This morning I have a question rattling around in my head and pricking my heart. “Is church membership, attendance, and participation really that important?” Maybe you have asked this question at some point. Perhaps you are secretly asking yourself some variation of this question right now. If so, you are not alone. A quick look at church membership and attendance numbers in America will show that, even if people say they believe in Jesus, they don’t act like church is important to them. The short answer to our question is, “yes…and no.”
First, for the “no.” Belonging to an institution or participating in a religion is not important in the eternal scheme of things. If that is how you see church membership, attendance, and participation, then you are excused. If we approach church purely from a sense of duty, obligation, or religious ritual then we are completely missing the point. Don’t get me wrong, duty and obligation have their place (and one can argue religious ritual does as well). But they are empty and powerless on their own. The husband that kisses his wife each morning out of duty alone does not honor his wife or testify to their love. The same can be said of the wife who each evening asks her husband how his day has gone not because she cares but because she feels a sense of obligation. Who wants to have such a relationship? If that is how you approach church, then no one would fault you for not investing much in it. Thank God that there is so much more!
Now, for the “yes.” There are so many reasons to answer, “Yes, church membership, attendance, and participation is very important!” I can’t cover them all here so I will try to point to some of the most important reasons. First, grace through faith in Jesus alone is what saves a person from sin and transforms a one into a Christ-follower (Ephesians 2:8-9). Clearly, church membership does not save anyone. (Side note: that is why there are plenty of unsaved people at church. Are you trusting in Jesus alone as your savior or do you depend on your good works?) So, why invest in the local church? Three reasons: Treasure, Family, Mission.
Treasure. The Bible describes something amazing happening inside people who follow Jesus. They begin to value God more and more. In fact, Jesus describes it like a man who finds a buried treasure of unparalleled value. So the man sells everything he has so that he can by the land which contains the treasure. When we follow Jesus we begin to value God more than we value anything else. The expression of this is worship. When we highly value God, we want to proclaim His value to others and with others. Church helps us do that. We get to gather with other believers to celebrate the worth of God. Worship is about God, not about us. If worship has little meaning to you, explore how much you value God. If you can think of better ways we can worship God together, share your ideas with us. (Isaiah 26:8-9)
Family. We see over and over in Scripture that God puts followers of Jesus together for important reasons. These local groups of believers are to function as a healthy family or as a body made up of equally valuable but diverse parts. I know that a healthy family is the exception rather than the rule in today’s society. But Jesus brings us together so that we can protect, support, encourage, and grow each other. We celebrate together, we bear each other’s burdens, we meet needs, we serve, and we share our resources. If you are a believer in Jesus, then you have much to benefit from a healthy church family. Likewise, you have much to contribute the family. Even if you are a tough guy who “doesn’t need anybody,” there is a role for you in the body. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
Mission. When we are called to follow Jesus, He gives us a mission: “make disciples of all nations, baptize them, and teach them to obey my commands.” This is not a mission that is just for pastors or elders or missionaries or Sunday school teachers or other “special” people. This is a mission for every believer. Furthermore, it is a mission that is so weighty, so risky, so important, that it takes believers working together as a team to accomplish the task. Jesus puts local churches together so that we are stronger together than we are apart. Your strengths cover my weaknesses and her experience offsets his inexperience. One person’s courage emboldens another who is fearful. We are a team and we have a mission. Taking yourself out of the battle not only hurts you, it weakens us all. (Ephesians 4:11-16)
I have recently been deeply challenged by the words of Romans 9:1-3. In these verses, Paul reveals that he feels pain for those who do not believe in Jesus. He writes, “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen.” These words pierce me and expose my own sinfully self-oriented heart. May God open my eyes to see the glory of Jesus on one hand and the great spiritual need of the lost on the other hand. And may I be brought to my knees in anguish and sincere compassion to intercede for the lost and then may I be moved to rise and take to them the good news of Jesus our Savior!
Do these words of Paul resonate with you? Or do they reveal a lacking in your heart as well? Either way, let us take up with more fervency the task of interceding for the lost. Are you willing to join me in this battle? It is a fact that we invest in the things that we care about. Are there people that you love dearly yet who do not know Jesus as Savior? Fight for them on your knees! Do you have a heart to see your community reached with the Gospel of Jesus? Do battle for them! Is your desire to see Jesus glorified among all peoples and nations around the globe? Do the hard work of intercession! I look forward to standing with you on the front lines!
Lord, I sincerely confess my selfish heart. Break my heart with my own desperation for your grace through Jesus and move me to see the same need of those around me. Lead me to fight for your glory on my knees and to do the work of intercession for the souls of the lost. So let it be.
He must increase, I must decrease.
JasonPS
This morning I woke up in a bad mood. Do you ever do that? I definitely have my share of those mornings. I am not much of a morning person and that has never been in doubt. Usually, I prefer to not talk for the first forty-five minutes of the day. I don’t like being this way and God has done a lot of work on me over the years to smooth some of my rough edges. But today started with one of those moody mornings…and it has been bothering me. Even in the middle of my bad mood, I knew that there were spiritual implications for the attitude I have each moment. That’s when I felt a rebuke coming. Do you ever get those gentle corrections that hit you like a punch and cause you to stagger back for a moment? In my heart I felt God reminding me that my life is not about me. Each moment I live is to be lived for the glory of God. Even the mundane moments of daily routine or drudgery or even suffering can be lived for God’s glory. It’s not easy and it does not come naturally and I am not very good at it… But God is working on me. To finish up this bit of self-revelation with a point, I just came across this quote that I wrote down while listening to a sermon a while back: “It is important that Christ-followers live abundant lives, joyful lives. And it is important that we be seen living joyful lives in Jesus.” I am thankful that God reminded me that the joy I have rests with Jesus and the attitude I choose to adopt in each moment has the potential to exalt Jesus in sight of those around me.
He Must Increase, I Must Decrease.
JasonPS
