At times Christians feel we are not getting much out of church. It often seems broken, antiquated, irrelevant, stogy, and even judgmental. We often reason that if we can simply watch a sermon online then we have done the church thing. This way of reasoning seems logical, but it reveals that the person behind it does not understand what church is all about. Church is not about you; it’s about God. Church attendance, prayer and giving are all ways that we can draw closer to our Heavenly Father while working with other members of the church to bring others to into an intimate relationship with Him. God knows the church is broken and yet He commands that Christians be part of a church. Why would He do that? Church participation is a spiritual boost in many different ways. Here are five spiritual benefits Christians miss out on when we choose to go the Christian life alone.
First, we miss the opportunity to help the church heal its areas of brokenness.
God designed the church to be a family. He organized it like a body. When one limb is injured, the rest of the body feels the effects. It is not able to function as it should. Soon the whole body begins to compensate for the deficiency rather than operating at its designed capacity. God has given the church to you and you to the church. Many abandon the church because it is broken. Ironically, it is likely broken because those who see the brokenness, and are called to heal it, walk away. They claim that there is no improvement, or that they have a superior moral insight.
Imagine if the good cells in your body left every time they realized part of your body was broken. Your body would break down beyond repair. If you as a Christian cease to be actively engaged in the church because it is broken, you are likely making the problem worse. Instead we need to see ourselves as white blood cells. We need to actively look for opportunities to protect and heal the body from dangers that have crept into it. We need to through our full weight behind the restoration process. That means staying and helping address the brokenness through love, prayer, and encouragement. The hard part is, others need to address our brokenness as well. When they do this it may feel like an attack, but in actuality it is the most sincere form of love. We can not heal correctly and completely without the rest of the body to help us. How well would a detached arm heal itself?
Second, we miss the development of our understanding of God and His will.
Church attendance doesn’t just help us heal as Christians, it also makes the Church stronger because of increased understanding of God. We all come from different backgrounds and life experiences which gives us a unique perspective on scripture. The older I get the more I realize how much wisdom there is in lifelong Christians that can be gained by living life with them and studying God’s word with them. As we study and discuss God’s Word together our mind is being renewed. Our assumptions are challenged. Many leave churches because they do not agree with what they are hearing. Sometimes that is wise, but in other cases it is us resisting the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8 says we need to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. If we leave whenever we disagree, we are not asking ourselves if God wants to transform us. We need God to show us where we are wrong in our assumptions and beliefs. That means that we will likely not agree initially to some things that God is telling us. Choose to stay and listen. Trust God to show you where your beliefs and values do not match His. If you abandon His people, you will end up accepting the beliefs of a different people, one that is in opposition to God.
Third, we miss out on the prayers of others for us.
God is clear that in some cases you have not because you have not asked. God has allowed some things He wants to give us to be available on the basis of prayer. If you are not in a Christian community, you will not have the prayers of others for you. Consider the man physically sick because of his sin in James 5. James says that the prayer of Godly men in the church can help heal the person. The sick Christian is to call on the elders of the church to pray for them. What if they are not part of a church? Who would they call?
Fourth, we lack the support of the people God gathered to serve Him in the world.
Many abandon church because they think it isn’t doing enough. Yet when God gives some Christians the burden for the ministry, they get frustrated because the church isn’t already addressing the need. They fail to ask a simple question “why would God give me this burden if He was already addressing the issue without me?” The burden God gave them is then twisted by Satan into an indictment of the church. God wants to use you to be the church to the world. Instead of getting frustrated, thank God for the opportunity to increase the effectiveness of the ministry. Obey God yourself, get started and others will come along side you eventually.
I once asked a group of Christians to pray for a ministry need I wanted to help fulfill. They did, and chose to meet the need as well. If I had not been in the community there would have been no one to help me pray. There would have been no one to help fulfill that need. God places us in the church, even the broken ones, to minister in ways we simply can’t on our own.
Fifth, we struggle in isolation and silence.
Church is a place to serve and be served. Church attendance should never come from guilt or obligation, it needs to always be rooted in love of God and others before yourself. Jesus told His church to weep with those who weep. How can we do that if we abandon each other? We are told to bear one another’s burdens. How can we know who to help and how to help them if we run away? When we do this we isolate ourselves from them. By removing ourselves, we also unwittingly isolate those we left in their moments of need as well. Christ calls the church to pray for, encourage, help, support, defend, correct, discipline and restore each other. This is true community. If you feel isolated at church ask yourself whether you are engaging in the ways mentioned above. Are you showing up as service starts and then leaving immediately? If so, how will you build intimate relationships? In Proverbs we are told that if a person wants friends they must show themselves friendly. If a Christian wants a loving, caring, forgiving, holy, evangelistic church then they need to model those things. If you do not stay so you can love on others, how will they know you well enough to know when they need to love on you? Do you want to part an intimate community? Actively give that intimacy to others. Do you want to be part of a safe place to struggle and grow? Offer that to others. Do you want to be part of a friendship that restores you when your broken? Be the friend who restores others when they are broken. As Jesus said “Do unto others as you would want them to do to you.” In short, you will often reap what you sow in relationships. If you feel lonely, get involved in consistent and strategic ways.
So why do we need the church? We simply can not be who God wants us to become without being in the broken body He works in and through. Failures in the church are not reasons to leave, they are opportunities God wants to use us to help transform. Along the way, He will transform us as well.