Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Guest Week-Lauren Collins

I don’t need to go to Church

Have you ever heard anyone say this to you? “I don’t need to go to church. You must just need church more than I do. I have church at my home. I’m doing fine spiritually on my own.” It is often said as if the person views church as some type of crutch that Christians use to barely get themselves through their spiritual life. There are several issues that concern me about these types of statements, the first major one being that it says in Hebrews chapter ten, verse twenty five, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Not only does the scripture exhort us to actively assemble together, it also states in Ephesians that “Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it.”
The simple fact is I love the church. I don’t just go because I have to, I go because I want to. I cannot count the many times that I have needed, actively needed, to be in church and listen to the words that were said and the songs that were sung. I also know that I am not that different from anyone else. Can church be a crutch to help us stand spiritually? Absolutely. What I don’t understand is how that makes me less of a Christian. We all need help. That’s why we need a Savior, and if we need a Savior, we need to worship him.
            Another issue I have with this argument is that at its core it is incredibly selfish. It is very easy to think somehow that church is all about us but it’s not. At its core, I don’t go to church because I need to be propped up all the time. I go to church because I need to worship the creator. Church is a set-apart time in your week where you physically step away from the craziness that is your life and you sit down (or stand) and just worship him. If you get that same amount of worship at home with your TVs and your children and animals or even just day-to-day demands of life—well let’s just say you must be superhuman. God wants us to worship him. Matthew, Chapter four states, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.” God actively seeks for those to worship him in spirit and in truth. So in a way, he needs us to be in church.
            Additionally, there is arrogance yet again in thinking we can get through this spiritual life on our own without the fellowship of the brethren. Listen and truly hear the statement, “I don’t need church”. This implies that you don’t need fellowship which is actively against basic biblical principles. First John, one and three states, “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye may also have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the father, and his son Jesus Christ.” Whereas I do recognize that our true fellowship is with the father as it points out in this verse, that doesn’t undermine what is really being said here. At the beginning of the verse it states that they are preaching the word and truth of God so that others will have fellowship with God and with the saints of God. Church should be used as an evangelism tool. We should be preaching to lost sinners so that they can have fellowship with the father and with us. If you are saying you do not actively need this fellowship, then you are saying that you are okay with the idea that you and your family are the only ones that go to Heaven. You are saying that you don’t care if anyone else hears the gospel.
            Last but not least, let’s get our heads out of the sand and realize that even if you don’t need to go to church on any given night that it doesn’t matter because I need you to. The people that go to church need for you to be there. The need for you to care enough to come even if it’s raining or you have a mountain of work or a mountain of homework to do that night. They need for you to come even if you are so tired you can’t string a coherent sentence together. They need for you to care, to be active, to participate, to encourage, to give your testimony. As my father often says, “The church will only be as excited and dedicated as you are.” Quit lying to yourself. We need each other. The church needs you and is calling you to active duty. Don’t know what your gift or calling is? Doesn’t matter. Pitch in where they need help. Most all of us who are active in the church don’t think we are filling in where our calling is. That doesn’t negate the fact that someone has to do it. Someone has to sing. Someone has to preach. Someone has to testify. Someone has to teach. Someone has to cook food. Someone has to clean. There are a million jobs in the church for you to do and if your church or congregation is anything like mine, more often than not, most of us are doing more than one job because we don’t have enough people stepping up to the plate.

            Forget whether or not you need the church. The spiritual walk isn’t about you. It’s about sacrifice of self from the moment we kneel at the altar till death. Forget whether or not you need the church. The church needs you. 

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