Me, Go to Church?

We hear it all the time. I don't need church. I can worship at home or in the great outdoors; besides, it's a waste of time, money and talent. You've heard this too and often its hardly worth a rebuttal. Maybe a mere nod is sufficient.

For quite awhile, being a Christian was synonymous with being an American. If you were born in the USA, you were considered a Christian. That is changing. Now, believe it or not, going to church or not going is an issue facing not only non-believers but believers, believers who find church redundant, unrewarding or too demanding.

This discourse, then, is for the believer who finds it easier to stay at home, or meander along the river or watch sports which seemingly cover the entire year of Sundays. Typically, when pushed, people find reasons to defend their non-church going. Yes, they claim to be believers, not agnostics, and have no ill will toward those who do attend. They simply get along fine without it.

Even seniors can become lax hinting that it is time to step aside and let the younger generation “carry the ball.” Some middlers remember their youth when the Lord's Day was hallowed with serious restrictions on activities and mandatory attendance. They indicate their laxity is not hostility or apathy, merely a self-sufficiency.

Youth have their own rationale after years of faithful attendance in Sunday School, Children's Church, the Kid's Pulpit, parallel youth endeavors and drawing on church bulletins to offset boredom. The youthful disappearance after high school is not uncommon. It is not terribly exceptional that some do quite well without attending.

We can not fully examine the many reasons for non-attendance but must move on to why we perhaps should reconsider our disappearance. First off, there are enough churches to fulfill almost every conceivable style of worship if one looks far enough. Although this is not particularly a good reason, it is a consideration.

Secondly, believers in isolation cannot do what is required of believers. The mission of the believer is demanding, economically, physically, socially and yes, spiritually. It cannot be accomplished in a vacuum. A mega church could support several missionaries, a school or two, a church pantry for the unfortunates but they are the exceptions. Generally it takes many churches to get the task accomplished.

Not only do we need individual churches, we need conglomerates. And yes believers need each other: socially, economically, physically (handshakes and hugs are not uncommon), and above all, spiritually. If you attend rarely, you may not be the biggest loser. It might be a lonely soul who needs that touch, smile or hug only you can deliver.