It was an amazing Easter church service last week. Tons of people showed up. It reminded me of the Christmas service. It reminded me how each year a significant portion of the body of Christ shows up for Christmas and Easter services to enjoy Christian fellowship, and praise and worship the Creator and Savior of the world…Jesus Christ. It also reminded me that the rest of the year these “Christians” will be gone without a trace.
A couple questions are racing through my head.
- Why do they show up at all?
- Why don’t they show up each week the rest of the year
- What other parts of their Christian life have a momentary blip of activity, followed by an overwhelming almost deafening stream of silence
- Can you call yourself a Christian if you don’t participate in the ongoing and communal worship of God?
To be clear, I want these Christians to show up each week. I don’t think they are “bad” people. I think they have much to gain, and much to offer a Christian community (1 Peter 4:10, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”).
I think God wants them there too. I am simply perplexed as to why our pews surge during these two days and why these Christians go back to business as usual the rest of the year. I think it’s worth discussing, and I hope you do too. By the way, I use “them” and “they” because I assume I am preaching to the choir here. However, if you are one of these Christians, please let us know your thoughts too by sharing a comment.
So, let’s address each of these questions and speculate a bit.
Why do they show up at all?
The reason I ask this is simple. If people don’t feel compelled to join in publish worship during the year, why do they feel compelled to come at Christmas and Easter?
He’s worth it, and it’s biblical. Read Hebrews 10:25, Romans 12:5, and Luke 4:16. Hint: Even Jesus Went to church as a regular practice.
Maybe it’s out of family guilt? You are visiting your folks or visa-versa, the kids are home from college, and so you feel you must go through the motions with your family? If that’s true, I completely understand. Family pressure and guilt can be intense. I get it. But I look around and I don’t see a bunch of elderly folks with their younger adult children. Yes, I see more families. But the majority of the new folks I see during these Christmas and Easter services are just couples by themselves. So, are these mixed-faith couples? And they succumb to pressure to go on these special occasions?
Maybe guilt isn’t it. Maybe people just instinctively know that honoring God with their presence at Christmas (birth of Christ) and Easter (death and resurrection of Christ) is a good thing to do. But, if you think going to church two days a year is in any way honoring him, I would have to disagree. What you don’t do the majority of the time says a lot more to me than what you do two days a year.
Honestly, I just don’t get it. I’m hoping someone else will have a better reason. OK, on to the next question.
Why don’t they show up each week the rest of the year?
Maybe people don’t feel connected or truly part of their church. Well, going to church each week would certainly help you feel more connected. Finding an area within the church for you to use your gifts in service to others is the best way to get connected within a church and make it feel like home. And showing up each week to worship and serve among fellow Christians is a great way to feel connected to both God and other church members.
Maybe they are too busy? They can carve out two days a year (actually 2 to 3 hours per year), but no more. Life is just too busy. Really?
Maybe they don’t like the preaching? I go back to the first question: why show up at all? Maybe they feel the messages the rest of the year are too convicting of their thoughts and behaviors and attending those services makes them uncomfortable. Maybe Christmas and Easter services are just enjoyable enough to bear.
Maybe they don’t like _____(fill in the blank)? There are literally hundreds of thousands of churches that might be a better fit for you and your worship style. Find one you like, and then go…weekly. If you have to drive out of your way to the next town…then do it.
Maybe you simply prefer to watch church on television in the comfort of your home. Joel Osteen has a pretty big TV audience. But doesn’t he also have a televised Christmas and Easter service? Why go to a local church service for Christmas and Easter if watching a televangelist each week on TV is your weekly habit? Again, this doesn’t seem to make sense either.
Nope…none of these really make sense. It makes me wonder if these “C & E” Christians are really disciples of Jesus Christ. Maybe their faith just isn’t that important to them.
Anyway, all of this is just speculation. Onto the next question…
What other parts of their Christian life do they treat this way?
In other words, do these people pray two days a year? Do they have a quite time with God two days a year? Do they get together and serve their community two days a year? Do they read their Bibles just two days a year?
What ARE they doing the rest of the year? If I had to make a wager, I would say their thoughts are far from God and His will. I would say that their hearts have grown cold toward God. Or maybe they’ve never allowed God to warm their hearts in the first place.
