Why go to "Church?"

 Growing up in a home where we went to “church” every time the doors were open was a blessing and a curse.  It was the belief of my parents that we must attend every church gathering without hesitation.  No arguments could be made as to why we can’t go.  It was a must.  So, we put on our leisure suits, polished dress shoes and a dab of dippity do hair styling gel for the right hair look and off all eight of us went to “church.”

The blessing of going to “church” as a little boy was hanging out with my friends and playing out in churchyard after church.  As a teen, the blessings were going on youth group trips, canoeing, church camp, and other fun stuff. 

The curse as a boy was that I had to take a Saturday bath and get all dressed up on Sunday in a suit I hated to wear.  It was a powder blue leisure suit that made me look a bit like a smurf.  As a teen, the curse was no kind of sport could be played on a Wednesday night…PERIOD!  My parents did not waiver.  While all my friends were playing ball, I was sitting in a bible class thinking about how I wanted to be playing baseball. 

After growing up a bit, I can look back and see the value of attending church gatherings.  However, I really do not remember one moment in my young life a time when I was blown away emotionally by a sermon or a bible class that brought me to my knees before God.  It was the “hell fire and damnation” style of preaching.  It was guilt preaching.  It was God is the all seeing-eye type of preaching.  It was the kind of preaching that made you afraid of God.  No grace.  No mercy.  No love.  No forgiveness.  No Spirit.  It was dogmatic with a heavy dose of guilt trip. 

Years later, I am still asking the same questions:  What is the purpose of our church gatherings?  Why do we put so much emphasis on attending them?  What is the relevancy of the worship gathering on a Sunday morning? 

According to Barna Group, 40% of unchurched Americans say the reason they do not attend a church is because they can find God elsewhere, while 35% says that the church is not relevant to them personally.  The survey also states that churchgoers have decreased from 43% in 2004 to 36% in 2014.  Millennial’s give three reasons why they do not attend a church:  1. The church's irrelevance.  2. Hypocrisy.  3. The moral failures of its leaders

These are alarming stats.  If God isn’t present in the worship gathering, then why do we have them?  Worship must be experiential, meaning, helping each one connect to God and the community of people who are in attendance.  Psalm 100 the Psalmist says to shout for joy, he calls us to worship with gladness and to come before God with a joyful song.  He impresses on us the value of being thankful for God and to give him the praise. 

When God is the centerpiece of our gatherings, then and only then will others see the relevancy in gathering with a community whose desire is making it about God rather than all the traditions we have created over the centuries. 

Remember, Be God Controlled!

Brian