GOING TO CHURCH

When I was coming up – a “N’Awlins” term my friends here in East Tennessee still find very curious – my mom made sure my sisters and I were in church every Sunday. It didn’t matter if it was raining or if a hurricane was blowing through the city; we didn’t miss church services. In the Catholic tradition, to do so was a sin. No way my mom was going to let that happen!

Like many, I began straying after I graduated high school. My attendance at church services became more and more sporadic. I never fully abandoned attending, but it became too easy to play “hooky”. That changed once my daughter was born, as we committed ourselves to raising her to know the Lord. As time marched on, however, we began to skip services occasionally. That practice continued until I felt called by the Lord to investigate other branches of Christianity, finally heeding the call to find a new church home at First Baptist Church in Marrero.

As I delved more and more into the Bible and related Christian literature, my hunger for the Lord and desire to learn more and more grew. Attending church services became more of a joy and source of spiritual growth than merely an obligation. I immersed myself in all of the trappings of church life, and began to realize that “church” is much more than a mere service – it is a body of believers gathering together as family to worship and praise the Lord, grow together in their faith, and to provide friendship, love and support to each other. We are the “body of believers”, with Christ as our head.

Now, attending services and being an active member of this “body” is essential to my life. After moving to East Tennessee, we found a new church home at Emmanuel Baptist Church, and immediately jumped in with both feet. My life has been SO enriched by this involvement. I’ve grown tremendously, both spiritually and morally. I’ve broken out of my self-centered life, and am doing my best to follow the God-given task of helping and serving others. I’ve made many, many incredible friends who I know love and accept me in spite of all of my failings and flaws. I simply cannot imagine my life without active involvement in a local church.

The Bible is filled with instructions on how the church should be organized, and how important it is to strengthen and support it. Clearly, a strong, vibrant church is critically important to God’s plans. He has left the task to us to insure that this is accomplished. As he said to Peter:

“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” – Matthew 16: 17-18

So, if the church is so vital to God’s plans, and the rewards for being an active part of a thriving church body are so great, why are so many people not involved in a local church? My local church has a membership roster of 400 or more people, yet on any given Sunday, we only have 125 – 150 people in the pews. Further, only a fraction of those are actually “involved” in the church, participating in the variety of activities, functions, and ministries we offer. Our church is not unique; this same situation is faced by just about every Christian congregation. Why is that?

The list of excuses for not attending and participating church would be as long as the line formed at a service station offering $1.50 per gallon gasoline. No doubt, busy schedules top the list. There are so many other obligations, that sometimes being involved in a church and attending church services falls by the wayside. Many people have children that are involved in a myriad of activities, from sports, to music, to dance, etc. Parents often run themselves ragged attending more and more activities, shuttling children back and forth from one location to the next. There seems to be a prevailing mindset amongst parents of not wanting their children to miss out on anything that life has to offer. That might sound like a noble aspiration, but by concentrating so much on all of these activities, are they missing out on the BEST thing life has to offer – a close personal relationship with our Lord and Savior?

Another popular excuse I’ve heard is that folks feel they aren’t “getting anything out of church”. While the old adage that “you get out of something what you put into it” certainly has merit, I’m not going to deny that sometimes a particular church just isn’t meeting your spiritual needs. That can happen; it happened to me. Indeed, it prompted me to begin searching for another church home outside of the Catholic way of worshipping.

I am not advocating leaving your present church without first looking inward and determining if you really are doing everything you can in your present church to grow and connect with the Lord and folks in your congregation. Also, don’t allow one or two aspects of a church to turn you off on the overall picture. No church congregation is perfect. One church may have better music, another one a more powerful preacher, another one a better youth program, and another one better facilities. You can spend your entire life searching, but you will never find one church that is absolutely perfect. Don’t be snared by that trap, as it is an easy one to fall into. However, if after much prayer, you feel God is leading you elsewhere, follow His lead. No doubt, there is another church congregation in your area where you will feel His presence and feel at home. Just don’t try to do it alone. Don’t use this as an excuse to fly solo.

God did not intend for us to be alone. Heck, this is clear from Genesis, when God declared, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” We were created as social beings, and numerous chapters and passages in Scripture make it clear that we are to gather and worship together. While one can pray, study, learn and worship individually, you are missing SO much by attempting to go it alone. The author of Hebrews recognized this, when he declared:

“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another …” -- Hebrews 10: 25

The short-and-skinny of it is that most excuses for not attending and participating in a local church are just that: excuses. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to go before God and give Him a list of excuses why I didn’t feel the need to be part of HIS church and help him fulfill his plans here on earth. Also, I don’t want to miss out on the tremendous spiritual growth, outreach ministries, and incredible friendships that are only possible through active participation in a local church. For me, becoming involved in a church is a “win-win” situation, and one that drastically improves my life and helps me focus on striving to help fulfill God’s plans. I truly believe that one cannot fully experience the full breadth of Christianity without being part of the body of Christ, which is the church.