I am a human being who has been, is being, and will be  saved by God’s grace. I’m not perfect, and sometimes I get frustrated. How about you? I am frustrated by the following:

1. People who pretend they want to have a discussion on a theological topic but who do not listen or interact with issues raised or questions or comments;
2. People who are self-righteous and always concerned about the sins of other people (and pointing them out);
3. People who celebrate historical ignorance and who choose to ignore what can be learned from our past;
4. People who think missions is simply about going to Africa and overlook the missional call of our local communities;
5. Pastors who encourage churches to be self-focused and who ignore the implications of the gospel;
6. Illogical people (when did logic and reason become so ignored?!?!);
7. People who say, “WE take the Bible literally” (first off, people rarely actually consistently do that and we shouldn’t always try to because the goal in hermeneutics is to determine the author’s intent – sometimes biblical authors used images and metaphors and figurative speech);
8. People who say,  “WE are a Bible believing church” or “WE follow the Bible” in a way that arrogantly suggests that everyone who differs on certain theological and ecclesiological issues decides to not believe or follow the teachings of the Bible (seriously, you sound very arrogant and equally ignorant);
9. People who think that you “go” to “church”;
10. People who think that “church” is simply for “good” people and that “sinners” need to clean themselves up (Pharisee, anyone?);
11. People who actually try to argue that Christians should abstain completely and entirely from alcohol (seriously, this is just plain silly and I would ask you to refer back to #6);
12. People who say they love Jesus but can’t commit to a community of believers (i.e., “church”) and who resist fellowship and accountability;
13. Christians who equate social justice with the gospel in a way that minimizes the need for repentance, faith, and obedience to Christ (yes, I believe in progressive sanctification, so don’t take that too far);
14. Christians who ignore social justice and do nothing to share in God’s heart for mercy and compassion ministry;
15. People who misrepresent pastors, theologians, theological systems, and books in order to discredit what they disagree with (why not just interact with the substance of those people and beliefs?);
16. Christians who disregard the call to love the Lord with our minds (yes, scholarly thinking has a place in your life). The Christian faith is not all about emotionalism;
17. Christians who think that loving God and expressing emotions is silly and immature;
18. Churches that value “traditions” more than what is Scriptural or how the Spirit is currently at work in culture and community;
19. World missions that makes other cultures conform to American standards (e.g., African villages pressed to build “church buildings” that are big and expensive or Chinese Christians told that they must wear shiny suits and have nice watches to be pastors); and finally…
20. Hypocrisy (yeah, it’s bad, so avoid it).

My list could go on, but these twenty came to mind in just a few seconds How about you?