Ministry is Messy

We have this idea that inside an organization like the Church, things ought to be nice, neat and orderly. Everyone should get along and agree, and there should be this wonderful - we just love everyone - mentality. What planet did we ever contrive this idea from? Life is messy. We are familiar with family messes, friend messes, people we work with messes and just messes in general life. If life is messy and people are messy, why do we think that when we walk through the doors of a particular building we call Church, that everyone will be transformed into something other than we experience everyday? The early Church ran into attitudes and tribal mentalities that they had to work through everyday. They engaged in dialogue and sometimes disagreed to the point they went their separate ways. But they never stopped with the mission. The Church grew, God's Word was spread and the Church was strengthened.