Maybe you've heard someone say these words... maybe you've said them yourself... "I believe in God, but I don't HAVE to go to church." "My spiritual life is between me and God." "I love God, but I hate organized religion."
Let me say right up front, and you friends know this, I am the Lead Pastor of a congregation of Christ-followers... so what do you expect my answer to be? 
Above are three statements, but I see them as one. But if I may, let me briefly address each thought... starting with the last one and working back.
"I love God, but I hate organized religion." First, I would love to invite you to our congregation - we're pretty disorganized. 
Seriously, though, when true religion is organized, it is organized according to the purpose of God - to bring grace, and peace, and understanding, and knowledge, and Love to people. Could it be that you're a lot like me, and what you don't like are dogmatic institutional rules which separate, and divide, and alienate people? The thing is, when religion is organized, there is unlimited potential for good!
"My spiritual life is between me and God." Yes, you are a spiritual being having a human experience, and how you relate to God is a personal thing. It really is not a separate thing, though. What I mean is, who we are spiritually - who we are beyond the body and the mind - affects every area of our lives. My spiritual life is between me and my wife - me and my son - me and my best friend - me and the girl working the checkout counter at Wal Mart - me and YOU! We are meant to live connected, and when I attempt to live a "this is between me and God" life, I am in serious disconnect.
"I believe in God, but I don't HAVE to go to church." I feel that the basis of this statement is a fundamental misunderstanding of what "church" is. Church isn't a building. Church isn't a place you "go to", or thing you "do", or something you "have." Church is a connectedness of people on a spiritual journey together. The thing is, my friends who say this to me, are themselves a part of a church. They may not attend a Christian worship gathering (or that of another religious faith), but they are a part of the church of intellectuals, or the church of politics, or the church of consumerism, or the church of Oprah, or the church of Starbucks. Everyone is a part of the church of whatever. Church is being connected... it is being.
Thoughts?
Comments (60)
The thing is, when religion is organized, there is unlimited potential for good!
Organised religion, as is, means an unlimited potential for "bad." Holy wars, anyone? Bible pushers? Evangelists? It hasn't worked out great for anyone not Christian so far. Christianity is not organised by those standards listed in the blog, and so no I don't think that anyone should have to go to church.
In the NT, 'the church' is 'the body of Christ' or those who are believers. It's not simply a building.
(not sure if you or the Revelife people picked the title of your post, but confusing what 'the church' really is from a biblical standpoint is a pet peeve of mine)
No doubt, we have to be part of a community of believers.
We are like hot coals in a fireplace... we burn and shine brightly together. Take any one piece of coal out of the fire and it will soon sizzle out on its own.
In the same way, a Christian disconnected from fellowship is in serious threat of getting "cold" in his/her faith. Church exist to encourage one another and grow together.
United we stand, divided we fall.
@hubbaduh@xanga - Right. Church = People. Church NOT = Building.
About meeting with believers for worship:
1-If you read I John you see that one of the marks of a born-again believer is love for the brethren, which means you'll want to meet w/ one another.
2-At the end of Acts 2, you find the believers were meeting daily.
3-We are saved as individuals but also as a community, as a people, the ecclesia. I Peter 2. The NT parallel/continuation of OT Israel. We so individualize Jesus' words and the NT letters but for the most part Jesus' teachings were for the Church as a whole and the letters (apart from the pastoral epistles) are addressed to the Church at such and such a town.
4-We are part of the Body of Christ and the Body is incomplete/unhealthy if each member isn't a functioning part. (I Cor 12-14, with I Cor 13 love a most vital part of that.)
5-Love for one another is a witness to the world (John 14) and our unity brings God glory (John 17). If we don't meet w/ our brothers and sisters (formally and informally), how can this happen?
