Is There Room in the Church for Me?
“Is there room for me in the church?” This is a question many young men are asking quietly, often to themselves, and rarely out loud. Not because they doubt the truth of the gospel or reject the authority of Scripture, but because they sense that certain social, cultural, or political opinions — opinions not addressed directly by the confessions and not forbidden by Scripture — have become socially disqualifying within the church.
For a growing number of young men, the unease created by this sense can be subtle: raised eyebrows, cautious silence, selective outrage, or the unspoken assumption that faithfulness requires alignment with a particular set of modern social sensibilities. Over time, these signals communicate a message that eventually leads to the question: “Is there room for me in the church?”
How we answer that question is really important. First, when the Apostle John wrote to Gaius, he warned about a man named Diotrephes. His sins were many, but one that drew the Apostles’ condemnation was that he refused to welcome the brothers, and his effort to stop those who did (3 Jn. 10). Diotrephes wanted control over access and welcome, imposing personal preferences as conditions of fellowship. Such divisiveness is not the fruit of the Spirit but a work of the flesh (Gal. 5:20).
Second, Scripture recognizes that real differences can and do exist within the church. Uniformity of opinion and practice is not always required for true unity. The Apostle Paul masterfully navigated this when he addressed the strong and the weak. Rather than despising or passing judgment on one another, Paul concludes, “Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God” (Rom. 15:7). Unity is often preserved by acknowledging differences, and still extending genuine brotherly welcome.
Third, James rebukes the church for practicing partiality in its gatherings. His illustration exposes a preference for rich over poor, but the deeper problem is not economic — it is theological. The church was creating man-made distinctions irrelevant to Christian fellowship and using that to pass judgment on others (Jas. 2:1-5). That's really at the heart of James' rebuke – man-made systems of evaluation. Similar errors occur whenever believers are subtly unwelcomed for things that have no bearing on gospel faithfulness and fruitfulness. This is nothing but having "evil thoughts."
When the church is wrongfully unwelcoming, others are eager to step in. There are some bad men — so-called “teachers” — to whom many of these young men turn, especially online. These men listen, validate, and speak to taboo questions. Yet they often encourage sinful impulses and lead their hearers toward unhinged and destructive conclusions, and sow seeds of discord. As Jude warned, "But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, 'In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.' It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit" (Jd. 17-19). We cannot abandon our young men to these peddlers and charlatans. They need the church, and the church needs them, as we together grow “to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood” (Eph. 4:13).
So, is there room for them in the church? There needs to be. Not because every opinion is right — the church must confront sin, reject false doctrine, and resist ungodliness — but because Christ defines the terms of welcome and belonging. Where disagreement, honest questions, and differences fall outside confessional boundaries, they must be met with patience and brotherly welcome. If young men learn that there is no room for them unless they suppress their consciences or mirror the prevailing social mood, we should not be surprised when they seek belonging somewhere else. Where Christ welcomes sinners, there must still be room — room to be shaped, corrected, and grown together into the bond of unity and peace.
