There Is No Perfect Church—Only a Perfecting Church
Pastor Lee Cummings
September 13, 2026 Message Recap
Thirty years ago, twenty-four-year-old and twenty-five-year-old Pastors Lee and Jane Cummings packed up and moved to a cornfield in Richland, Michigan, believing God wanted to build a church there.
God's plan for reaching the world was never a program, a platform, or a personality. From the very beginning, His strategy has been the church: ordinary, flawed people gathered together, carrying His presence into their cities.
Paul described it as the display of God's manifold wisdom to rulers and authorities in the heavenly places, designed by heaven and lived out by ordinary people in average towns. But it is easy to lose sight of that when the church in front of you looks nothing like the wisdom of God.
Every church has weaknesses, flaws, wounds, and mistakes, because every church is made of imperfect people led by imperfect leaders. Church hurt is real, and it goes both ways: to the pastor and to the congregation.
There is no perfect church. There's only a perfecting church.
That hasn’t lowered the bar; it’s the whole point. If you are waiting to find a flawless church before you commit to one, you will be waiting forever, and if you ever did find it, your joining it would end its perfection. The church was never meant to hold together by its own strength. It holds together because of its Head.
Paul prayed that believers would grasp the immeasurable greatness of God's power toward those who believe, the same power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him far above every name that is named. That power does not belong to good programming or talented staff. It belongs to Jesus alone, and He shares it with His body.
Jesus did not say He would build schools, agencies, or governments. He said He would build His church, and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. Every ideology, empire, and philosopher that has ever risen up to replace it, every movement that confidently predicted its extinction, has eventually been buried by history, but the church remains.
That is not a coincidence. It is a promise being kept in real time.
The church is at the heart of what Jesus is doing in the world. And whenever the local church truly lives like the Church—ordinary people carrying salt and light into dark places—we get a glimpse of God’s glory on display.
Scripture References:
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About Radiant Church
Founded in 1996, Radiant Church has grown into a multi-location church committed to biblical teaching, discipleship, and mission.
At Radiant Church, there is an invitation to grow in your spiritual journey, build meaningful community, and truly get connected. We are passionate about helping people grow in faith, encounter the Presence of God, and become part of a church grounded in Spirit and truth.
Here's a 5-day devotional guide based on this sermon:
Day 1: Arise, Shine
Isaiah 60:1–5 | John 8:12
Isaiah's ancient prophecy became this church's founding scripture three decades ago: arise, shine, for your light has come. It's a call issued in the middle of darkness, not after it lifts. Jesus later called Himself the light of the world, and told His followers that whoever follows Him would never walk in darkness. What God asked Isaiah's readers to do, rise and reflect glory into a dark world, is the same invitation extended to His Church today.
Day 2: The Strength of the Head
Ephesians 1:15–23 | Colossians 1:18
Paul's prayer for the Ephesian church was not that their leaders would get better or their programs would improve, but that they would grasp the immeasurable greatness of God's power at work in them. Colossians describes Jesus as the head of the body, the church, holding first place in everything. A body's strength was never meant to come from its own effort. It comes from staying connected to its head.
Day 3: The World Is Peripheral to the Church
Matthew 16:18 | Ephesians 3:9–11
Jesus made a singular commitment: I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. He did not diversify that promise across other institutions. Paul later explained that through the church, God's manifold wisdom is being displayed to rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. Whatever else changes in the world, the church remains God's chosen vehicle for His purposes on earth.
Day 4: Give God Your Yes
Ephesians 1:20–23 | Colossians 1:15–17
It can feel like the Church is a small, sidelined institution compared to governments, corporations, and culture. Scripture describes it the opposite way. Christ, who holds all things together, rules the church as the center of what He is doing on earth, not the other way around. What looks marginal from a worldly vantage point is, from heaven's perspective, exactly where the action is.
Day 5: Little Children, Love One Another
Isaiah 60:1 | Romans 12:1
Thirty years of church history can trace back to a single yes, given by two people who did not know exactly what they were doing but believed God was asking them to move. Paul urges believers to offer themselves as a living sacrifice as an act of worship. Whatever God started in you did not begin with your competence. It began with your willingness to say yes, and that is still the price of admission to whatever comes next.