Vertical Nature of the Church

One of the mantras we increasingly hear from Christian kids and young adults is this: I like Jesus but I don’t like the church. Dr. Michael Kruger tells us that a growing number of pastors, youth pastors, and parents affirm this notion when they teach kids that meeting actual needs is more important than maintaining institutions. We would all agree that the church is not perfect simply because it is made up of individuals, all of whom wrestle with their own sin and brokenness. But the reality is that the bible tells us that the church is still the glorious and wonderful bride of Christ, dearly loved by Him and cleansed by His blood. When we forget this, we come to believe that the church is purely horizontal in purpose. That we should be about feeding the hungry, befriending the lonely, loving the enemy, and feeding the sick. These things are part of the church. But our kids need to learn that what is primary is the vertical nature of the church, that it exists to bring glory and praise to God as it proclaims his truth.