestling with fear and self-doubt.

Whatever it may be, to bear with one another means coming close to each other and committing to share our strengths, our hope, our faith with each other so that we can keep walking and growing together.

3. Stay Humble

I wonder if our greatest danger is not really moral failures – but moral pride. We find it easy to think of ourselves more highly than we should. We find it easy to believe that it is through our efforts that great things are achieved. We are confident that we will not fail or falter in the way others around us have.

Pride like this is always deadly to spiritual growth and witness. It gets us to think that we’re able to accomplish God’s mission, to be his lights, based on our goodness. In reality, our witness will be false and inauthentic. Outwardly, it may have very nice religious shine to it but underneath it’s the same darkness, just a self-righteous version of it.

To defeat this danger we must always keep ourselves within the boundaries of the gospel, which regularly reminds us that we are nothings who have been made into something by the Lord. We were sinners, dead in sin and destined for eternal death in hell. But God in his grace saved us and by his grace he will lead us home.

The more we know and appreciate this fact, the more humble we’ll be. And the more humble we are, the better we’ll be able to walk by the Spirit in dependence on the Lord’s power and grace.

The more humble we are, the better we’ll be able to walk by the Spirit in dependence on the Lord’s power and grace.

All that the church is and does is ultimately to highlight the glory of God. In this sense our light as a church community is a direct reflection of the pure and beautiful light that comes from God. And the promise that comes from God is that all our efforts on his behalf will meet with success on that day Jesus returns and ushers into our world the everlasting light of the glory of God, a light within which we will worship forever.

This is an extract from Gospel Shaped Living by Vermon Pierre, the third track in TGC’s Gospel Shaped Church curriculum. Available from The Good Book Company and Amazon.

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