An observation
The apostle James, at the conclusion of chapter 1 of his epistle, says the following:
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. (James 1:27 ESV)
The observation I have made is that it seems to me that churches in general, and I would dare to include my own failings and faults as a pastor in specific, tend to end up falling too heavily on one side or the other of this equation without holding both as equal priorities.
On one side you have generic mainstream churches, seeking social justice and trumpeting many worthy (and, admittedly, some not so worthy) causes.
On the other side you have generic conservative churches, wanting so badly to remain unspoiled by the world that it is easy to neglect the widow and the orphan in favour of having the pleasant messages and the inoffensively popular-styled music.
The true Christian way is to work hard on behalf of those who need you, while realizing that this world as it now stands is not our goal. You cannot serve both God and Mammon; you cannot seek the pleasures of this world and be a true follower of Christ. As our Lord Jesus himself said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” (Luke 9:23-26 ESV)
It is a call for me, at any rate, to remember whom I am to serve; Christ, and serve Him by serving the people He has sent me to serve. I am not to be ashamed of His Word, but to speak it boldly and firmly. If that means I need to speak against sin, so be it. If that means I need to speak a word of grace to one struggling and drowning in guilt or fear or shame, so be it.
But it is neither wise nor prudent to pretend that one is following Christ by merely pursuing either the care of the poor and defenseless or contending for the truth of God against the stain of sin in this world. The believer in Christ is called to do both. Faith is shown in the acts of mercy and service done without desire of notice or recompense for the neighbour who needs them. Faith is shown in the willingness to say, “Thus saith the Lord” even when all the tempestuous seas of society say the opposite.
God grant me His mercy and grace for the sake of Christ so to do.