“We desperately need the church for love, for maturity
and preparedness, for spiritual care. It is arrogant, rebellious, self-reliant,
God-indicting pride to conclude that the church is an optional extra to the
Christian life. We need everything God designs for us. Everything. To reject
what God designs for His glory and our good is spiritual suicide. To reject the
church is to take your own spiritual life.” Thabiti
Anyabwile
Okay,
I’ll be honest. I hesitated to use that quote by Thabiti about church
attendance because it’s so pointed. I used it because I know that it’s true. It
is very rare to meet a thriving Christian who is casual about corporate worship.
Lone Ranger or Lone Rangerette Christianity is an Americanism. Read the New
Testament for yourself, particularly the epistles and you just won’t find
individualistic Christianity there. One of the most common metaphors for the local
church is a “body.” A body has unity. In a body every part is essential and
they don’t go off on their own. There is no substitute for one’s physical
presence when it comes to worship.
To be sure there are times that someone can’t attend either because of illness or job requirements. Let’s be honest. That’s not why most individuals miss. Somehow we find a way to participate in other events that require our presence. For most of us, it’s just a matter of priorities.
Recently, Dane Ortlund tweeted: “Staying home to ‘watch church’ is like staying home from a friend’s wedding to watch the ceremony virtually. And keeping your wedding gift with you. Your presence and solidarity and love and hugs and eye contact and singing are needed. It’s not just about passively receiving something. It’s about being part of the embodied part of the celebration. The whole event is diminished by your absence.”
We’ve all heard about how the pandemic has hurt church attendance. It’s true, but it’s becoming a bit tiresome. We continually hear the hackneyed explanation that “the church is the people, not a building.” But if those people never gather together, is it a church? Can there be a church of one” Or is an individual family a church? Nope!
Wonderfully, we are seeing an incipient movement push back against the “you-don’t-have-to-attend-church-to-be-obedient-to-God” crowd. There are early signs, particularly among the isolated digital generation, that a number of folks were awakened in the pandemic to the importance of in-person community, particularly in churches.
Church consultant Thom Rainer suggests some wonderful analogies to help us understand the vital importance of the local church metaphorically. Here are five of his favorites:
The family meal versus the individual takeout dinner. For years, families spent time around the table. They would converse with each other instead of getting a takeout meal and looking at their smartphone. It was a time when family members connected and got to know each other. It was an in-person event that took place several times a week. The disconnected family member is like the disconnected church member who no longer attends in-person worship services and small groups.
A bonfire versus an electric heater. I love a bonfire on the beach. I enjoy more than the warmth on a cool night; I enjoy others in person. The setting provides those times when we can share stories, laugh, and get to know one another. The electric heater provides warmth, but it does not provide a connection. It is like the digital church: functional but not personal.
The live concert versus streaming music. I remember the first time I heard “Red Rubber Ball” by The Cyrkle in a concert. I was hooked on that 60s one-hit wonder because I not only enjoyed the catchy tune, I shared the delight with others who were attending. We can listen to Christian music and hymns via digital means, but it’s nothing like singing together in person in church in a spirit of true worship.
Sailing together versus watching a travel show. For one of our wedding anniversaries, I leased a small sailboat with a captain for a half-day. Being with my wife for those few hours and seeing the pure joy she experienced was incomparable to watching a television show about sailing. Worshiping together is the sailboat. Watching a digitally streaming worship service is the television travel show.
Live theater versus Netflix. I have been to a few Broadway shows and a few other live shows. While I appreciate the convenience of watching a chosen movie on Netflix, it is nothing like feeling and seeing the emotions of those watching a play in the room with me. Church is akin to live theater. You connect with those who are physically present. You not only hear a sermon and sing worship music, but you worship together with others.
So please, for your own spiritual health and growth, for us to more effectively accomplish our mission of reaching our community and world with the gospel – the good news that this hopeless world needs – please make corporate worship and small group communities a priority. It’s God’s plan because it’s only together that we can make a difference in this world and in eternity that we can never even hope to do alone!
To be sure there are times that someone can’t attend either because of illness or job requirements. Let’s be honest. That’s not why most individuals miss. Somehow we find a way to participate in other events that require our presence. For most of us, it’s just a matter of priorities.
Recently, Dane Ortlund tweeted: “Staying home to ‘watch church’ is like staying home from a friend’s wedding to watch the ceremony virtually. And keeping your wedding gift with you. Your presence and solidarity and love and hugs and eye contact and singing are needed. It’s not just about passively receiving something. It’s about being part of the embodied part of the celebration. The whole event is diminished by your absence.”
We’ve all heard about how the pandemic has hurt church attendance. It’s true, but it’s becoming a bit tiresome. We continually hear the hackneyed explanation that “the church is the people, not a building.” But if those people never gather together, is it a church? Can there be a church of one” Or is an individual family a church? Nope!
Wonderfully, we are seeing an incipient movement push back against the “you-don’t-have-to-attend-church-to-be-obedient-to-God” crowd. There are early signs, particularly among the isolated digital generation, that a number of folks were awakened in the pandemic to the importance of in-person community, particularly in churches.
Church consultant Thom Rainer suggests some wonderful analogies to help us understand the vital importance of the local church metaphorically. Here are five of his favorites:
The family meal versus the individual takeout dinner. For years, families spent time around the table. They would converse with each other instead of getting a takeout meal and looking at their smartphone. It was a time when family members connected and got to know each other. It was an in-person event that took place several times a week. The disconnected family member is like the disconnected church member who no longer attends in-person worship services and small groups.
A bonfire versus an electric heater. I love a bonfire on the beach. I enjoy more than the warmth on a cool night; I enjoy others in person. The setting provides those times when we can share stories, laugh, and get to know one another. The electric heater provides warmth, but it does not provide a connection. It is like the digital church: functional but not personal.
The live concert versus streaming music. I remember the first time I heard “Red Rubber Ball” by The Cyrkle in a concert. I was hooked on that 60s one-hit wonder because I not only enjoyed the catchy tune, I shared the delight with others who were attending. We can listen to Christian music and hymns via digital means, but it’s nothing like singing together in person in church in a spirit of true worship.
Sailing together versus watching a travel show. For one of our wedding anniversaries, I leased a small sailboat with a captain for a half-day. Being with my wife for those few hours and seeing the pure joy she experienced was incomparable to watching a television show about sailing. Worshiping together is the sailboat. Watching a digitally streaming worship service is the television travel show.
Live theater versus Netflix. I have been to a few Broadway shows and a few other live shows. While I appreciate the convenience of watching a chosen movie on Netflix, it is nothing like feeling and seeing the emotions of those watching a play in the room with me. Church is akin to live theater. You connect with those who are physically present. You not only hear a sermon and sing worship music, but you worship together with others.
So please, for your own spiritual health and growth, for us to more effectively accomplish our mission of reaching our community and world with the gospel – the good news that this hopeless world needs – please make corporate worship and small group communities a priority. It’s God’s plan because it’s only together that we can make a difference in this world and in eternity that we can never even hope to do alone!
Can
we help you spiritually? Please check out more resources on our church's web
page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more
about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus
changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org
to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.
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