The family we hate to love

Envisioning the Church through the family metaphor

By: Rick Spinos

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Jesus said, I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Yet, statistics show that Americans do not give much value to the church anymore! Perhaps American Christians don’t love to hate the church but research suggests that they sure do hate to love it!
• Each year for every church started, four close their doors!
• Research suggests that 2.7 million church members fall into inactivity each year, leaving churches as hurting, wounded victims of some kind of abuse, disillusionment, or neglect.
• Between 1992 and 2002, 77% to 87% of Americans identified themselves as Christians. Yet only
• 22% of Americans "frequently" attended church in 1992
• 20.5% of Americans "frequently" attended church in 1995
• 19% of Americans "frequently" attended church in 1999
• 18.0% of Americans "frequently" attended in church in 2002
The Church: The family we hate to love is a quick read that examines why God chose the metaphor of a family to describe important aspects of its nature. Without a doubt, many sad and bad things happen in churches! However, Christians today should learn to consider the church through the eyes of its founder. Could Christ have made a mistake when he established his church and called it the family of God? Read about this family that too many Christians hate to love. Perhaps you have missed something. Perhaps we all have!