Church: Why Bother?
We live in an odd age. Many who call themselves “Christian” have little or no desire to attend and be active in church. I’m not sure you can find another age in history where this is so true. Why has this happened? There are probably dozens of contributing factors to this dynamic. In generic terms, we are independent Americans and tend to go our individual way. But this tendency goes beyond being American. Add the disenchantment of the younger generations as they saw dad and mom go through the motions in a lackluster way, plus bad experiences with church, faulty theology (once saved, always saved) and you start to see a bigger picture.
We should note that Christians are like any other group, having varying levels of maturity. As a result, they can do immature things at times, leaving a black mark in the minds of those impacted. An old anonymous quote goes, “To dwell in love with the saints above, why that will be glory. But to dwell below with the saints I know, now that’s a different story.” So, I get the frustrations that can occur with church experience.
But does that make walking away from church OK? Can you really live the Christian life purposely separating yourself from the church? Saint John of the Cross, a Spanish priest in the 1500’s, once said, “The virtuous soul that is alone…is like a burning coal that is alone. It will grow colder rather than hotter.” It’s certainly true for me. The times in my life when I’ve strayed from regular church involvement have seen me rather quickly gravitate away from God and become more worldly in my thinking and direction. Author Philip Yancey agrees, saying, “Whenever I abandon church for a time, I am the one who suffers. My faith fades…”
If we’re honest, all of us probably know deep down that abandoning church to go it alone is not OK. Imagine if Joshua or Caleb, the only two of the twelve spies who thought they could defeat the enemy, went on alone. They were surrounded by doubters, by those too lacking in faith to do what God had asked. But the people of Israel were going to stand or fall together. And as long as there were people like Joshua and Caleb, the plan moved forward. Sometimes slowly and with faltering steps (many did not make it to the Promised Land), but forward. It’s like that in the church. We struggle at times to find solid, knowledgeable and mature people to do church with. “Am I the only one trying to walk by faith with God’s Word as my guide?” we might ask. If so, be a Joshua, be a Caleb. But you aren’t alone, or don’t need to be. There is always a remnant of sincere, God-fearing, God-honoring, God-loving, mature, Christ-following people. Find them. Be one of them!
“The church is like manure,” so said evangelist Luis Palau, “Pile it together and it stinks up the neighborhood; but spread it out and it enriches the world.” One problem with the church is when it becomes enamored with its traditions and rituals. Yes, it’s important to meet together and share in the Lord’s Supper weekly, to study the Bible together, to pray and be encouraged by each other (Heb. 10:25), but rather than an end, it should be a beginning, a launching platform for action. We spread out into the community sharing the gospel and making disciples. That’s what Jesus told us to do (Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16), and we stagnate when we don’t.
Can church be a mess? The one in Corinth that Paul wrote to certainly was. But as such people leave the world culture and adapt to being in God’s Kingdom, that’s what we should expect, right? A diverse group of people struggling to adopt this new lifestyle of being a Christian. It’s called discipleship. And it’s a group activity, as we learn from the apostle’s teaching (Acts 2:42), which takes time and effort, the church accommodating this process. Similar to Alcoholics Anonymous, we help each other succeed. In such a way we stay on the narrow path that leads to life (Matt. 7:13-14). Do we need church? I sure do.
Questions: Have you seen people “put on a face” and act at church? Have you? How can we each be the kind of Christian we want to see in others? What would you say is most needed to make church more authentic?
We should note that Christians are like any other group, having varying levels of maturity. As a result, they can do immature things at times, leaving a black mark in the minds of those impacted. An old anonymous quote goes, “To dwell in love with the saints above, why that will be glory. But to dwell below with the saints I know, now that’s a different story.” So, I get the frustrations that can occur with church experience.
But does that make walking away from church OK? Can you really live the Christian life purposely separating yourself from the church? Saint John of the Cross, a Spanish priest in the 1500’s, once said, “The virtuous soul that is alone…is like a burning coal that is alone. It will grow colder rather than hotter.” It’s certainly true for me. The times in my life when I’ve strayed from regular church involvement have seen me rather quickly gravitate away from God and become more worldly in my thinking and direction. Author Philip Yancey agrees, saying, “Whenever I abandon church for a time, I am the one who suffers. My faith fades…”
If we’re honest, all of us probably know deep down that abandoning church to go it alone is not OK. Imagine if Joshua or Caleb, the only two of the twelve spies who thought they could defeat the enemy, went on alone. They were surrounded by doubters, by those too lacking in faith to do what God had asked. But the people of Israel were going to stand or fall together. And as long as there were people like Joshua and Caleb, the plan moved forward. Sometimes slowly and with faltering steps (many did not make it to the Promised Land), but forward. It’s like that in the church. We struggle at times to find solid, knowledgeable and mature people to do church with. “Am I the only one trying to walk by faith with God’s Word as my guide?” we might ask. If so, be a Joshua, be a Caleb. But you aren’t alone, or don’t need to be. There is always a remnant of sincere, God-fearing, God-honoring, God-loving, mature, Christ-following people. Find them. Be one of them!
“The church is like manure,” so said evangelist Luis Palau, “Pile it together and it stinks up the neighborhood; but spread it out and it enriches the world.” One problem with the church is when it becomes enamored with its traditions and rituals. Yes, it’s important to meet together and share in the Lord’s Supper weekly, to study the Bible together, to pray and be encouraged by each other (Heb. 10:25), but rather than an end, it should be a beginning, a launching platform for action. We spread out into the community sharing the gospel and making disciples. That’s what Jesus told us to do (Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16), and we stagnate when we don’t.
Can church be a mess? The one in Corinth that Paul wrote to certainly was. But as such people leave the world culture and adapt to being in God’s Kingdom, that’s what we should expect, right? A diverse group of people struggling to adopt this new lifestyle of being a Christian. It’s called discipleship. And it’s a group activity, as we learn from the apostle’s teaching (Acts 2:42), which takes time and effort, the church accommodating this process. Similar to Alcoholics Anonymous, we help each other succeed. In such a way we stay on the narrow path that leads to life (Matt. 7:13-14). Do we need church? I sure do.
Questions: Have you seen people “put on a face” and act at church? Have you? How can we each be the kind of Christian we want to see in others? What would you say is most needed to make church more authentic?
Posted in Waking Up Eutychus