Finally…
Can you call yourself a Christian if you don’t go to church each week?
If I’m not already in hot water, this is the question that will likely heat things up a bit.
Our Christian faith is not a faith of works. It is a faith of Grace. We don’t justify ourselves by mindlessly following ritualistic actions or traditions. And so, one might say that going to church doesn’t make or break a Christian either way. Maybe so.
I would agree that going to church is only one small part of the Christian life. And there are more important “essentials” to consider. But in my opinion, not going to church regularly does raise some questions about the authenticity of a person’s faith.
I don’t presume to have special powers to know without a doubt who the real Christians are. But I can fall back on scripture.
Matthew 7:16: “You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act.” (NLT). Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (NIV)
So, on the positive side, if you abstain from church, yet still produce the fruit of the spirit, maybe you still are a Christian. Given the choice, I’d rather see a Christian producing fruit (and not going to church), than to see a regular church goer who produces no fruit. I’d rather see a regular church goer AND someone who produces the fruit of a spiritual life.
Maybe you can love God with all of your heart, all of your mind, all of your soul, and all of your strength…and still not attend church each week.
Maybe you can have a real love relationship with the Creator of the universe, where you glorify Him in so many other ways that going to church just isn’t that important in the grand scheme of things.
Or, maybe you are too busy loving others, serving others, and worshiping God in other ways…and church just isn’t for you. Maybe you are wondering: why don’t people stop going to church altogether and get out in the real world and love and serve others like you do every day or every week?
Alas, only God knows who the real Christians are. Only God can peer into a person’s heart and soul and discern who is or isn’t written in His book of life. Ultimately, it boils down to where your heart is. Is your life connected to Him like an umbilical cord in a mother’s womb? Do you feel more or less connected to Him by going to church? If you don’t feel more connected, let’s talk. Maybe we can help you.
Summary
This message is not to suggest we should include church on a checklist of what it takes to go to heaven; not at all. What this message DOES suggest is that if you are truly one of His, then shouldn’t you feel compelled by the Spirit to go anyway?
Wouldn’t you be driven to worship him in every way…including weekly church attendance? If you were His, wouldn’t you ignore all of my “maybe’s” and go to church anyway; not out of duty but out of a love for Him?
Wouldn’t you want to make a habit of attending church each week to offer thanks, praise, and worship to your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?
Here is an important teaching: going to church isn’t all about you and what you get from it. If you’ve ever said to yourself “I just don’t get much out of going to church”, I would encourage you to change your thinking entirely about church.
Going to church is an act of worship. It’s a time of fellowship with other Christian believers. It’s an opportunity use the gifts God has bestowed upon you to serve other believers.
Church can benefit you for sure, through sound Biblical teaching and timely messages. But, church is really about coming together as the body of Christ in worship. And this coming together for worship should not be confined to Christmas and Easter each year.
This whole idea of “going to church” is something I struggle with constantly. It is interesting to me that our society has condensed the reality of Christianity to going to church. When I read the New Testament, I never read anything that suggests one should go to church. The only verse I can find, which is Hebrews 10:25 tells us “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.” Now how that got translated into attending church once a week is beyond me. Furthermore, as I read the New Testament I see overwhelming evidence that these new Christians didn’t go to church as we know it, but met in each other’s homes, and apparently did so almost every night. They would meet together and break bread, listen to the apostles or other disciples teach, encourage and edify each other, and truly interwine their own lives with other Christians. Unfortunately, I see very little evidence of Christians today intertwining their lives with other Christians. But the church hierarchy looks out on Sunday’s at the masses, and apparently believes these “Christians” that are in attendance are living the Christian life. Well, I like you, cannot determine where the heart of the masses is nor if they are spiritually where God wants them. However, I can confirm that my own walk with my Lord and Savior is much stronger when I pour my life into my brothers and sisters regardless of attending church. I also worship God regularly. Frequently I do that alone and I try to have a fellowship of believers come together at least every other week. If that is unbiblical, unChristian or somehow not what God wants from me, I’d sure like someone to explain it because I’m not feeling any push back from the Holy Spirit. We all have a different path to take, and for me, meeting with fellow Christians in or out of a church doesn’t really seem to change my behavior one way or another. As a final note, I would like to understand why you think the Holy Spirit would convict someone to go to church. It’s not like it’s His temple, since His people are His temple. Do I have to be in a building with a steeple to offer thanks, praise and worship to God? Do I have to go there to prove I love Him. Am I not able to use the gifts God has given me just as effectively outside the building as I can inside. In fact, I might argue I could use my gifts more fully outside the church as I won’t be tempted or persuaded to allow those in charge to do all of God’s work, but I can be fully under the direction of the Holy Spirit without any undue influence. As I said, it’s an ongoing struggle for me. I look forward to your remarks. May God bless you and your ministry richly and may your fruit be ever evident.
