“Churches should be the most honest place in town, not the happiest place in town.”
— Walter Bruggeman
Pete Enns shared the above quote in a post that highlights the psalms of lament. The Bible, taken as a whole, doesn’t suggest that human beings ought to simply believe, or keep their doubts and complaints to themselves, or never question. Job is praised for questioning and his friends condemned for giving pat orthodox answers. The Psalms are full of complaints and questions. Churches should be places that provide support for honesty, and not places where we cover up hurts or maintain a facade of either having all the answers, or always feeling like we’re on top of things. I’m grateful that the church I attend, Crooked Creek Baptist Church, is a place that seeks to make such honesty not just a theoretical emphasis, but a lived reality.
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