My Church is Better than Your Church

My church is better than your church.

Sorry, it just is.

There is no other place I’d rather be on Sunday morning than with my church family at Sanctuary. The art, the music, the teaching, the people… I love it all.

Actually, though, I hope the same is true for you. I hope you really do love your church as much as I love mine.

Here’s the thing, though: is my church really “better” than yours? I was recently in Texas with my fiancee to visit my future brother and sister-in-law. While there, we went to a church they like.

I spent most of their opening worship music set feeling smug about how much more I like the worship at my church. But when the pastor began his sermon, it dealt in no small part with the idolatry of seeing your church or faith as superior to others.

The pastor related several stories about visiting churches only to find the local pastor or congregation acting like they were the only church that “did it right”.

Guilty as charged.

Isn’t it fun feeling God calling you out? Yeah, not so much.

But really, it saddens me how quickly I forget this truth. One minute, I will tell people about how grateful I am that there are many different flavors of church for many different people, but then I will turn right around and give some reason about why my church or the CRC is better than the others. Not just a better fit for me, but an actually better version of the church.

There are many reasons I love my church. But as soon as I start feeling proud about how much “better” Sanctuary CRC is than other churches, I’ve twisted a good thing into an idol. I’ve made church about me and not God. Not only do I lift Sanctuary up on a pedestal, but I also throw a lot of  other churches and faithful Christians under the bus, implying they are “bad” at church.

Love the one you’re with.

My prayer is that you love your church as much as I love mine. And that when I come to visit your church, God would keep my heart and mind open, and my ears and eyes ready to witness His movement through your community.