An Environment Where It's OK to Fall

I love Jonathan Acuff. I blogged about his book Stuff Christians Like, based on his blog of the same name. I just came across an article he wrote for CNN, entitled "How to Scandal-Proof Your Church." He lists several wise suggestions, but perhaps my favorite is the first one: "Create an environment where it's OK to fall." So much of the trouble Christians get themselves into comes when sins are repressed, hidden, and generally misunderstood. The church needs to be a place where sins can be confessed in an atmosphere where accountability is real, but so are expectations. If Christianity is all about maintaining an image, we (myself included) will sooner lie to keep up the facade than confess failings...and that is not what the Gospel calls us to do to ourselves and to each other.