Now, to reality:
6-Yes, since God knows the struggles we will have with one another, the Bible addresses the difficulties we have getting along with our brothers and sisters. Even though we're saved, we're saved sinners, which means we will still struggle with selfishness, pride, etc. That's what many of the NT letters address by reminding us that if we are in Christ, we have His nature in us, therefore we are new creations and we can love one another as He has commanded us. we allow Him to dwell in us by faith, we will more and more love the brethren since the brethren are His joint heirs as well. If we are Christ's, we will love His people. Jesus wants to meet with us, shouldn't we want to meet with others born of Him? (Again I'd suggest reading through I John to digest all that.)
I agree with your post because I think Christians should be going to church. I just never really know what to say to those that say they don't have to.
you love the lord right did jesus go to chruch? should you follow his footsteps? answer your question for your self.
with love
of course church isn't necessary. if that mentality is true, we should ban homeschooling.
In response to the above poster - yes, Jesus did go to church. He regularly went to the synagogue (the church at the time), and participated in the Jewish festival days (such as Passover). He was in the process of instituting the new testament church which was for both Jews and Gentiles, but He mostly certainly did go to church.
I need to go to church for the fellowship. The worship time with music is sometimes wonderfully uplifting at really helps me focus on worshiping God, but I need to be around other believers sometimes so we can each minister to one another. It is a BIG mistake to think we can "make it alone' in our walk.
Fellowship is much more thn a social gathering. It is the Body of Christ coming together. When everyone is doing their part (whatever that is) then the church is ministering and healthy.
Without fellowship we become stale.
The Ten Commandments do tend to put a crimp in the free-wheeling lifestyle. #3: Keep holy the Lord's Day. In the SEVEN days of Creation God gave us the Sabbath and commanded us to keep it holy. Jesus went to synague. Christians go to church service.
How about the Bible verse that says you need to go ???
Hebrews 10:24 and 25 Â Do not forsake the gathering of yourselves together....
@LoBornlite@xanga - I've always seen that commandment meaning that we are to use the Lord's Day (aka: Sunday) for at least some form of enhanced worship.
That being said, consider this: a Christian to sits down on a Sunday morning in his/her home, studies Scripture, prays, and meditates fully for an hour or so. Let's say that the next week that same person goes to church and doesn't get much out of it. Which of the two seems like it would benefit that Christian more?
@CyanideNGunpowder@xanga - The one who obeys the Commandments benefits more. We moderns need to understand something:
It's not about success or production. It's about obedience. Success is about "me, me, me!" Obedience is about loyalty, fidelity and loving Him the way he instructed us to love Him!
Just because we think our meditation session was particularly beneficial doesn't make it so.
@LoBornlite@xanga - So religion is all about following the rules?
I've always believed that the ultimate goal is to become closer to Him and do good for all of mankind...if you break a minor rule (like not going to church) but amend it by still staying spiritual (reading Scriputure that would be read at church services/reflecting, praying, etc) then it shouldn't matter.
@CyanideNGunpowder@xanga - "Following the rules" is not bad, it's EXCELLENT and EXQUISITE! You have accepted the error that following the rules is somehow bad. Following the rules is only bad if it's mindless and irrational.
Children must obey their parents. Citizens must obey the law. Where this is not the case the consequences are absolutely horrific. "Following the rules" is reasonable and healthy.
Your assertion that missing church is the violation of a "minor rule" is also erroneous.
The Sabbath convenant was the very first that God made with mankind. Keeping holy the Lord's Day is EXTREMELY important. God gave the Sabbath to us as a gift. We mustn't reject that because we are trying to make ourselves holy with our own misbegotten notions of spirituality.
@LoBornlite@xanga - Therein lies a slight technicality, I think. I'm still saying follow the rules of keeping the Sabbath holy. It's a matter of your way of "holy" vs the one I'm suggesting, I guess.
Interesting thoughts on what a "church" is.
I don't really like traditional church. There's something "off" about it that I can't put my finger on.
Also, this may seem weird to some people, but if you're going to go looking for God, why not look in nature, which he made, rather than going to a man-made building with human traditions and a prescribed way to try to contact God?
@CyanideNGunpowder@xanga - It is notable that the concepts you think are slight, in actuality are hugely important.
It is the Church and Scripture that determine the proper ways of Christian life. Consequently, I don't have "my" way of keeping the Sabbath holy.
