by Pastor Joel Lawler

At my church there is a gentleman who is affectionately known as "The Amen Guy."  He has a strong, deep voice and when the moment calls for it a booming "Amen" will be heard throughout the crowd.  For the most part, our services are quiet and pretty much the speaker's voice is all that is heard.  The Amens have become part of our service.  When he is not there, there is a great void.

When I last spoke, it meant a lot to me to hear a couple of amens as I was working through the message.  While in front of people it is hard to tell whether the audience is with you or whether they have tuned you out.  To have that kind of positive response is very encouraging. This is what being a part of church is supposed to be about.  We all need "Amen Guys" in our lives in order to let us know that we are not alone and that what we are doing is important and hitting the mark. Churches have been abused by those wishing to wield power and control over others lives.  There have been great atrocities that have happened in the confines of churches.  I have talked to many people who have had really bad experiences with churches.  There is no denying these facts.

You can take the above paragraph and substitute the word "churches" with "families".  It is the same story pretty much with any institution that has people as a part of its makeup.  There is not one of us who are perfect and anytime we become part of something we bring all our faults, hang-ups and problems with

us.

Just because something that is intended for good gets twisted is no reason to abandon it.  It means that we need to fight all the harder to restore it to its original, positive form.

I once heard a pastor say "If you ever find a perfect church, don't you dare join it because if you do it will no longer be perfect". The honest truth is that we need each other.  This is especially true in the area of working out our faith.  We need people to help us understand the scriptures that God has given us.  We need the wise counsel of people who believe like we do in order to work through struggles and help us stay the course.  We need to live life together and share one another's problems as well as one another's joys. 

Each and every one of us was created with a special and unique set of gifts that were meant to be used in the service of helping others.  In fact the only way to true joy and peace is to be engaged in the very activity and purpose that you were created for.  The best place to do that is in your local church.  We grow by feeding others so they can grow.

It is not easy to build a group of people where there is deep friendship, generous grace (who doesn't need that!), wise counsel and mentoring for the spiritual battle that we face when we accept the gift that Jesus has freely offered and paid for with his own death.  It takes work and dedication and also a very thick skin.

It also takes a great deal of selflessness.  We need to know that we are not alone.  Being in a group of people who you know are with and who want for you to succeed is critical to growing into the person that God wants you to be.  It is a wonderful thing to give and receive the encouragement of an "Amen".