Why go to church?

Why I Attend Church

            I was prompted to write this essay, quip mind you, by the numbers of people I know at home in the states that do not feel it necessary to attend church regularly.  I was also asked by a student the other day and thought I might as well come up with a detailed answer I have never been forced to give a non-believer. If you are like me you are probably thinking, but isn’t this a little legalistic?  I mean, what about those people who have to work on the weekends just to scrape by?  Well, I’m not talking directly to those people, but rather the individuals who would rather worship God at home or go do something else on a Sunday morning.  The aspects to this attitude at work among members of the body might include: lack of spiritual commitment to Christ, lack in biblical knowledge, and even personal guilt for things done during the week or Saturday night.  Whatever the reason, perhaps the most common reason is that people had gone to church while they were under their parent’s roof, but their parent’s religion was not their religion.  I will be the first to admit that there is no one specific verse that declares all Christians “must” go to church and indeed many point out that in the beginning the most common type of church was a “home church” where people congregated.  The reasons below are my explanation for those who wish to know a little about why church is important to my family and where my beliefs come from.

            The best place to start any story is at the beginning.  The first church God founded is found in Matthew 16:18 when 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” (New International Version 1984). This is the Catholic Church as it relates to all denominations.  The original word in Greek, Katholikos, means “throughout the whole.” This meant Christian churches everywhere, not the Catholic Church as it is now.  The next question is important.  The question for every Christian (in regard to church) should be, “What was God’s intention when he founded the first church?”  I believe the answer to be found in Ephesians 3:10, “His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,” (NIV).  At this point again, if you are like me, you are thinking, “What is the manifold wisdom of God?” Well, to tell you the truth, I have not yet thought about this in prayerful meditation, but I believe the manifold wisdom of God is Christ.  I believe this because Christ is “of God” and knowledge of the Holy Spirit should be spread by the church as is the great commission in Matthew 28:19, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” (NIV).  For it is through fear of the Lord and the repentance of sins that one gains access to the wisdom God reveals.  If people choose not to go to church they will not grow in understanding of this manifold wisdom of God.  The word “manifold” has many synonyms like various, diverse, assorted, etc. Pastors and other believers teach us various aspects of this wisdom.  None of us knows everything, as an English teacher I’m humbled by this fact every time I read an essay or journal from a student. You simply can’t get this wisdom at home…alone…on a consistent basis.  This leads me to my next paragraph.

            The next aspect of going to church that is (probably my favorite reason) that of fellowship and protection against the evils of this world.  These two things fall under the category of community. In Hebrews 10:25 it says, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (NIV).  It is important to meet together as a Christian body.  If a person or couple stays home and doesn’t interact with others how can they do as this verse commands?  How can they encourage other Christians?  From my own experiences with darkness I can assuredly say that one of Satan’s most common tactics is that of depression, leading to isolation, leading to death on a spiritual and sometimes physical level.  Satan doesn’t want us to feel loved.  In the Bible, Peter uses the analogy of a lion saying in 1^st Peter 5:8, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (NIV).  If we are following the command of this Hebrew's verse, we are like a flock of sheep.  We have relative safety in numbers.  The lion (Satan) will prowl for the weak sheep and the sheep that are on edge of the flock.  As Christians we are fortunate in that we have a shepherd that will watch over us; however, if we are not going to church that shepherd may not be as present in our lives as we think. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that Christ won’t be there in your darkest hour should you call on him, but I think sometimes people open themselves to attack by simply believing it is o.k. to not go to church.  My prayer is that young people today will put aside any excuse they have for not going like church being too far, too long, too judgmental, etc and think about the reasons to go.  Many examples in the book of Acts will bring Christians encouraging examples of how a church can benefit its members.  This brings me to my final paragraph; man my leg is warm from the laptop!

            The last thing that needs to be talked about should be what are the functions of a church? How should it be functioning?  We already talked about one function… forgot already? Well, it is in the second paragraph near the end.  Before I begin, I must say that I cannot list all possible functions of the church, but will give a few functions that stand out to me as I write this essay.

First, contrary to the belief of some Christians, man was not created simply to give worship on Sunday.  Jesus said in Mark 2:27, “Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (NIV).  God created the Sabbath for us, that we might find rest in him and spend time learning about him and his creation. He created the Sabbath because he loves us and one way “that love” is shown to us is through the members of our church body!  If a person’s church does not show this love it is a dying church.  We know that Christ’s body is the church from verses like Colossians 1:24, “Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church” (NIV).  Second, the church can help us to use our gifts correctly in the form of orderly worship. Orderly worship is important so that Christ’s body may be one in thought and mind; however, without knowing one’s gifts, this particular verse is hard to follow.  The verse regarding orderly worship I am thinking of is 1^st Corinthians 14:26 which says, “What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church” (NIV).  In order for a church to be strong, these must be taken into account and displayed among the body in proper format.  Rarely, however, is this format followed.   Third, the church can act as a mediator (like Christ is our mediator) between individuals who are having conflict such as the confronting of a member’s sin.  This is seen in Matthew 18:15-17, “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector” (NIV).  If a church body is able to show love and commitment to its members it can be an effective tool in combating sin and keeping a community united in peace.

            My prayer as I conclude this essay is simply that we as Christians can point people to the reasons for our beliefs and that we would understand the need to be together rather than in isolation. In my family, I never want it to be an option to not attend church.