There's No Excuse For Not Going To Church

You don't need to go to church to go to heaven, but you do need to be actively involved in church to be a healthy, growing Christian.  As a Christian you should not only regularly attend church, you should plug into a small group, find a way to serve, and bring your tithes and offerings.  This should be normal for every Christian.  

Sadly, many Christians in America today don't go to church at all, or they only attend once or twice a year.  Why is that?  People typically give one of five excuses for neglecting church.  In this blog post I want to address each one.  

1) "I'm too busy."

If you are too busy for church, then you are too busy.  For example, if you are a college student and you are too busy to go to class, do your homework, or study for tests, then you are too busy.  If you are too busy to take care of yourself -- to brush your teeth, to exercise, and to get sufficient rest, then you are too busy. In the same way, if you are a Christian and you are too busy to obey God's command to be actively involved in church then you are too busy.  You need to find ways to cut back to make room for what's most important.  However, usually you make time for what's important to you.  We all do.  So if you're too busy for church, that just means that church isn't important enough to you to fit it into your schedule, and that needs to change.  

2) "There are no good churches."

There are no "perfect" churches, but there are plenty of good churches.  If you find a perfect church don't join it, because then it won't be perfect anymore.  Seriously, saying that there aren't any good churches is essentially saying that you are too good for all the churches in town, and you're not.  You won't find a church that has absolutely everything you're looking for and checks all your boxes, but you will find plenty of churches that a plenty-good enough.  Most importantly, if you can find a church that aligns with your essential beliefs (not necessarily tertiary issues), then plug in.

3) "I have been hurt by the church."

Who hasn't?  If you haven't been hurt by the church, then you obviously haven't attended very long, or you haven't gotten very involved.  Churches are filled with imperfect people -- people who struggle with pride, insecurity, selfishness, impatience, and all types of sins and spiritual immaturities.  Just like a family, when you rub shoulders with imperfect people you're bound to get hurt AND hurt others.  But that doesn't mean you give up on church.  I'm sure you've been treated badly at a restaurant before; did you give up on all restaurants?  Of course not.  If you've been hurt so bad that reconciliation is impossible, then leave and plug in somewhere else.  But unless the sin against you was extreme and the offending party refuses to repent, then most of the time the best thing to do is to forgive and grow together.  

4) "I don't need the church."

Some people think, “I can be a healthy Christian without church.  All I need is Jesus and me."  But that’s not what the Bible teaches.  The Bible teaches that you need church.  You don’t need to go to church to go to heaven, but you need church to be a healthy Christian.  Christianity is a team sport.  It’s more like football than golf or bowling.  As good as he is, imagine if Patrick Mahomes tried to face off against another team all by himself -- one on eleven.  He would get killed.  In the same way, God did not make you to go solo.  No matter how strong you are, God made you to do life in community with other Christ-followers.  Let me be frank.  I've never met a mature, doctrinally sound, healthy, fulfilled Christian that is unchurched.  Healthy Christians are connected to the body of Christ.  

5) "I don't have to go to church."

Some Christians don’t think that church involvement is a command.  They think it’s optional.  But it’s not optional; it’s a command.  It is mandatory for Christians to be actively involved in church.  Christians who neglect church are sinning.

Consider Hebrews 10:25, where it says not to neglect meeting together.  Or consider how passionate Christ is about the church – he builds the church (Mt 16:18), loves the church (Eph 5:25), gave His life for the church (Eph 5:25), feeds and cares for the church (Eph 5:29) – and as a Christian you are called to imitate Him.  Or consider the many commands in Scripture that are impossible to obey if you aren’t involved in church.  You are commanded to pursue the unity of the church (1 Cor 1:10); to follow the leadership in the church (Heb 13:17); and to practice church discipline (Mt 18:15-20).  Those can’t be obeyed without being involved in church.

The truth is that you need the church and the church needs you.  If you are disconnected from the body, not only are you missing out, but the church is missing out.  So, I encourage you get back into church this Sunday.  Don't just make an appearance; get plugged in -- deep.