I came across a great article written by Thomas Christianson - posted this morning on Facebook by my buddy whose a pastor in Surrey.

Reminded me of the Rich Mullins quote we added to our River Church Brochure a few weeks back. It reads,

'I never understood why going to church made you a hypocrite, because nobody goes to church because they’re perfect. If you’ve got it all together, you don’t need to go. You can go jogging (or riding, or climbing, or fishing...) with all the other perfect people on Sunday morning. Every time you go to church, you’re confessing again to yourself, to your family, to the people you pass on the way there, that you don’t have it all together. And that you need their support. You need their direction. You need some help.'

Really encouraged me as I go through a time in my own leadership where I seem to be blowing it more than ever before. When we began planting this church 10 years ago I declared that I didn't want to become angry - that I wanted to guard my heart in this way. And that I wasn't going to sacrifice my family on the altar of ministry. I made all kinds of declarations. In this particularly stressful time in our church life and family life, some darkness I didn't think was there is coming to the surface. In fact this week I have had to go back to people to say the tough but necessary words, 'I'm sorry. I was wrong. Please forgive me' all because I allowed my anger and edge to come out in an unhealthy way. This isn't an excuse, it's an honest declaration that I too am in process, and in need of Jesus. I too am a hypocrite.

Anyways, this article resonates with me.

"I know there are people who refuse to attend a church because of all the hypocrisy they find in it. Let me warn you up front that you probably won’t like my church because I’m one of the pastors, and I’m a hypocrite.

I wish I could say I wasn’t a hypocrite, but that would just make me a hypocrite and a liar.
Sometimes I judge people who are judgmental. Sometimes I look at people who commit sins that I am not tempted by, and consider their sins as being more severe than my own. Sometimes I ignore advice I give to other people.


Arrogance and pride and lust and selfishness have at different times in my life grown wild in the soil of my humanity.


In “Red Letter Revolution,” Tony Campolo says that we are all hypocrites and that our only choice is where we set the boundaries of our hypocrisy.


Socrates, as I have written elsewhere, was considered the wisest man alive by the Oracle of Delphi in large part because he was aware of how much he didn’t know. The other ‘wise people’ of his era were self deluded into believing their knowledge was all encompassing.
I think we are all hypocrites. What defines us is whether we are aware of it. And once we are aware of it, whether we try to reduce it.


C.S. Lewis in “Reflections on the Psalms” worries that rather than being ‘too good’ for bullies, or cruel and dishonest people, we are perhaps not good enough to minister to them. My favorite part of “Blue Like Jazz” is when the ‘pope’ starts to repent to the ‘sinners’ for failing them.


You know why Jesus was able to attract the outcasts of society despite the fact that he wasn’t compromising God’s standards but instead raising them?


I think it’s because it was a genuine message from a completely genuine person. We still have that genuine message, but often, my failings and flaws make it hard to actually see the good news.


My name is TC and I’m a hypocrite. I’m sorry for that. I’m working on it, and I think I’m getting better about it. If you can forgive me for it, I think I can help the body of Christ as we seek to grow closer to God together.


Thomas Christianson is an associate pastor at Abundant Life Church in Baltimore, Maryland. He graduated from Regent University with a master’s degree in practical theology. He blogs at thomaschristianson.com, where this article was originally posted. It has been republished with permission.