The church, discouragement, and hope

Phil McAlmond shares his story of pain and hope within the church. Preachers, or anyone who has invested their lives in the church, may find this section all-too familiar:

I have seen so very much and experienced so very much of the negativity of man, his personal agendas, ambitions and subversions and self destruction within the church that I have been at times so very discouraged and I have wanted so desperately to quit and give up on the church and God’s people. Yet, in truth, how could I?

With the church so clearly flawed, what is the source of our hope? Christ Jesus, of course. Learning to abide in that hope, as Phil's own story shows, is a long process.