The new church plant in Jerusalem exploded in growth. It quickly grew from 3,000 new converts (Acts 2:41) to 5,000 men (Acts 4:4). That means there must have been more than 20,000 people in the Jerusalem church—counting women and children. Jesus commanded them to make disciples and that's what they did.

But even though they were filled with the Holy Spirit and the number of disciples was increasing, the first church had its problems. Acts 6:1 says, "The Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food."

Do you know what the word "complained" means in the Greek? It means complained! It's the same word used to describe the murmuring of the Israelites against Moses in the wilderness. Even though "much grace was upon them all" (Acts 4:33), some church members were griping and complaining. No leader likes to hear that. That shouldn't be in the family of God. So the apostles quickly organized to resolve the issue.

The best of churches will have problems just as the best of families will have disputes. In Acts 5 Ananias and Sapphira lied about the amount they gave to the church. In Acts 6 there were complaints about favoritism in the distribution of food. In Acts 15 Paul and Barnabas had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. In Acts 18 Apollos, a popular preacher, was teaching wrong doctrine. The church was filled with the Holy Spirit but it was still made up of imperfect people.

Some Christians today are easily disillusioned and waste a lot of time complaining about the imperfections of their church. "The preacher isn't deep enough." "The elders lack courage." "The Sunday school teacher is boring." "The youth minister is sloppy on appearance." "The worship leader doesn't sing enough old hymns." "Half the congregation doesn't show up for Bible study." On and on it goes.

You know what? Most of the complaints are probably true. The church is imperfect because it's made up of sinful people. But somehow it never dawns on the complainers that their constant griping is contributing to the congregation's problems. They imagine that there is some special church out there where everything is just as God intended it to be. Someone rightly pointed out that if you ever find a church that's perfect, don't join it because you'll mess it up!

One reason the church has problems is because many of us have a consumer mentality. Jesus said, "The greatest among you will be the servant of all." But instead of a service mentality we have a "serve us" mentality. We fail to grasp the fundamental principle that the church doesn't exist solely for us; it exists to glorify God and serve others.

Deitrich Bonhoeffer wrote, "True community begins with disillusionment." We must love people as they are, not as we wish they were. Let's be realistic. There is no perfect church that will meet all your needs. But if you ask "Where can I help?" you'll discover that for the most part your needs are met when you serve others.

John Ortberg asks, "Did you ever notice how the people who complain, ‘I'm not being fed here' are often longtime Christians? I want to say, ‘Well, take off the bib and get out of the high chair and start feeding yourself!"

If we respond as Jesus who "loved the church and gave himself up for her," then maybe we'll see the church as Christ sees it, "a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless" (Ephesians 5:25-17).

Copyright 2004 by Bob Russell. No material from Bob Russell may be copied, reproduced, republished, uploaded, posted, transmitted, or distributed in any way, except that you may print or download one copy of the material for your personal, noncommercial home use only, provided that 1) you retain all copyright, trademark and propriety notices, 2) you make no modifications to the materials. For any uses other than this, written permission is required. (Southeast Christian Church; c/o Preaching Office Manager; 920 Blankenbaker Pkwy., Louisville, KY 40243. Additional books and materials are available through The Living Word Ministry. This article first appeared in The Lookout, January 8, 2006.