Interesting quote from a Christian Post article on Andy Stanley’s recent “Drive” Conference: “A major reason for the decline of the church, Stanley contended, is that Christians have focused too much on policing the behavior of outsiders without looking at the inside. ‘If in the past 50 years, the church had done a good enough job policing our own behavior, then we would not be able to build churches big enough and fast enough today,’ he said, adding that the imperatives of the New Testament are addressed to Christians. ‘Who doesn’t want to be part of a community that loves one another, prays for one another, shares and cares for one another? But that’s not what comes to mind when people think of the church.’”
So true. I've been to churches like that and it's a total turn-off. And I often wonder if people in churches who drive off newcomers will ever be asked about that on Judgment Day because it's so antithetical to Christ's teachings. The Bible story in John 8 comes to mind when i see Christians being judgmental... when the mob wanted to stone the adulterous woman.