Kurt, thanks for the comment. You asked “why you think the Holy Spirit would convict someone to go to church?”. Here is one perspective. At the root our faith must be sound biblical teaching. I have personally learned that personal study is good, but not as good as having fellow Christians to discuss the interpretation of scripture…and learn from one another. Common misunderstandings can be easily cleared up when discussing verses with those more knowledgeable. In a perfect world, or at least in many parts of our current world, there are biblically sound pastors/priests who’s job it is to help us understand scripture. People who have gone to seminary have much greater depth and breadth of knowledge and can help us normal folks avoid common misunderstanding. So, not that Church is the only place that can happen, with a good pastor…I believe that church IS a place to get sound biblical teaching. If you are trying to learn it all on your own, this would be an area where the Holy Spirit may convict you to learn in more of a group setting. Church is one way. Church small groups is another way. And to reiterate, I believe church is just one small part of the Christian experience. I think it’s important; more important than just going twice a year. But like you’ve pointed out, being a Christian is more than just going to church. Thanks for sharing your struggle with us. I’m sure you aren’t alone.
I find this article exceptionally arrogant since it attempts to assume that only regular churchgoers are Christians. I would like to reply by saying that I don’t believe the church is Christian. Some churchgoers are undoubtedly Christian but the organisation’s values and the values of many of those who work for it are not. The reason many people – including myself – attend church only at Christmas and Easter is because we want to celebrate these great Christian festivals in communion with other Christians and there is a lack of other places to do this, especially since both festivals have become so over-commercialised. I myself attend services at those times in order to commune with Christian friends I don’t often see. The reason many people do not attend church regularly is because the church does not exemplify Christian values but instead extremely hypocritical worldly ones and it is pointless for a Christian to suffer this on a regular weekly basis. I am a committed Christian and chose at the age of 16 to be baptised and confirmed into the Church of England. I stopped attending church regularly at the age of 18 when I learned that the Anglican church had money invested in the arms industry. Profiteering from things made to kill people seemed to me about as non-Christian as you could ever get. In recent years, the church has disgusted me more and more with its lack of Christian values. It seems to me to be an organisation to promote male power hierarchies. The puerile arguments about whether women can be equal to men when it comes to being ordained ministers of whatever rank are sickening enough. But the Archbishop of Canterbury topped those by exhibiting absolutely non-Christian values by saying publicly that Britain should introduce Shari’a family law. I have lived in several Muslim countries and have seen firsthand what suffering Shari’a family law causes women. At its best, it leaves women suffering domestic abuse with no recourse to help of any kind, unable to divorce because they will automatically lose any access to their children. At its worst, it promotes the murder of women with no penalty for the murderer(s). I was present at the Archbishop’s speech and could not believe my ears. It shocked me to the core. Realising a man without the values of Christian charity and justice was the head of my church further removed from me all desire to attend that church’s services on any regular basis. I am not disgusted only with the Anglican church. The Roman Catholic church causes untold misery with its edicts – by unmarried men – that people should not use birth control and should not divorce. And what of the priestly celibacy rule that has led to so much paedophiliac behaviour from its ministers – and so much denial and covering up by those in its high positions? Where are the Christian values in any of this? Non-existent. More recently, I was shocked yet again by a lack of Christian values in the church, right at the heart of the city I live in. The aim of the global Occupy movement is to expose corruption, in order to build a more honest, equitable world; one that does not make the rich richer and the poor poorer, as has been happening in most countries in the world unceasingly for many years now, including Britain. In London, a group intended to occupy an area outside the Stock Exchange in the City. Barred from there by police barricades, they set up camp nearby, outside St Paul’s Cathedral. Despite the high entrance fees now charged for visits to the cathedral, the staff of St Paul’s depend on donations from the City business community to maintain the fabric of the cathedral. Compromised