This is Chuck Rapp with a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters. Today I would like for us to give some thought to the proper balance between “truth and love”. This is a difficult subject for many leaders and an area where – if we are not careful, and prayerful, – we can fail. The apostle Paul instructs us in Ephesians 4:15, “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.”
How do we speak the truth, sometimes the hard or difficult truth, while maintaining a spirit of love? It is often easy for us to error on one side of the other in this matter. In my culture in the church, there is a tendency to prefer “love” or “grace” as opposed to difficult truth. There a tendency in these days to refrain from addressing followers’ wrong beliefs, poor behaviors, or ungodly attitudes. Unconfronted and uncorrected, those who follow us fail to become mature in their faith walk. This is a result of leaders’ failure to speak the truth. Also dangerous is the other extreme, failing to wrap our correction in love. When we stray in this direction people feel beaten up and cast aside. They may feel like failures and that they’ve disappointed us and God to the point that they are no longer useful for Kingdom service.
We want to avoid both of these unhealthy extremes. Briefly, I want to suggest two principles for speaking the truth in love. A goal of restoration – Galatians 6:1 says, “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.” We speak the truth – gently - to others with the goal to restore and strengthen their relationship with Christ and His body. Do so prayerfully and with humility – before we are “qualified” to speak truth to another we need to ensure that we are living “by the Spirit”. Are we reacting to them in our flesh or in obedience to the instruction of the Holy Spirit? Further, as we just read, we are to restore them “gently”.
As VCP leaders you have a responsibility to “speak the truth in love” to those whom you lead. I encourage you to be willing to address difficult issues and to correct others when needed. As you do this, wrap your message in love. Have their interest, and most importantly, the interest of Christ’s Kingdom, in mind when you do so.
This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.
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