Quote
Yankee said:
John
My question is can I love a church that allows sermons to be preached that do not contain the name of God or the Lord Jesus Christ?
Sorry if I hacked up your quote to much.

Bill

Bill,

Sorry, I guess I missed your original question (even though it is the thread name). I was distracted by the turn that the conversation was taking.

It's hard to give a short answer to your question because there are so many variable involved, but I think I would say, "yes, you can still love the church." First of all, individual churches aren't perfect and even the best ones slip up. If everyone left their church the moment the pastor said something they disagreed with, I would expect that with in a month no one would be attending church at all. In your case, it was two Sundays without mentioning Christ. Although others disagree with me, I still think that Christ should be preached (not artificially, which I think is possible) in each sermon. But, two sermons do not really indicate a pattern, especially since it was a guest preacher. I've attended some really good churches in the past, and even with diligent elders/pastor, sometimes guest preachers can slip some things in that can really surprise you. If there is more to the situation you didn't mention, then it's hard to really comment. However, based on what you wrote, I would say that, although two Sundays with no mention of Christ is definitely something to take notice of and be concerned about, it's definitely not a good basis for immediately not loving that church. I would suggest that if you are really bothered about it or if it becomes a pattern that you discuss your concerns with the pastor. That may the best first course of action.

John