by their relationship with the corrupt financial corporations that caused the current economic crisis, they reacted in a truly non-Christian way to the Occupy group. They kowtowed to their City sponsors and worked to clear the Occupy camp off their doorstep. Amongst us ordinary lay people, images of Christ cleansing the Temple came to mind and that’s a fair enough image of what the Occupy movement is about even though most of the people involved in it do not claim to be Christians. Only Giles Fraser held out for God over Mammon – and he resigned his post. The Bishop of London eventually went some way towards repairing the damage done to the church’s reputation by setting up a discussion between the Occupy group and members of the business community but this was too little too late. Also, not content with clearing the camp, someone on the cathedral’s staff then lied to the public. When I went to give out St Nicholas Society Christmas cards to people coming to last year’s family carol service, there was a barricade around the cathedral square, which there NEVER has been in previous years. On the barricade was a notice saying that it had been erected AS IT WAS EVERY YEAR. So someone obviously was ashamed that it had been put there specifically to keep out the Occupy group and wanted to pretend to the public that it was there every year at the time of the family carol service. The lie disgusted me as much as the expulsion of the Occupy group. Where is the Christianity in all this? If the church ever publicly recognises its own hypocrisy and lack of Christianity and does something to get back to Christian values, then more Christians will attend church services regularly. I’m not holding my breath. My faith is in Christ but I, like other people who attend church only at Christmas and Easter, have little faith in the church. I don’t think there is a need to change the face of Christianity. The genuine Christian face shines bright worldwide. But there certainly is a need to change the church. Not its face, but its very heart.
Lynda, first thanks for your comment. And thanks even more for your passion. God doesn’t want lukewarm Christians. You are safe in that regard 🙂 I wrote this article because it was something I see every year which puzzles me. Not to condemn, but to draw out people just like you to help us understand. You’ve helped us and I appreciate it. As you’ve pointed out, there are many reasons to rebel against the church establishment. The church does need to be changed. I didn’t say that if you don’t go to church you aren’t a christian. I said it raises questions (in my mind) about the authenticity of one’s faith. Just like if someone said “I’m a Christian” but never or rarely reads the Bible. I would question the authenticity of their faith. Or if they prayed only twice a year….it would raise doubts. One question which you’ve already answered partially, which I raised in the article, is Why go at all? If you have such disdain and mistrust of the church, why would you partake at Christmas and Easter? It would be the same corrupt church then as it is now. Why would you not just call up your Christian friends and hang out, eat, talk, pray, praise God, etc. That’s the part I don’t fully understand about your practice. If my church was that way, I would find another church. I would sincerely love your additional thoughts on that. My encouragement to you would be to find a church where you DO feel the leadership is behaving in a Christian way. One of the nice things about my church is that it’s non-denominational. It doesn’t belong to a questionable hierarchy. So we can focus on BEING a church. I would also encourage you to pray for your church leadership (if you aren’t already). Pray that God would remove the corruption and cleanse the church of poor examples of Christianity. PS – Our organization’s name is “Changing the Face of Christianity”. That doesn’t mean we’re trying to gloss over an image problem. We ARE fighting for the heart of Christianity and Christians, so that the natural result is a face of Christianity that shines bright just like you suggest. It’s already a long organization name, but if space wasn’t an issue, trust me, it would have been called Changing the Face and Heart of Christianity. That’s what it’s all about.
But what does Easter or Christmas have to do with the Bible or Christianity. It may have something to do with Christians, but I see no connection with God’s Word – i.e. the two traditions are not Biblical but pagan. The question of whether or not attending church is important, to me, it is highly recommended and a better choice for if one does not fellowship with others on Godly matters, chances are that he/she is fellowshipping with some other grouping, usually indulging in worldliness (things that are largely about chasing vanity and self-destruction). I don’t think we should question or doubt the worthiness of spending time with believers when we hardly do same to worldly things that we generally subscribe to for the most part of our lives.
