Are we His church?

Can I just say-I love my church. I am so thankful for the role it's played in my family's life, and am overwhelmed at times that we're part of a place that is seeking the Lord passionately and providing places of growth and ministry for so many, and that is led by some great people who love the Lord wholeheartedly. Our service today was convicting and disturbing, in good ways. Our pastor, Mike, preached on whether we're really the church as God desires us to be. So many times we have ideas of how church should look, act, etc., and it is so far from what God desires at all. I think that's because usually, those concerns are about what WE want, not necessarily for any good reason, but that that's what we're accustomed to, and we go expecting our needs to be met. We should be going to worship, learn, and grow in Truth that we can explore throughout the week. Anyway, at the end, Mike asked us to come to the altar to pray for our church. I always hate to do the "altar thing" when we are told to, for some reason. But, I was so overwhelmed with love for that body of people and moved to pray for all of us, and the future, that it was really emotional, and I just wept, as many of us went forward. There are so many hurting families and friends that I care about, and I just care so much about the decisions to be made by our leaders and the burden on them, and the testimony our church has - we can be such a light to the community and world around us if we're living the way we're supposed to, and so NOT that if we don't. All the fallout from the last few months of stretching that has been taking place at our church has been so hard to go through, because I don't understand people's responses very well to hard times, and just want things to be peaceful and joyful...kinda unreasonable maybe, but still, that's what I wish for! I don't do well with change either, and we're in a transitional time right now, which leads to a feeling of insecurity, if our focus on being secure is in routine and people. Of course, that's not how it SHOULD be though! Anyway, I was convicted that I don't take the responsibility seriously enough to plead for God's guidance for our faith family, and that I need to continually be seeking to encourage and lift up others, and not focus on my needs, or the things that are not going so smoothly. God has blessed Shelby Crossings in many ways, and I know will continue to do so as long as we do seek to make Him our first love. Lots to ponder...