Too many Christians do not love the church, according to Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren.
Writing on his Facebook page, Warren said: "Too many Christians use the church, but don't love it."
He admitted: "This is a hard message for many of us to hear. We've been deeply hurt by members of the church, we've been disappointed, we can be discouraged. But the Church is the Bride of Christ. It's the Hope of the world, the vessel through which God works out his plan. We have to learn to love the church."
For some that means there are people they need to forgive, for others it means they need to get involved in service, and for others it means they need to change how they talk about the church, he added. "Jesus loves his church. If for no other reason than that, we must love the church also."
Warren said last month he is joining with Christian speaker Francis Chan for the "H" Initiative for Daring Faith to reach the religiously unengaged people.
Warren was recently named the most popular pastor in America by Newsmax in the publication's list of "Top 50 Megachurches in America."
