What does it mean to be a follower of Christ? I have talked about my faith before here, and today I want to talk a little bit about attending church and how it relates, in my opinion, to being a Christ-follower.
I have attended church my entire life. I always went to church on Sunday morning. Once I was in Jr. High I also went to youth group stuff during the week one night. That was mostly for fun, but there was always a lesson to be learned as well. I don’t miss church much at all. The only time I tend to miss church is if I am out of town, and now with the addition of online church there is a chance that I will attend church via the internet either live or as a recording during the week (but that isn’t the same thing as going to church).
Being a part of a body of believers is important. It is talked about in scripture, and as a result has been supported by God for thousands of years. Being with others helps one grow as a believer. It brings in the communion of all following Christ together on a deeper level. Even when I don’t know the people around me at a church there is a sense of family there since we all believe the same core of the Gospel.
As a result, I think that one needs to be an active participant, a member one could say, in a body of believers that meets regularly to be a true follower of Christ.
Therefore, I have issues with people that only go to church at Christmas and Easter.
I think that most of these people are just pretending to be Christians for several reasons:
- There are the people that do it to make other family members (or friends) happy. They don’t really think of themselves as Christians per say, but they also don’t think that God will send them to hell since they are good people that come to church occasionally.
- There are the people that grew up going to church, stopped going regularly for any number of reasons, but still feel compelled to go on these two “important” days. I think this allows these people to still feel like they are making an effort to do the “Christian” thing.
- There are the people that truly think that going to church twice a year gives them an “in” with God. They are checking that box of attending church. They get a dose of a message where they hear the Gospel. That is good enough for them for the next few months.
I know that I am not God, and therefore I cannot say that I know for sure whether any one person is going to heaven or not. But I would argue that the people in the categories above are most likely not going to heaven. They don’t have the Holy Spirit in their lives guiding and leading them. I think that if they did they would have the desire to have that community. You can’t build community with people you only see twice a year (and the truth is you mostly likely won’t see the same people each time anyways).
I do think that some of these people may even feel something during these visits, but they don’t really listen to that feeling. I would assume God is trying to reach out to them, but deep down these people really don’t want church in their lives, and therefore move on.
I am not saying that we shouldn’t invite people to church on Christmas and Easter. It is true that there are lots of people that are more incline to listen to an invitation to church from someone on these two days (probably for the reasons mentioned above), and therefore if asked they will come. But here the key is that those doing the asking need to keep in touch with those people, and get them to keep coming during the year. To help them find a church to grow in. To lead them in Bible conversations. To build a community. Then that person that may have only come on Christmas or Easter will start to learn, grow and become a Christian through the power of the Holy Spirit.
I was just reading Matthew 13:1-23. This is the parable of the seeds being distributed on the ground in different locations, and depending on those locations the seeds either did or did not grow. I would argue that 2x a year church goers fall into the seeds either on the hard ground or maybe the rocks. People may hear something they like, but it isn’t going anywhere in the long run.
I realize that some may disagree with this. You may think that you can be a Christ follower and not be a part of a body of believers. I think it is possible. God doesn’t need people to allow a person to be a follower, but I would argue that you can’t be as effective as a believer without that body to help you grow, act, and make a difference in other’s lives just to name a few things.
Anyone have any additional thoughts? Do you agree? Disagree? I would like to hear your opinions on the matter.