We can sometimes get dismayed as we think about the church. We can sometimes get frustrated or even embittered. And sometimes our dismay is fair, for the church is made up of people who, though they love the Lord, still sin against God and still harm one another. Though it is a blessing to belong to the church, it can also be a challenge and even a trial.
Yet in God’s eyes, the church is beautiful. It is lovely. It is precious. The unique wonder of the church is the subject of Dustin Benge’s book The Loveliest Place. “This book is about the beauty and loveliness of the church,” he says. “It’s for all those who sometimes struggle to see those qualities in her. If you tirelessly serve within her ministries while dismayed by her apparent failures, or have rare, unsustainable glimpses of her beauty, this book is for you. The singular goal is to awaken your affections. Not affections for form, methodology, structure, organization, or programs, but affections for who she is and why she exists.”
At a time when many people are perplexed by the nature or definition of the church, and at a time
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