(posted : Monday Sep 19, 2011)
Church membership. For some people, those words send chills down their spines. Some have said they don't want to join the church because then they would have to be a deacon or on a committee or something. Some people don't see the point. Some people just want to be anonymous. For others, there are feelings of security, being at home and comfort associated with church membership. For some really great articles on why church membership is important, see Thom Rainer's blog here and SBC Life here. In fact, I suggest you do that before you move on.
Church membership. For some people, those words send chills down their spines. Some have said they don't want to join the church because then they would have to be a deacon or on a committee or something. Some people don't see the point. Some people just want to be anonymous. For others, there are feelings of security, being at home and comfort associated with church membership. For some really great articles on why church membership is important, see Thom Rainer's blog here and SBC Life here. In fact, I suggest you do that before you move on.
Today, I'm not going to talk about church membership, but rather being faithful in attendance to your church. Whatever church you consider "your church", should be the one you are faithful to. Why is this important? Well, there are a number of reasons. First of all, any time a church is trying to establish or build something, but you can't get the same people there two weeks in a row, it is very frustrating. You never know who is going to show up, and who you can count on. Second, as you can see from the above articles, church membership is a Biblical principle. If the membership of the local church is important, than one would assume that the attendance is also important. Third, it is a command. In Hebrews 10:24-25 it says, "And let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works, not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near." (HCSB) These verses clearly tell us that we are to be at our worship meetings.
This blog is not to criticize those who are sick, on vacation, have work, etc. However, I see more than just that. Many people like to church hop to see if Church X is doing worship better than Church T, and if Church E is doing Student Ministry better than Church U. Church is not a place to go "bargain hunting"! Church is a gathering of people to worship Jesus, to be challenged to live for Him more and more each day. It's a place to connect, a place to serve, a place to grow. It's a hospital for the spiritually sick; it's family for those who have none; it's a training facility for sending missionaries into the world.
Stop asking "What can I get out of this church?" and start asking "How can I serve God in this church?" Stop being selfish; stop looking inward; stop looking only for your own comfort. Start serving; start giving; start bringing the healing of Jesus to others. We've got to rise up and get on mission.
Find your local church. Get involved. Stop playing silly games. Be faithful to your local church.
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