The regularity of irregularity???

“On the most elementary level, you do not have to go to church to be a Christian. You do not have to go home to be married either. But in both cases if you do not, you will have a very poor relationship.” Kent Hughes

  It’s an area like so many in our culture, even in the Church, where the abnormal has become the normal. In the “normal” Bible-believing church, it’s estimated 30% will miss each Sunday. Church attendance…worship has become a matter of convenience rather than commitment. A new term has developed to designate this group. They’ve been dubbed the “semi-churched.” These are believers who show up some of the time, but not every Sunday. They’re on again/off again, in and out, here one Sunday and then gone for two. It’s disastrous to our personal spiritual health and our church family’s spiritual health. It’s either because we don’t know our Bibles, or worse, we don’t take them seriously. Jesus’ worship habit was to attend a weekly worship service (Luke 4:16). The focus of the New Testament is the local church, so much so that nearly every New Testament book was either written to a local church or a pastor. Jesus loves the church. He died for it. If we love Jesus, we won’t be satisfied with “liking” the church, we’ll love what Jesus loved. If you love someone, you want to spend time with them. You’re not checking your watch, wondering when your time will be up or jump at any excuse to skip. Missing church is not parole from some weekly obligation, it’s missing out on the weekly family reunion. It should bother us, no, it should grieve us to miss being with our spiritual family. Hebrews 10:25 is crystal clear and rather pointed, “not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Gathering every Lord’s Day with our church family is one of the vital parts of being a growing, maturing Christian. So ask yourself a few questions…

  Have you made going to church an inviolable habit for you and/or your family? You know how you wake up in the morning and think “maybe I’ll make french toast this morning”? That’s not what church attendance should be like. It’s not to be a “if the mood feels right” proposition. Now many of us didn’t grow up this way. I know that I didn’t. As a teenager, I was often the only person attending church from my home and I had to rely on others to give me a ride to church.

  Yet, I know of individuals who are more faithful in going to the gym than many Christians are in attending the worship services of their church. And if one member of the family is sick, then the whole family will often stay home. Can you imagine calling up your employer and telling him, “Listen, my son has a cold so I won’t be coming in today”? In some homes going to church is up for a weekly democratic vote, “Do you kids want to go to church this week?” An education has temporal benefits yet I can’t imagine a parent putting school attendance up for a vote or making it optional.

  Do you plan ahead for Sunday worship? If you rush around Sunday morning trying to find clothes and shoes, and your Bible – it’s not going to prepare you for worship. If we want to be ready for work or school, we go to bed at a decent time. We also give ourselves plenty of time so that we can arrive on time, even early. We arrive anticipating being touched by God’s Spirit and having Him work in our lives. We don’t rush in at the last minute and then rush out with the final “Amen.”

  Do you plan your schedule so that you can minimize being absent from church on Sunday? If you happen to be on vacation, what a great opportunity to worship with other believers from other parts of the country. Most of us don’t skip meals when we’re travelling, why would we skip a spiritual meal? But if Sunday is the weekly family reunion and we truly value our spiritual family, doesn’t that suggest that we should make a real effort to be around on Sunday. If you’re going to be out of town to visit family, why not take Friday off so you can be back on Saturday night? If we are stewards of the time that the Lord has entrusted to us, then we need to re-evaluate a common assumption that Friday evening through Sunday evening are ours to do whatever we want wherever we want. It’s almost impossible to grow in love for Jesus, for your church and minister effectively in your church if you’re regularly not there.

  Do you love the Lord and your church family sacrificially? True love is rarely convenient and often costly. To be with your church family, you may have to limit your plans for Saturday night. It might mean asking your boss to please not schedule you for Sunday morning. Most employers willingly put up with a lot worse than an employee who wants attend church (hangovers, domestic crises, etc.). Use Saturday to catch up on your chores, sleep in and unwind. It may mean telling an obsessed coach that your children will either miss certain games or be late. It’s doubtful that your child is the next Aaron Rodgers or Gabby Douglas but they are going to be the parents of your grandchildren. They are going to be the greatest spiritual influence on them…and they’re leaning it now…from you and what you value.

  If attending church is really a hassle for you and something that you endure, not enjoy – have you considered that maybe you’re not a Christian? Does going to church every week make you a Christian? Absolutely not. Does missing church half of the Sundays in a year make you a non-Christian? No, but it does make one wonder. It’s this simple – God’s people love God and love to be with God’s people. They love to sing praises. They love to hear His Word taught and be fed from the Scriptures. Casual church attendance is usually a sign of spiritual immaturity at best and unbelief at worst. Whenever God calls people out of darkness, He always calls them into the church. If the Sunday worship service is the community of the redeemed, what does your weekly pattern suggest about where you truly belong? Does it indicate that you really love Jesus?