Why attend Church?

This question has been brought up to me several times since I began talking to people about the path I have embarked on. It is a question that I myself have asked…it is a valid question. Many will say they are surrounded by God every where they are…they need look no further than the beauty of nature to find proof of God’s love. These people are correct. I believe God can be found everywhere some one seeks Him, He does not hide Himself. The words of a country song come to mind…”I saw God today”. The singer mentions different miracles…”a flower pushing up through the concrete“…a young couple, the woman with the glow of expectant parenthood. In these things he sees God. Praise God…this man’s eyes are open.

How many though live life with eyes closed tight? I know a few people who can see and feel the blessings of the Lord in everything…I am proud to say I am one of them. I know very few people I can say this about. The people I feel live with their eyes shut are those who spend their time complaining…not seeking a solution, just an ear to complain to. Those who constantly feel bitter, jaded, singled out; people who experience hurt, and never let it go. I suppose I could continue to include people in this category of “eyes shut” who are rude, haughty, self righteous, above everyone they meet. Yes I suppose I could continue this list and include almost every person reading this post, please make note of the word “almost”. So, what does church have to offer these two groups of people?

For the first group the answer is no simpler than the second. For those who already know the love and beauty of the Lord, Church offers a couple of opportunities. One is simply to gather together with like minded people, to sing praises for the joy God puts in their heart. The church provides a chance for people to pool their funds in an effort to reach out to those less fortunate more effectively; five dollars can help a man in need of immediate food, five dollars from each of 200 members of a congregation can help provide several families food for a month. Still, why would these people want to sit through an hour long worship service? They already know the love of the Lord, they don’t need a pastor to remind them of it…do they? Can’t they just send in their five dollars a week, and call it done? Perhaps they can gather for fellowship dinners if they desire company with like minded people…again, why designate an hour worth of quality weekend time for this? I’ll offer my perspective on these questions later in this post.

As for the second group. The second group I feel needs church to open their eyes once a week. I believe the majority of people will in time forget the glory of God in the midst of surviving life. I know I was close to that point before being called to this journey. I believe for this second group, the opportunity to hear the word of God read to them in the scriptures, and interpreted in a manner to make it understandable, is vital. Those of us from the first group of people read our Bibles, we look deep into the parables, and we find the hidden messages in the stories of the Old Testament, and the teachings of the apostles. Those who are too busy surviving will not take time for this…living. I believe for this second group, at times the word needs to be brought to them bluntly, sternly…repent or perish. Why? Because for those who force themselves to squeeze out a moment to attend a worship service…that moment needs to be strong to catch their attention. Sure, cute fluffy stories instead of sermons will make someone feel better about sitting in church for an hour, but it will last only for a short time. I believe this second group needs to not only attend church on Sunday, but also Bible study on Wednesday, and read these posts each time they are written…hehe (just a little ego joke there). But what is it that church provides for both these groups.

Let’s look back on the founding of the church as we know it to begin answering this question. The church 2000 years ago was a bit different than we know it today. In the beginning (no I’m not going back to Genesis), let’s say during the first century AD, the church was not necessarily a big building you went to once a week. The “church” was a term we might use to describe the community of early Christians. A community by definition is a unified body of individuals. The on line dictionary goes on to provide details of this basic definition…people living within the same area, and all the other things one might associate at first look at the word community (say suburbs, or neighborhood), but it also provides this sub definition: a body of persons or nations having a common history or common social, economic, and political interest ( http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/community ). This is the detail I want us to use. So the church in the beginning was this community, simply people, who after hearing and believing the gospel developed this common interest. Generally any gatherings of local church members would be at someone’s house. What did the church offer these people?

The church offered these new Christians a chance to gather together, to learn together, to grow together in the spirit of Christ. Very early on, the community held all things in common (I touched on this in a previous post). All food, all monies, all possessions were brought to the heads of the church and used for the betterment of the entire community. This we know did not last long. What did last however was the spirit of gathering, the comfort of being together in what was at the time a volatile, unstable world. The world was changing…the Roman empire was expanding and tightening it’s grasp on it’s territories, the temple life of the Jews was splitting, there was this whole new religion, this whole new belief to get to know and understand. There was conflict for those that converted from the Jewish faith to Christianity…how could they bring together what they new of the law with this more laid back approach to God? There was conflict for the gentile converts…how could this Jesus have been a man of flesh and blood and still be held in such high esteem? The gatherings of the early community allowed these questions to be brought to light, and together the community found answers, found comfort.

Ok, so that explains why the first century Christians needed church…what’s that got to do with me? Well, do we live in any less volatile or unstable a world? Do we not still have questions regarding our faith? Do we not still need to come together to sing the praises of our Lord? Do we not, as a people still need that comfort? If you answered no to these questions perhaps you do not need to attend church services…perhaps you should lead church services, because there are so many people who would (if answering from their heart) have answered yes, and someone needs to meet those needs. Many will criticize the Christian faith because we have so many different denominations. There are so many different ways that people spread the word. But no matter what church you walk into on Sunday morning there will be a few things consistent…people will be at peace, people will praise God, people will teach about, or hear about our savior, Jesus Christ, people will be gathered in common belief.

In closing I encourage you to find a church that delivers the message in a way that you will receive it. The world is not going to magically become a happier more peaceful place. We as a community must reach out to each other to offer comfort and knowledge. Some people may say the kingdom of God is already here on earth, that it lives in the hearts of those who welcome it…I disagree, as long as we still struggle with evil, the final judgment has not come. As always I encourage you, be ready…for no one knows the day or the hour…keep the spirit fresh in your life, even if it means giving up an hour or two on the weekend.

God Bless all who welcome Him.