You might want to change your slogan to “reestablishing negative Christian stereotypes”, based on this particular blog. Christians ARE the church, no matter their geographical or temporal location. The building, ceremony, programs, and circumstance just fill the human need for some tangible and measurable way to experience His Kingdom. But His Kingdom is within us, regardless of whether we have a stamp of approval from the institution. If you want to change the face of Christianity, then my suggestion is to begin by recognizing that the institution is not the ecclesia. [I reposted because my first post was unintentionally anonymous.]
So much confusion and finger pointing….I personally agree that ones walk with Christ is his/her own. They can worship God however they want. I really don’t like to point the finger at anyone, because in no way am I even close to being Jesus, therefore I have no grounds to judge anyone for anything, doing so would be UN-christian. I do however agree with some points to this post. I do believe (as with anything in this world) that there are “part timers”, but that’s fine….as long as they are “part-timing” whole-heartedly and God knows that, then so be it. Not one single person on this planet can judge. Another side of it, I personally (in my opinion) feel energized in my faith when I attend church. I look forward to going every week, an I lead music in the worship service. It is very important to me with my walk in Christ and I truly enjoy it. Having said that, I understand how and why many people do not “enjoy” church enough to go regularly. My parents went to church every week while I was growing up, unfortunately the church we attended was not good for our christian growth..so I know exactly what it’s like to be “made” to go to a church I didn’t even enjoy or get anything from…for years! There are many Christians and non-Christians that attend church, that is the will of God…leave it to him, he has a reason for all things. Lastly, I agree with the original point of finding a church you actually enjoy and get something from (if you, in your heart, would like that). There are many domination a out there of Christianity, they all teach from the same book but in different ways. There are different types of Christians who meet in fellowship. For me personally….Catholisism is too “strict”, too “uptight” for me. I feel intimidated by the large cathedrals and outfits…personally I prefer a more “modern, laid-back” style of church. Don’t get me wrong, I have visited many glorious and beautiful cathedrals in my life, but for me, that’s all they are…magnificent religious buildings. I went for years without going to church, because I didn’t like any of them…I kept my relationship with God (which wasn’t all that strong, but it was there in my heart) very quite and personal…I don’t think that is wrong at all. However recently I felt a calling or “purpose” to use my gifts of music in the church. I am now about to attend college to finish my bachelors in music, and I couldn’t be more excited. Funny thing is, I’m not excited as much about performing or writing music in general, I’m excited about doing it as a Christian, because I feel every song I write and/or play is my way of worshipping my Father and helping other Christians in their walk with Christ. Even my own father, who is a christian at heart but like I said no longer attends church, asked me if I plan to “stay” in the christian music genre of music…and I said “of course”, why else would God give me such a burning passion to do so? As I said, I feel like it’s my calling and my way of using the talents God has given me for His purpose. So long story short, I am now a weekly (and sometimes 2-3 times a week) goer of church. I do that because I enjoy it, not because of guilt or others opinions. It’s for me, just as before I did not attend church because my relationship with God was my own, and it still is. I think it’s great if people can find a church they truly enjoy and it helps keep their faith strong, but if not, so what? Many are like I was and just couldn’t find a church they like, and honestly that’s where my faith grew the strongest…when I was alone with God, not at church. I think many churches unfortunately “ruin” any hopes of Christians wanting to attend church. This world has changed dramatically and churches need to adjust (and can adjust) and still teach the foundation of Christianity…but as I said earlier…as a believer, even I strongly feel that not one single person on this earth is more “holy” or “important” than another. Not one person on this earth has the right to question or judge another’s faith. If it is Gods will…and you are willing in your heart, He may use you to bring others to Christ…but only by His will…and trust me, if you are sitting here with opinions and judgements and questions about others faith, I do not believe God will use that type of personality to do His work….was it Jesus that was asking his desciples all these questions of “who this and who that?” Or was it his disciples who were asking Him the questions….we are here to be more Christ-like…bottom line….I do not believe Jesus would question people’s faith, he would give everything he had to SHOW his faith as an example. Even Jesus did not judge the sinners, he forgave us, he saved us. No human will ever have that authority to judge or forgive. So don’t do it….a lot of people don’t go to church because they feel they are being judged….that is NOT what Christianity is about, and unfortunately in many churches that is exactly what is happening….stop asking questions about others, worry about yourself, and let God lead you to the people He wants you to save, because trust me, he will give you the opportunity to do so if He wishes.