Why Go To Church?

Greetings All,

     This week's "thought" comes to you from Jerry Conklin and is found in Voice Magazine, An Independent Church Journal.
     It expresses many of my own sentiments in regard to the purpose of the gathering of the saints, or what we might call "attending church" (and what that spiritual habit is meant to accomplish in the lives of God's people). Not all will agree with everything he says, nor with what I say in summary, but it does offer a needed word of caution.  Enjoy.

Why Go To Church?

     "I received a mailing the other day, an advertisement for invitation cards to be used to invite people "back to God and church."  The mailing asked this question in large, bold type: "Why Aren't People Going To Church?" It drew attention to an alarming statistic" "Right now, fewer than 20% of people in the United States regularly attend church."  That's a startling number, especially considering the fact that about 80% of Americans identify themselves to be "Christian."

     Why go to church?  It's a good question. Many go out of a sense of obligation. Parents, friends, or relatives exercise some degree of influence and a person is led to dutifully attend. That was my situation when as an adolescent my mom took me and my siblings to the Catholic Church.  I had no desire to be there -- I would have rather been fishing with my dad -- but I went because she made me.

     Some go to church because they believe that going might somehow contribute to their favor with God and entry into heaven. They have been led to mistakenly believe that salvation is by being a good person and doing good works. "Good people go to heaven," they assume, and going to church is part of what makes a person a "good person."  Religious cults operate according to this way of thinking, though many professing Christians think this way about church attendance as well. However, going to church doesn't make a person a Christian any more than going into a garage would make them a car.

     In our day many churches have responded to this trend of decreasing church attendance by attempting to make church exciting, cool, and fun.  They cite the need to be culturally relevant. They cater music to the lost and endeavor to make church both comfortable and non-demanding. Christ-less and cross-less "self-help" messages are substituted for the teaching of sound doctrine (II Timothy 4:3). The person and work of Christ are de-emphasized in an attempt to gain a hearing with those who have little interest in such matters (I Corinthians 1:23).  Because so little attention is given to sound doctrine, or edification, these churches remain anemic and self-serving. Sinners are content to attend week after week without any conviction of sin. 

     The classic text on the matter of fellow-shipping together is in Hebrews 10:25, which reminds us not to be "forsaking the assembling together of ourselves."  A part of the answer to the question, "Why go to church?" is answered by the context of the verse. The "assembling together" is for those who have made a "confession of hope" (Hebrews 10:23). Of what confession is the verse speaking?  The confession of hope which accompanies one's faith in Christ as Lord and Savior. The text is addressed to those who have already trusted in Christ for salvation.

     It has long been said that the church gathers for edification and scatters for evangelism.  This statement represents a biblical perspective on the ministry of the local church. The gathering of believers on Sundays (or any other occasion) is primarily for the purpose of the edification (the building up) of the church. Though the church is commissioned to share the Gospel, the primary purpose of the assembling together is not evangelistic. That's not to say that it can't or won't happen. It is a good thing when an unsaved person finds his way into the assembly of believers and is saved as a result. But evangelism happens not as a result of the cultural relevance of the church to the lost, but the God-relevance of the saved.  First Corinthians 14:24-25 speaks of the convicting influence on the unsaved of God's presence in the midst of His people.

     The church gathers for edification (Heb. 10:24-25), and scatters for evangelism (Matt. 28:19-20). The believers who make up a local church constitute a team of missionaries and ambassadors for Christ, sent out to reach that particular community with the Gospel. Every believer in Christ lives amidst a unique group of family members, friends, neighbors, co-workers  and/or classmates. To the extent that the believer is growing, and walking with Christ, and deepening his understanding of the Gospel (and his ability to share it) he is sovereignly and strategically enabled and equipped to reach people that a church, pastor, or leaders could never reach." 

     Obviously it is not wrong to gear a worship service towards evangelistic proclamation and outreach. Surely every church does it on occasion -- or should!  But to gear every service, every week, toward appealing to the felt needs, musical tastes, and likes or dislikes of unbelievers, really evidences a much deeper problem. It evidences a group of disciples that has stopped doing what each one should be doing throughout the week -- seeking to reach the lost.

     One of the reasons many worship services have been habitually made the primary evangelistic outreach of the week is because the people in that church have stopped reaching out individually in their daily interactions. They have taken the responsibility that Christ laid squarely on their shoulders to reach out to others one-on-one, and have let the "church" do it for them. And in doing so they have not only twisted the purpose of worship gatherings, they have lost out on the blessing Paul speaks of In Philemon 1:6.

