If You Want a Church, You Better Be Ready for Real People

If you say you want a church then you need to understand something simple. People do not walk in perfect. They walk in hurt. They walk in confused. They walk in angry. They walk in broken. They walk in messed up from life, family, trauma, addiction, betrayal, and every mistake they ever made.

If you want a church then you better be ready for all of that.

You cannot claim to love Jesus and then freeze when someone walks in who is lost. You cannot claim you want to change the world and then get nervous when the world shows up at your door. You cannot pray for growth and then complain when the people who show up are nothing like you expected.

The lost do not need your opinions.

The broken do not need your judgment.

The stray do not need your conditions.

They need honesty.

They need patience.

They need someone who will not look away.

If you plant a church but only want clean people, you do not want a church. You want a club. If you say you want revival but cannot handle someone who smells, cries, shakes, vents, swears, or drags their past in with them, then you are not ready for revival. The real work is not on a stage. The real work is in the mess.

The hurting need people who listen.

The wandering need direction.

The angry need someone to stay steady.

This is the cost.

This is the assignment.

This is what real church looks like.

If you want a church, expect the lost to show up first.

If you want a church, expect the broken to sit in the front.

If you want a church, expect the stray to test your patience.

And if you cannot handle that, then do not pretend you want to reach people.

Because the ones God sends will not fit your preference. They will fit your calling.

This is the work.

You asked for it.

Now step up and live it.