Have you ever noticed how it seems pastors are always trying to get you to attend church more? If you don’t come at all, then you should start coming. One you start coming, you need to be there every Sunday. Once you attend regularly, then you should also attend Sunday night. And on and on it goes, until the “most faithful” members are there Sunday morning for three hours, Sunday night, Wednesday night, Saturday morning, and teach a Tuesday night Bible study in their home.
And at first, they tell you just to attend and “enjoy” the service. But later, they want you to “get involved” and start serving. It’s like the first one is free, but after that, you better start paying for what you’re using.
Is it just me, or do pastors have a lot in common with drug pushers?
Many pastors are only too happy to allow their congregations to depend on church attendance, for attendance addictions fill the pews and the offering plates on Sunday morning. In fact, many pastors reinforce such behavior. In the minds of most church leaders, the “truly committed and faithful followers” of Jesus Christ are those who are at the church whenever the doors are open. I know that I felt this way as a pastor. I expected it of my elders.
Yet such beliefs are not only contrary to reality, they are also contrary to Scripture. There is not a single verse anywhere which says attending church is an indication of spiritual health or that God is using you in mighty ways. It’s just not there. In fact, such a mentality reveals a deep misunderstanding of the purpose and function of the church. Pastors who teach and encourage such behavior not only enable this dependence, but have even become pushers, trying to get more and more people hooked on the drug of church.
To break free, to destroy the dependence, to stop the enablement, pastors may have to do something drastic. Telling people that there is more to following church than showing up at a building for another program or Bible study is simply not enough—especially when the church offers so many programs and Bible studies. It may be that the church needs to follow the example of drug and alcohol rehab centers, and require that people go “cold turkey.” Cancel everything—Sunday services, Bible studies, programs, everything—and see what happens.
If your church cancelled all services and programs for one week, or a month, what do you think would happen?
While granting that there’s a lot of church-pushing going around that’s creepy, goofy, and just downright wrong, what is it you think the author of Hebrews is doing when he makes a case for continuing in public worship and association with God’s people? When Paul sets the Corinthians straight, why do you think he regulates their meetings, their speakers, their observance of the Table, instead of telling them to knock it off and get out in the world where the real work is?
I hear your critique, but it seems in the same vein as an anarchist critique of capitalistic greed. The target’s real enough, but there seems a lack of discrimination, and in any case you can’t build anything with a wrecking ball.
Tim,
I have written elsewhere on Hebrews and 1 Corinthians. Both texts have been abused to support the modern methods of doing church. If we step back and forget everything we think we know about church, and read the texts without such filters, they say something very different than often assumed.
Briefly, Hebrews is challenging the readers to encourage each other to live according to their individual God-given purposes. First Corinthians is written to a group of believers who have very bad eschatology and lack any kind of spiritual leadership whatsoever.
I agree you can’t build anything with a wrecking ball, but neither can you build anything on a ruins. You must first clear away the clutter.
Jeremy,
Agreed about building on ruins. Agreed about 1 Cor. — although I think my point still stands. They came together in regular public meetings and Paul not only didn’t chastise them for this, he regulated the conduct of the meetings. Granting that one of those meetings (as regulated by Paul) still didn’t look much like your average Bible church service, Paul expects the results to be favorable, and he doesn’t seem interested in the church discontinuing its meetings
Hebrews, though — I’d particularly like to see what else you’ve written on this, because what I’m seeing above is on point as far as it goes, but woefully short of the whole story. The author of Hebrews will not be remotely satisfied with a bunch of Christian individuals encouraging one another while avoiding public gathering with Christians. His whole argument, particularly in the last portion of the book, is that they are priests after Christ, with priestly duties to perform, some of which are performed out in the world, and others of which are performed in the assembly of believers, gathered before God’s throne on the heavenly Zion — and how dare anyone forsake priestly service on the heavenly Zion in favor of letting a Levitical priest do it for you on the earthly Zion!
It’s a very potent argument — far more so than what people typically see in Hebrews — but underlying it in the background is a much higher view of what happens in church than people generally have. Which, imho, is why most people don’t see it.
Tim,
Actually, I think we’re saying the same thing. The “Pastor Pusher” post is actually part of a longer chapter in the book I’m writing, Close Your Church for Good. So although I made it a post by itself, the very next sentance in the book says something about how it is impossible and even unwise to cancel all church gatherings.
The point will be one that both you and I agree on: while gatherings with other believers are definitely part of “church” they are not the entirety. I really like your point about not letting the Levitical priest do our part for us. That fits.
Jeremy,
As I said elsewhere, holding hands across the fence (at least), although I still doubt that we’re saying the same thing. I have an intuitive sense of where the differences lie, and up to about fifteen minutes ago, I would’ve said that it would be easy to describe. Three useless revisions later, I’m not so sure. Maybe later…
Tim,
Good to meet with you tonight. As you say, I do believe we are headed in the same general direction. Keep writing!
LOL!!
I fully agree with you.
There’s such a lot of contamination and bullshit in the “body of Christ”
What really gets to me is the manipulation of the “baby believers”
Great post,keep it coming.
Thanks Mandy.
Sorry we haven’t been able to connect on Facebook yet. One of these days we’ll both be on at the same time…