The Danger of Cutting Back on Church

We live in a day and age of the “cut back.” Businesses are cutting back employees to increase an ever-elusive profit margin. Local governments are cutting back services to try to balance their budgets. I wish the federal government would cut back on their funded programs and cut back on my taxes. According to my doctor, I should be cutting back on my carb intake. Maybe when the government cuts back I will too.

Cut backs have even extended to the church. Members have cut back on their attendance for several reasons. In response to declining attendance, churches have cut back the number of worship services they hold, many eliminating the poorly attended Sunday Evening service.

The Bible addresses the gathering of believers quite clearly in Hebrews 10:24-25:

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

That phrase in the last part of the passage really stands out: all the more. “The Day” to which the passage refers is the day that the Lord Jesus returns. Much of Biblical prophecy concerning the “end times” seems to indicate that we are living in the last days. Given that scenario, we need to be together all the more.

Working in a God-hating culture, we need the encouragement of fellow believers. Living in a sin-polluted culture we need the accountability of fellow believers. Enduring the faith-challenging circumstances in these last days, we need the collective strength of fellow believers. Now, more than ever, we need each other all the more.

As your life gets busier and you are forced to cut back some things from your schedule, please don’t cut back your church attendance. You and your family need what the church gathered provides. You can’t get it anywhere else, and all of us need it all the more.

Accountability or Legalism?

SS Attendence cardA recent conversation with a friend brought back a childhood church memory that I had all but forgotten – the Sunday school attendance card.  Each Sunday, we recorded how “faithful” we had been during the week in such matters as daily Bible reading, lesson study, giving an offering, and church worship attendance. Individuals and classes received grades related to the accomplishment of those activities.

My guess is the demise is due to at least two somewhat opposite conditions.  On the one hand, such a practice could lead to a legalistic and empty pride.  One might simply go through the motions of “accomplishing” all the activities indicated on the card and feel good about themselves for merely doing them, all the while receiving no real lasting spiritual benefit from them at all. On the other hand the practice may have disappeared due to our great aversion to accountability.  We didn’t want to read our Bible daily, bring an offering, stay for church, or study our Sunday school lesson, and we didn’t want anyone else to KNOW we didn’t do it, so we removed the evidence.

While those activities may have become someone’s legalistic benchmark, they were at least initially deemed to be disciplines of spiritual value.  Studying one’s lesson, reading one’s Bible, contributing financially, and attending church are all ways that God uses to help us become more Christlike.  I am not advocating a return to the Sunday school attendance card, but I do think we need to discipline ourselves to godliness (1 Timothy 4:7).  When we removed the accountability, we stopped developing disciples.  When we stopped developing disciples, we fell sorely behind in impacting our world for Jesus.

I strongly encourage you to find an accountability partner or group who will spur you on toward love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24-25) and challenge you to INTENTIONALLY engage those activities that will help you grow to be more like Jesus.

What to Do When Two or Three Are Gathered Together

I love corporate prayer.  Few things compare to interceding alongside other believers.  Even since my days of youth I have enjoyed prayer meeting.  Having said, however, there is a Bible passage that is often mistaken for a verse about prayer.

Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” – Matthew 18:19-20

While encouraging group prayer is always a GOOD thing, using this verse to do it omits another very important Biblical instruction: dealing positively with another believer who has sinned against you. A quick reading of the preceding verses in Matthew 18:15-18 clearly reveals the context in which Jesus was speaking.

These verse indicate what a believer is to do when another believer sins against him.  Notice the catalyst for this confrontation – SIN, not disappointment, disagreement, or difference.  When another believer doesn’t measure up to our expectations or does something with which we disagree, then we are called to exercise forbearance and patience, but when the offense is clearly a SIN against us we are instructed to take positive and proactive steps.

First we are to lovingly confront the believer and make him aware of his sin against us.  Hopefully, at that stage reconciliation is achieve and the matter is over.  If not, then the offended believer is to take two or three people to attest to the fact you tried to resolve the issue peaceably.  If that doesn’t work, then it is time to hold the sinful brother accountable to the congregation.

These steps seem incredibly uncomfortable because we so seldom employ them.  Most of the time, we ignore the offense and allow the sinful brother to continue in his sin. Quite often his sins grow increasing egregious, because no one lovingly confronts him.  Still other times, we skip the private first step and we bring a “posse” to the one who has offended us and we attack him in a group setting.  That always creates more hostility rather than fostering reconciliation.

Taking the prescribed Biblical steps honors God, shows respect to fellow believers, and testifies to the Grace of Christ.  It is simply the RIGHT way to do things.  When two brothers in Christ come together when once there was disharmony, the presence of Christ is evident in their union, and the testimony of Christ to the lost world is encouraged.  Sure, it is great to pray together as believers, but it is even greater to come together Biblically when one believer has sinned against another.