"Your" way and "my" way is called relativism. Relativism holds that there is no absolute truth or right way or wrong way of doing things. The notion that the individual is the ultimate authority and judge of right and wrong is extremely dangerous.
@LoBornlite@xanga - Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy....4th commandment. The scriptures also say, "Do not forsake the gathering of the bretheren.." We will not arrive in the kingdom of heaven because we faithfully attend church. I do believe that we are admonished to be there because God knew we needed the fellowship of the church family to encourage us and for us to be an encouragment to others. It is through our time together that we are expanded in our understanding of the scriptures in ways that we might not be able to understand on our own. We may have insights needed by a brother or sister. It is in the church family we have accountability. So no, it does not give us an automatic reservation in heaven, but it gives us so much more.
@EccentricSiren@xanga - Nature is called 'God's second book' and I love to be out there looking for Him.
May I suggest that you read the Bible carefully and look for a church that does not teach 'traditions of men' as Bible truths and attend that church. There are churches that teach 'Scripture, nothing but scripture, and the whole scripture.
@CyanideNGunpowder@xanga - God made it simple when He handed down the 10 simple rules for a satisfying and happy life. All of our situations that we face will fall under one of them, there really is no exceptions to it. The fourth one is the only one that says, remember. Theres got to be a reason for this and yet so many do not. There once was a story of a farmer and a preacher. The discussion one day was on the rules that God had given to us and the preacher was sharing that they were given not to make us unhappy, but to protect us from the hurt and pain of broken relationships. Either our one with God or our relationship with our fellow men. They were the to make our life safer. The old farmer told the preacher, "I do well enough. I slip up here and there but all in all I think I'm good enough for God. The preacher was wise and did not argue. In the spring, The farmer decided that he needed to replace his fence as the old one was getting weak. The preacher offered to do it for him, and so he went to work. By the end of the week all was done. As the farmer and preacher were talking, the preacher explained that there were areas where there was only one board instead of three, but it was ok because it was only a small area. Oh and there are a few boards that only have one nail in them as he was running short and didn't have time to run all the way back to the barn to get more nails. "WHAT!!!" The farmer was furious. What were you thinking! I need a strong secure fence in order to keep my livestock safe! Do you know what could happen of one of my sheep find the area with the missing boards? I could lose them all out there and who knows what could happen to the! If my cows were to rub against the board with only one nail, the board will come down and they could get hurt on the nail sticking our or escape out the broken fence! What were you thinking! "Well drawled the preacher, its good enough, there might be a slip up here and there but all in all, it's good enough." Stunned, the farmer got the point. Together they went out to take care of the weak areas in the fence. The commands of God are there to protect us as was stated before. The heart matter is do we trust God in knowing what is 'good' for us or are we buying into the lie Satan told in the first place....God is trying to withhold something good from you.
@choosenservant@xanga - Catholics list the Ten Commandments differently then do Protestants. For discussion sake I shouldn't have given a number to the Commandment for the Sabbath.
Also, Catholics view the Church differently than do Protestants. We view the Church as much more than a gathering of brethren. In fact, the Church is the continued Presence of Christ on earth. Consequently it is the Kingdom of Heaven on earth and the authority on doctrine and morals. The people of the Church are the Body of Christ.
So "Remember to keep holy the Lord's Day," is VERY special. Jesus instituted the Sacrament of Eucharist at the Last Supper where he called on us to remember him by eating his Body and drinking his Blood.
Ingesting the very substance of the Creator at Mass is the way we keep the Lord's Day holy.
@LoBornlite@xanga - My apologies, and thank you for not taking offence for I assure none was meant. Have a blessed night.
@choosenservant@xanga - I haven't actually heard that story before, thank you for sharing. I guess my fence is equally weak all around :(
@LoBornlite@xanga - This might sound like an ultimate judgement here, but I'd like to think (or hope) that He would prefer a bunch of strongly devout, studious followers opposed to followers who gather only because He said so. And yes, I'm well aware that there are many who have both, but such people are rare to find in my area as my church is rather...ah, subpar.