"I loved God (but) struggled with loving His Church."

The title to this blog isn't original to me. Its a heart-cry of emotion from a pastor's wife who, at the point of utter disappointment with all things "church," decided to leave their place of employment and community.

The story of battle-wounded staff members isn't unusual, especially in this day of "super church" and high-octane ministry activity. Its one thing for a staff member to leave his/her position, but what about the spouse, the children?

When our family left Mobile in 1997 for North Carolina, we started looking for a new church right away. We hoped to find a small church with a steeple offering a kind-hearted pastor, a small but warm Sunday School class, and a great place to bring the kids for activities during the week. We were disappointed to find that, in spite of the steeples and quaintness, it was impossible to find a suitable church. We ended up partnering with a pastor whom we met within weeks of our arrival. Together we started a new church plant that, thankfully, is still thriving today.

Its so easy to look at small churches and write them off as incapable of meeting the needs of a modern family. We can be so dazzled with bigness that we instantly pass judgement on smaller congregations.

The search for a new church may be in your own backyard, as was our experience this past summer. After leaving a staff position of almost eight years, we were looking to simplify.  Settling back into a routine after a summer of travel and moving my dad to live with us here in Tennessee, we took a chance and visited a small church around the corner. It ended up being the place we kept coming back to; I am now serving there on staff!

This morning Brenda sent me a link to a blog which contained the emotional heart-cry I mentioned earlier. The post is fairly lengthy but a clear window into the heart of a staff person's spouse and their disappointment with church. Thank God she found a place--a small church--in which her family can find healing and community once again.

You can find her post by clicking here. I pray your Easter was filled with reflection, redemption and joy!