     The answer to getting people back to church is not to make the worship service appealing to unbelievers, but to use it (as was intended) to edify and mobilize all the believers in the church to do what they should have been doing (should be doing) every week at every opportunity they get:  1.) Speaking the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).  2.) Proclaiming repentance and forgiveness of sins to all people (Luke 24:47).  3.) Preaching the kingdom and testifying to the Gospel of God's grace (Acts 20:24-25).  4.) Giving an answer to anyone who asks a reason for the hope that is in us with meekness and respect (I Peter 3:15).  5.) Making disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19-20).

     The answer to the problem of a diminishing church attendance is not to make our gatherings into what they were never intended to be (gatherings so devoid of true heartfelt worship and substantial truth that few are truly saved and the saints find it hard to be challenged and grow), but gatherings that accomplish what God intended them to be (time to thank praise and adore Him, and be edified, equipped and encouraged from the Word in our faith as believers).

One man's take of the purpose of the gathering of believers -- Pastor Jeff

From a Non-Believer

Greetings All,
 

       This week's thought comes from a book written by Kevin Roose, an unbeliever who ventured south from Brown University to attend for one semester what he calls, "America's holiest university" -- Liberty University -- the school started by Jerry Falwell in Lynchburg, Virginia.  It is written in diary form, and is an interesting, honest, forthright look into life on that campus from the viewpoint of a young 19 year old man who (by the end of the book) is still not a believer, but can write in his conclusion:   

       "I could never thank enough, no matter how much space I devote to the attempt... the students, faculty and administrators of Liberty University.  When I arrived on campus in January of 2007, I never thought that the world's largest evangelical university would feel like home, or even a home away from home.  But by experiencing your warmth, your vigorous generosity of spirit, and your deep complexity, I was ultimately convinced -- not that you were right, but that I was wrong [about you]."  

       Though honestly pointing out things he disagrees with, he really does seem to be as 'objective' in his critique as a non-believer can be regarding a faith he does not hold to.  In his journalistic investigation of Liberty he genuinely appears to have no particular axe to grind.  

        I send out these two selections from the book because of what he as a skeptic learned by praying and dating in an environment where prayer is encouraged, and displays of physical affection are not permitted. I trust you might find his experiences interesting as well. The title of the book, should you desire to read more, is:  "The Unlikely Disciple -- A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University." Enjoy.

    Prayer:

       "I had a conversation with Pastor Seth... I told him I had a bunch of questions about the practice. Like, how does it work? Do prayers actually change God's mind? If so, then why do so many prayers go unanswered? Why does Liberty's football team lose games? Why is the dining-hall food still terrible?  And if prayer doesn't change God's mind, why do we pray at all?

       Pastor Seth smiled. 'First,' he said, 'I want you to think about it this way: God is our father, and we are his children. How would you feel if your children didn't talk to you? A relationship with God isn't a one way street... His second point was even better. 'Prayer may not always be entirely about God,' he said.  Here Pastor Seth quoted the famous Christian author Oswald Chambers, who wrote: 'It is not so true that prayer changes things, as that prayer changes me and I change things.'  'When you pray for other people,' he said, 'your own heart will be transformed...You'll find yourself living for others, making decisions with others in mind, putting the concerns of others ahead of your own.  It's a way to connect to other believers in the way God wants you to connect.'  

       Pastor Seth's pep talk helped me get over my hesitations about prayer... and I committed myself to praying for a half hour a day...

I pray the Lord's Prayer when I wake up.  I pray the ACTS method (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) in the shower. At lunch I go through the daily list of prayer requests my professor sends out on behalf of the students in our class.... And by the time I've spent my day like this, dredging up every person in my life who could possibly be undergoing any amount of hardship or strife and praying for their needs, a few things happen.  First, all my problems snap into perspective.  Compared to a girl whose stepfather was in a mine accident or an old lady having her hip replaced, nothing in my life seems all that pressing... I'm focusing more and more on people with real hardships... Eventually I do go back to worrying about my tiny problems -- I can't help it -- but for those thrity minutes, I'm at least going through the motions of compassion. 

