Standing for Truth

I am constantly amazed at the amount of criticism a church receives when standing for truth.  It does not matter what the church says or does, once a stand has been made that church is automatically labeled as "judgmental."  Why is that?  I mean, if any other organization in the world were to take the exact same stand as the church did, people would line up behind them in support of.  However, once the church does the exact same thing, attacks soon follow.  I know that it has always been like this and that it will continue to be this way until the end of time, however, this does not take away from the fact that it baffles the mind.  I just pray that churches do not start to weigh their options before standing for truth.  What if standing for truth means members of your own church get mad and leave the body?  Would a church dare evaluate this consequence before making bold stances?  I hope that this is not the case, though I'm afraid that it is not always true.  May the church be the leaders in standing for the truth, and may we be unapologetic when that truth is contrary to what the world says is okay.  It's easy to stand for truth when everyone is behind you.  It gets a lot more difficult when you are one of the few that continues to stand.  Never neglect truth.  Always stand firm in it, no matter what consequences might come your way.