Does Church Matter?

Lately, I have heard more times than not that people don’t go to church because their faith is private.  They say they know God and that is enough.  They don’t need the church.  Most people who hold this view have something against the church.  They think it’s full of hypocrites, something happened in the past that made them not trust or like church people, or they like keeping their Sundays free. 

I would like to start by saying that it is actually very hypocritical of me to write this blog post.  I myself do not attend church regularly.  There are two reasons: 

#1.  I work as a flight attendant.  It is rare that I am home on Sundays. 

#2.  We moved recently so we don’t have a church to call home.  We attend when I’m home, but we are church “shopping” right now, which makes it easy to skip a Sunday every now and then. 

So, why am I writing this blog post?  The reason is because I am learning how important it is to attend church, and not just to attend church, but to be an active member of a church.  The Bible calls church “The Body of Christ.”  If you really are a Christian (you have admitted that you are a sinner and that you cannot save yourself and you have asked Christ to save you and be the Lord of your life) then you are a body part, whether you attend or not. 

God designed Christians to fit together to form a body.  One Christian is the spinal cord, another is a rotator cuff, another is a pinky finger, another is a pinky toe.  One member is an eye, another is an ear, and one is the mouth.  The Bible says that Christ is the head.  All decisions are made by him and carried out through the members of the body.  If you are a Christian and you are not a member of a body, then you are depriving a body of one of its members.  If a human body is missing a limb that body has a handicap.  The same is true of a body of believers.  Have you ever thought about the fact that your absence in the church might be one of the reasons the people act in a way that you despise.  They are handicapped without you there. 

I am learning through my study of Experiencing God that pure selfishness is the only reason Christians don’t attend church.  If you have an excuse, that’s all it is.  We are designed to be a part of the body of Christ.  Unless we accept this as part of our faith we will never truly be in line with God’s will, which means we will never experience the full capacity of his joy and peace in our lives.  On the flip side, the church can never reach it’s potential without all of its members. 

If you are physically unable to attend church there are other ways to be involved.  You can find a church on the radio or internet.  You can call them and offer to pray for their needs or offer to send cards to people who are sick or haven’t attended in a while, or make phone calls, or offer to pray for the pastor while he’s preaching or for the youth as they meet on Wednesday nights.  You can also tithe to them.  There are countless things we can do if we cannot physically make it to the building on Sunday mornings.  You can make appointments with different pastors in your area and tell them your intensions.  Get to know different ones and see which one God leads you to.  If you can’t make it to them then I’m sure they will be willing to come to you, especially the one God wants you to support.  Doing this might even lead to a new kind of ministry for the church you join. 

As I commit to being part of the body of Christ some of the above will be my only options during weeks when I am traveling.  There is nothing wrong with this.  If you are a Christian then you are missing out by not committing to church.  At the same time, you are crippling the church God has been calling you to.  Pray that He will show you exactly which body needs you and pray that He will reveal to you and the church why you are there.  Trust Him to speak to you and people of the church before you start acting on why you think you are there.  He will show you both, and you will in turn reap incredible blessings as you watch Him at work through you. 

If you are a Christian there is no excuse for not being a member of a local church body.  I am guilty, but as I seek to correct this wrong in my life I pray you will seek to correct it in yours also. 

Lastly, if you are a member of church body I encourage you, and anyone else who is willing, to go through Experiencing God.  If you have already been through it then go through it again.  The last few weeks of the study focus on how the church body should function.  It’s eye opening.  I believe it will revolutionize your church and your ability to reach your community and ultimately the world.  

Church is not just important, it’s vital to our faith.