You Don’t Have to Go to Church!

You know…you don’t need to go to Church to be a Christian…

Or, at least that’s what people have told me over the years. Not one, not two, not three but many fellow believers in Christ did not see the need for or significance of attending Church. And, I don’t believe I’m guilty of sampling error.

In September, Barna released an article entitled, The State of the Church 2016, discussing the trends of Christianity in the current American landscape. One metric of interest was the percentage of practicing Christians. According to the article, the definition of “practicing” was “a self-identified Christian [who] attends a religious service at least once a month and says their faith is very important in their life.” The percentage of practicing Christians was 31 percent.

Now, I want to pause for a second. Something about that definition of “practicing” makes me laugh and cringe a bit, and it has to do with the low standard put in place. To these Christians, faith is very important, but they may show up one Sunday out of the month. This is interesting because one would think high importance would be married to high involvement.

Put another way, I believe my boss at the office would find it less than amusing if I considered my job very important and showed up one week out of the month. And, I’m sure my future wife will understand how important she is to me if I only see her or spend time with her three months out of the year. So, showing up 25 percent of the time is considered the minimum for practicing? Hardly. That just means the percentage of practicing Christians is even less than 31 percent.

But, why? Can we be Christians and not go to Church?

From a technical, theological perspective, yes.

From a Christological, Kingdom perspective, no.

In Romans 10:9, Paul emphasizes the need for a personal relationship with Christ, declaring: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Further, in Ephesians 2:8, Paul underscores the work of grace, not of personal works, stating: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—” So, yes…being a believer is most definitely a one-on-one relationship between you and the Lord and not contingent on the fact that you went to Church 500 times in your life rather than 400. But, it doesn’t stop there.

Further, for those of my believing friends that do not go to Church, I want to note that I am not questioning their faith for I believe they are sincere in their love for the Lord. However, I do believe they are sincerely wrong about their concept of the Church and its role in the Kingdom.

I have heard various arguments from people over the years as to why they didn’t go to Church. I address three of these arguments below:

• I am too tired.

I’m always amused by this argument, as if it’s supposed to excuse your absence. It’s the school equivalent of “the dog ate my homework.” It doesn’t work in school (mostly). It shouldn’t work in Church.

To parrot what I expressed above, such a defense expresses your priorities in life. In most cases, you’re showing up to work throughout the week and trying to enjoy your relationships during the other times. Or, perhaps you really enjoy watching football or pursuing various hobbies. We seem to have time for those items all throughout the week, but waking up “early” on Sunday…My gosh!

In essence, we have placed a premium on non-spiritual pursuits. But, another implication lingers: we minimize the power of God in our lives. He is always present for spiritual refreshment, but I would argue people are “too tired” because they’re trying to go through life based on their own strength.

Isaiah 40:28-31 states it plainly. The LORD gives strength to the weary and renews the strength of those who hope in the Lord. Church allows us to engage our faith–to worship, to fellowship, to study, to pray, to serve. If you’re attending Church with your eyes on Jesus, leaning on Him, He will sustain you and refresh you with living water that only He can provide.

• I can’t find the perfect church.

As Will Smith’s character yells in Independence Day, “Welcome to Earth!” We live in a broken world with sinful people. If you’re searching for perfection in Church when the institution is made up of sinful men and women, you’re definitely going to be disappointed. Take a look at the The Church Isn’t a Fast Food Joint post.

I enjoy baking, especially cookies. Sometimes due to heat or time or any number of factors the confections don’t quite look like cookies. But, man…they still eat well. I’m not dissuaded by their outward appearance because I know they will be sweet to the taste.

If you’re focused on the imperfections, you’re going to miss the sparkles of perfection. The Lord is good and perfect, and He is revealed through His creation, including humanity and the Church. Do people make mistakes inside the Church? Absolutely. But, the Lord is able to work in and through such people to accomplish His great works and sovereign will.

In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul speaks of division within the Church at Corinth, but he didn’t tell them to give up on the Church. Instead, he gave the members perspective. He plainly stated that together they comprised the temple of the Lord: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.”

• I don’t need other people since it’s my personal relationship with Christ.

This argument causes me to knee-jerk immediately with a few counterarguments. First, it’s downright arrogant to assume you are so fully equipped in your faith that you lack no spiritual gift or wisdom. Last time I checked we are imperfect and have not attained perfection in our spiritual walks. There is always room to learn and grow, especially from those God has placed in our lives.

Second, this view minimizes the Church body. For one member of the body to go it alone is ridiculous in context. I may function as a figurative eye or elbow or pinky toe in the Church body, but to suggest that I can operate individually is ridiculous. What is a pinky toe going to do by itself? There is awesome synergy when the Church body comes together in service to God.

Finally, it is quite the display of hubris to tell God that you found a better way to live the Christian life…because that’s exactly what you’re doing. Jesus established the institution of the Church when he commissioned Peter in Matthew 16. To minimize the Church’s importance is to ignore the words that came from the very lips of our Savior. The Church has a distinct role in Kingdom work.

An old African proverb states, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” The Christian life should be marked by active engagement and pursuit of the faith in a corporate manner. The Lord gave us the Church to lean on each other, to serve together, to worship alongside each other. Don’t minimize one of God’s great blessings.

Stop living your faith in a silo.

Z. Montgomery