Going to Church

Having been a pastor for many moons there is one thing that never ceases to mystify me. Why do some church members never actually attend the churches they belong to? Related to that question is why people even bother calling themselves Christians if they have no desire to be part of the church. Now I'm not talking about those whose work or life circumstances make church attendance impossible. As a pastor I realize that some of us have to work on Sundays. I'm talking about the rest of them. The ones who just choose not to do so.

My problem with folks not attending church and yet insisting on calling themselves Christians is that there is nowhere in the whole New Testament that suggests the two are remotely compatible. Jesus and the disciples went to the synagogue and temple. The earliest church met together in their homes until such a time as public places of worship were built. Even when they were outlawed they stubbornly resisted those who forbade them to meet together and worshiped in the catacombs. They would rather risk death than not meet together.

There is simply no acknowledgment of any form of Christianity in the Bible that did not feature a desire to gather together with other Christians for worship, fellowship and service.  Paul describes the Church as the body of Christ and ridicules those who say they don't want to be part of it. 'Can the eye say to the ear, I don't want to be part of you?'

I have sometimes laid down this challenge to folk. Find me one faithful believer in the New Testament who did not want to be part of a Christian community (AKA The Church). In order to be a Christian that the New Testament would recognize, a person needed to play an active part in a church community. Belief is not just about assenting to certain ideas. Belief is about actions and expresses itself in activity... in particular being actively involved with fellow believers.

Again, I state that I am not talking about those whose life circumstances make it completely impossible to play active roles in their churches. But to be honest I have found that even many of them (if true believers)  find other ways of being connected. Bible Studies, prayer meetings, using their churches online resources, attending what they can when they can. Neither am I talking about those who unwell or are caregivers. The Church should be going out to them to keep them connected.

Going to church. Not an option. An obligation.
The New Testaments unspoken expression of genuine faith.
Yet even more important... it is not about going, it's about being.
But that's another story....