The dearest place on earth

Treating church like a lunch buffet

There is a trend that is becoming more and more popular among "professed" followers of Jesus, which is best defined by the statement, "I can be a true Christian and not regularly attend and serve in a local church."

I can understand why people want nothing to do with organized church. Many people who do not attend a local church may have been burned in the past, be it from abusive and/or hurtful theology, overly-judgmental and hypocritical "Christians," or unnecessary church red-tape and politics.  However, when it comes to ecclesiology (the doctrine of the church), one must take their cue from the words of Jesus and the teaching of the Apostles, not from personal experiences, emotional responses, or faulty people.

Here are some real-life quotes from professing Christians who believe church attendance is optional in order to show the substance of this trend. The first two are from people I am connected to on Facebook. The third is from Donald Miller, author of “Blue Like Jazz”, in one of his recent blog posts.

"If you go to Church, do so in freedom and joy. If you don't, I pray you've found an intimacy with Jesus that sustains you without a weekly gathering, as is the life I lead."

"It's so difficult to say I know God called us out of church for a reason and a season.”

"Most of the influential Christian leaders I know (who are not pastors) do not attend church."

Let me be clear. To believe that one can be a passionate follower of Jesus and not regularly attend, serve at, and pursue relationships at a local church (a belief that stands in direct opposition to the teachings of Jesus, the teachings of the Apostles, and roughly 2000 years of Church history), reveals one of three possible realities:

1. Such a person has never read, in any meaningful depth, most of the New Testament.
2. Such a person does not possess a proper theology of the church.
3. Such a person is not actually a follower of Jesus.

While I know all three of these possibilities sound harsh, they are rooted in the clear teaching of the Scriptures. With that in mind, let me share with you why, Biblically, a follower of Jesus MUST be a part of a local church.

For the Bible tells me so

Hebrews 10:24-25 (written to a church of Jewish Christians) says: "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." The church is commanded to meet regularly, and those who do not are seen as in error.

ALL of the Apostle Paul's letters in the New Testament are written either to churches or to the pastors of those churches. His letters include, among other things, instructions for what corporate worship is to be like (1 Corinthians 11 and 14), instructions for what unity and relationships in the local church should look like (Ephesians 2, 4-6; Philippians 2; 1 Timothy 5), the qualifications for elders in the local church (1 Timothy 3; Titus 2), etc.

Church discipline, something that is to be administered by the elders of a local church to its members who are in sin, is taught and commanded by both Jesus and the Apostle Paul (Matthew 18; 1 Corinthians 5).

Spiritual gifts are given by the Holy Spirit to individual believers for the express purpose of serving and edifying the local church so that its members grow into the fullness of Christ (1 Corinthians 12-13; Romans 12; Ephesians 4; 1 Peter 4).

In order to guard the believer from straying towards false doctrine, God has given the local church to protect, serve, edify, and encourage believers to grow spiritually mature and healthy (John 10; 1 Corinthians 3; Acts 20; 1 Timothy 3). More than that, believers are to obey and submit to their elders in the local church (Hebrews 13). The simple conclusion is that if you are not committed to, regularly attending, and serving at a local church, you are unable to be obedient in all of these areas.

If you love Jesus, you’ll love His Bride

But what about the person who cries out, "The church is full of hypocrites! I have been so hurt and burned by church that I don't know if I could ever go back! The church is all about dead religion, not Spirit-filled freedom!" To that person I would offer a gentle but stern, "The church is for you, but it's not about you."

No church is perfect, and no person is perfect. We are flawed people, and many of us are trying to follow and become like Jesus, trusting that the Holy Spirit is working on us. Maybe you need to look and search for a church that is a place where you can connect well (theological agreement, trust in the elders, etc.), but do not give up on the church because of the people. Jesus hasn't given up on the church, despite the people comprised therein.

Charles Spurgeon once said:

"Give yourself to the Church. You that are members of the Church have not found it perfect and I hope that you feel almost glad that you have not. If I had never joined a Church till I had found one that was perfect, I would never have joined one at all! And the moment I did join it, if I had found one, I should have spoiled it, for it would not have been a perfect Church after I had become a member of it. Still, imperfect as it is, it is the dearest place on earth to us… All who have first given themselves to the Lord, should, as speedily as possible, also give themselves to the Lord’s people. How else is there to be a Church on the earth? If it is right for anyone to refrain from membership in the Church, it is right for everyone, and then the testimony for God would be lost to the world!

As I have already said, the Church is faulty, but that is no excuse for your not joining it, if you are the Lord’s. Nor need your own faults keep you back, for the Church is not an institution for perfect people, but a sanctuary for sinners saved by Grace, who, though they are saved, are still sinners and need all the help they can derive from the sympathy and guidance of their fellow Believers. The Church is the nursery for God’s weak children where they are nourished and grow strong. It is the fold for Christ’s sheep - the home for Christ’s family.”

If a follower of Jesus is to mature spiritually, grow into the fullness of Christ, be protected and held accountable, be sharpened by others, and be blessed by the Holy Spirit with the gift He gives the body, he/she must be attending, serving at, and committed to a local church.