      Second, the compassion I dig up during those thirty minutes sometimes carries over to the rest of my day.  This past weekend, for example, I was praying for Mike, a guy in my cappella group at Brown. Mike was having a terrible week... and after praying for him, I felt myself wanting to write him a letter. I never write letters, but on a whim, I sat up in bed, tore a page out of my Theology notebook and began to scribble... Mike wrote back. His message began: 'I got your letter the other day, and it brought tears to my eyes.' He continued to say how unexpected it had been and how much it had lifted his spirits.  

      For the next two or three hours, I walked around campus glowing, doing all the small acts of kindness I typically overlook.  I held open doors.  I said, 'Thank you ma'am' to the lunch lady, whom I typically greet with a nonchalant grunt. I felt a metaphysical connection with everyone -- and everything -- around me. I'm still not totally settled on prayer. Part of me still thinks it's a waste of time, and another part of me wonders whether I could be increasing my levels of compassion some other way (ie: reading news stories about families in third world countries). It's probably a bad sign if the only way I can tone down my narcissism is by forcing myself to believe that God is monitoring my thoughts.  But for now, it doesn't seem to be hurting anyone, so I guess I'll keep it up.  When I think of the benefits I'm reaping, a little cognitive dissonance seems like a small price to pay."

    Dating:

     "Luke, the smooth-talking lothario of Dorm 22, decided that I needed to meet some girls... so he set me up with his friend Aimee...

      Tonight isn't the first date I've been on at Liberty. There was Anna, of course, but after things ended with her, I spent some time with Bethany... a short, tomboyish girl with a pair of deep dimples. She was just as poor a match for me on paper as Aimee. She's a pastor's daughter, she's demure and shy, and like Aimee, she seems to mention God in every other sentence.  Neither Aimee nor Bethany appeal to me in the same way Anna did. They're both engaging and adorable, but they're too pious... Anna I can handle -- she's a bit milder in her beliefs -- but I'm not sure I could ever date a girl who firmly believed my entire family was bound for hell.

    That said, there are some things about Liberty's dating scene that I sort of enjoy.  At first, I thought the rules against physical contact would ruin the dating experience.  But strangely, I'm not feeling frustrated on these dates.  In fact, having preordained physical boundaries takes a huge amount of pressure and anxiety out of the process.  Think about it: at the end of tonight's date with Aimee, I won't have to worry about how to secure a good-night kiss or an invite to her room. My friend Luke might be able to seduce innocent Liberty girls, but for me it's just not happening. No chance. And that's a very freeing feeling. When dinner dates aren't just preludes to hooking up, you end up truly listening to each other.  The conversation is the centerpiece, and what emerges is deeper and more intimate than if you had been spending your time trying to Don Juan your way into her bed.

      [After thinking of how it used to be and talking with an old friend about dating in the secular world] it was hard not to feel like I have the better deal here at Liberty. Sure, its frustrating not being able to relieve sexual tension, but with that off the table, I'm free to be totally transparent. The whole interaction feels more honest, more straightforward.  In the words of I Kissed Dating Goodbye, 'our entire motivation in relationships is transformed.'  I've said things to Aimee tonight that I would never say to girls back in the secular world for fear of alienating them. Strange things to say to a girl who looks really beautiful -- like, 'You look really beautiful.'  Tonight Aimee and I stay at our antique-decorated restaurant for almost three hours.  The waiters eventually stop coming back to refill our water glasses, and we sit there in our booth, talking, laughing, and generally having a wonderful time. At the end of the date, when I drop her off at her dorm, I have a fleeting thought about what it would be like to venture back out into my old world, the melange of frat-party hook-ups and free-flowing sexuality, and say to a girl: 'Listen, I just want to get to know you. No physical stuff.' 

      I'm guessing she'd laugh. Or assume I was doing method acting for a revamp of The 40-Year-Old Virgin. But after tonight's success, I decide I'm gong to try it, just a few times, just to see how it feels."   
   

      Sometimes Christians can be made to feel they're the restricted ones instead of the liberated ones. That rules and moral guidelines inhibit rather than enhance. Interestingly, it sometimes takes the words of one who isn't a Christian, looking at it all from an entirlely different perspective, and comparing it to his past secular experiences, to assure us there is a grace in conservative Christian morality that will obviously never be found in unbridled secular hedonism.  Just a little food for thought from an unlikely disciple(?) who came to see value in things that Christians themselves sometimes don't.

                              

            In the Service of the Kingdom,  Pastor Jeff