The Church Objection, Pt. 5 Why Are There So Many Scandals in the Church?
 “If you say that the history of the church is a long succession of scandals, you are telling the truth, though if that is all you say, you are distorting the truth.” Gerald Vann First, scandals aren’t exclusively a church problem; they are a human problem. 
 Second, just because someone says they are a Christian doesn’t mean the person is a Christian. Third, just because someone is a Christian doesn’t mean that person is exempt from scandals. Fourth, too many Christians are overly influenced by culture and not enough by Scripture. Premise 1: If scandals exist in the church, then Christianity is not true. Premise 2: Scandals exist in the church. Conclusion: Therefore, Christianity is not true. Aren’t Christians Just a Bunch of Hypocrites? “All humans are hypocrites. The Christian is one who realizes his hypocrisy and turns to Christ for healing.” Unknown First, like the scandal objection, hypocrisy needs to be met by acknowledging the problem for what it is.
 Second, we can remind those disillusioned by hypocrisy that Jesus was equally troubled by it, even reserving his sharpest criticism for such people. “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me’” (Mark 7:6). Third, we can’t allow bad examples to explain away the influence of good examples. Premise 1: If hypocrites exist in the church, then Christianity must be false. Premise 2: Hypocrites exist in the church. Conclusion: Therefore, Christianity is false. "Christianity recognizes the problem of hypocrisy but also presents Christ as the solution to it. The good news is this: when we as Christians fall into hypocrisy, we don’t make Christianity any less trustworthy but just reveal through our actions that we’re living inconsistently with the truth of it. Christianity sets a high bar. 

That’s why we need Jesus. And here’s the real irony: the accusation that hypocrisy proves that Christianity is false rests on the assumption that there is a moral standard that Christians break. And where does this moral standard originate? For the Christian, the answer is easy—in God. When it comes down to it, we can all be a little more thankful that the truthfulness of Christianity does not rest on the shoulders of its followers, but rather on those of its Founder.” Yours Truly! How can we be a healing community?   1.      Meet people where they are not where you expect them to be. 2.      Listen with compassion to people’s church hurt when they share it. 3.      Validate people’s pain when they’re vulnerable enough to entrust you with it. 4.      Join people in their journey instead of judging them for their journey. 5.      Commit to praying for their healing. 6.      Encourage people to take the necessary steps to heal and get unstuck.