Many seem to think that our top responsibility regarding church is attending one. If you have ever stopped attending church for a short period of time, even for a week or two, you know what I mean. You will get calls from concerned friends and family, because they didn’t see you “in church,” even if they saw you at the football game on Friday night. You may even get a letter from the pastor letting you know you were missed, reiterating the necessity of attending church for our spiritual well-being.
This emphasis on church attendance has resulted in two troubling tendencies. First, there are those who believe that if they attend church on Sunday morning, they have fulfilled what God wants. In one church I pastored, I asked a talented and gifted lady to consider helping out for a weekday community outreach we had planned. She had faithfully attended the church for a few years, but never came to any activity beyond Sunday morning. Her answer floored me. She said, “Pastor, I come to church every Sunday. I am there on time, I sit and sing the songs. I listen to the sermon. I tithe. Thank you for asking me to help with this outreach, but I believe that when I walk out those doors on Sunday morning, I have completed my religious duty for the week.” This belief is more widespread then we might imagine. But such a mentality is largely due to the frequent reminders by the pastor and other church staff that church attendance is critical for following Jesus.
And such constant reminders also lead to the other extreme, where people become addicted to attending church. For some, church attendance is an idol whereby they measure the spiritual maturity of themselves and others. If church attendance is critical for following Jesus, then logically, the more you attend church, the better follower you are. So they attend Sunday morning, Sunday night, the Wednesday prayer meeting, the Thursday night cell group, and the Saturday morning men’s breakfast.
Both kinds of church goers—those who fulfill their weekly duty by attending the Sunday morning service, and those who gorge themselves on a weekly smorgasbord of services, Bible studies, and prayer meetings—have the same problem. They both suffer from attendance dependence. They both depend on church attendance to keep them spiritually healthy and as an indication that they are healthy. They both think that attending church fulfills their responsibility to God, to the pastor, to each other, and to the lost and dying world.
So what do you think? What is the solution? Maybe I’ve overstated the case. is this even a problem?
I’m a college student that works with the residence halls on campus, and 1 week out of every month I’m more or less stuck on campus, in case anyone in our complex needs help with something…I would be the one to go help. That leaves me out of luck on some Sundays. At first…I was a little disappointed, and yes my friends did kind of give me the cold shoulder when they heard I had to miss, or when I told them my reasoning for missing. After a while I began to wonder who I was serving…the church (physical building), or Christ. Anyway…I found myself wanting to watch my church service online, or look on television for another service…or looking for sermons that I could find online…and then Jesus did one of those… Jesus things, that He does so well.
I found myself just feeling crazy led to pick up the Word, and seek Him. Not try to get one little bit of scripture, and then go on about 3 points that will lead me to better understand something about my walk with Him…but just read. Seeking to know Him more, and not saying…okay, I’ll read a chapter, then put it down. It was such a great experience. I’m not very disciplined in reading the Word, but when I looked at it like that…it immediately became something I longed to do. Directly relating my Bible reading with my longing for relationship with Him…sitting alone in my living room, no worship music, no lights, no bulletin, no 3 points…it was really a blessing, and felt a lot more like worship than most of my Sunday morning experiences.
David,
This is a great story. It is sad that some of your friends gave you a cold shoulder, especially for only missing one Sunday a month!
It’s exciting that you are finding friendship and interaction with Jesus through the Word. He loves to “sit down” with you and talk about Scripture. He and I get into arguments sometimes! Ha ha.
And you know what? Sometime soon as you are really enjoying reading the Bible or spending time alone with him, He’s going to bring someone else along to “interrupt” your alone time. Don’t take this as an interruption, but as an appointment. Jesus wants you to follow him to help this other person on campus and put into practice what you are learning from Him.
Keep at it!