Cultivate the art of apologizing! We all make mistakes and we all make them differently. But the bottom line is we're all human and that we all make mistakes. If you want to build a relationship with God, then you have to be able to apologize when you make a mistake.
A lot of people just don't know how to apologize. They get angry when they make a mistake or they simply don't know how to say sorry. So what are some of the ways that you can cultivate the art of apologizing? You have to be able to say sorry when you've made a mistake and that's not an easy thing to do every time.
One of the most common mistakes for people who are members of the church is to talk about negative things about their neighbors and friends and their families. In fact, I bet you probably have heard some pretty negative comments from the pulpit about your neighbors and friends and even from the floor of the church. When I was preaching several years ago, I remember talking about my family and I said that people in my church were great people, they were so inviting and friendly, but the problem was that they didn't invite everyone they knew to their family and that included their families. Now I realize that some of you may be saying, "Well that is just an old wives tale."
You can also look like a diversity of the culture that you are representing in your church and that is just as important. The truth is that we all look different and we all pray in different ways. But when you stand up in front of the church and you speak to the congregation and you want to show your love and your respect for other cultures, you have to speak and act like a diversity of people, including people who are different in religious beliefs. We need to make a concerted effort to look like a diversity of people, in order to truly become a church that represents the diversity of all of God's creations that are placed here for us. If we don't do that, then we will never become a church that is open, welcoming, and inviting to everyone.
When it comes to the question of faith and ethnicity, one has to be careful not to be too judgmental or to focus on one group or another. I have seen plenty of churches that try to only emphasize certain ethnic groups or certain religious beliefs. It is unfortunate. If a church pastor or one of the leaders take this approach, then that individual or that the church may not have a very good reputation within their own church community and that reputation could be harmed if the wrong people come into the church because they are focused only on their particular group.
It is my hope that you will take some time to consider what you have learned in this article. As you do, I encourage you to start thinking about how you can apply these ideas to your church and how you can improve the culture and welcoming nature of the church that you serve. It is my hope that you will become a better person and a better minister because of the teachings that you have learned during this article and that you will put this information to good use in your ministry. In this New Testament, we have an overwhelming task and we have to make sure that we are able to embrace people of every ethnicity and religious background in our church.