Church

Men, on the most elementary level, you do not have to go to church to be a Christian. You do not have to go home to be married, either. But in both cases if you do not, you will have a very poor relationship.

Disciplines of a Godly Man, by R. Kent Hughes

This one seems rather basic – a Christian must have a discipline of church. At minimum, this requires regular attendance, yet only 58 percent of evangelicals attend church weekly. Hughes does not cite data for other traditions. From this Gallup poll taken about a year ago, those who attend weekly or almost weekly, as follows:

Protestant: 44 percent

Catholic: 33 percent

Orthodox: 26 percent

Latter Day Saints top the list at 67 percent.

Church attendance is infected with a malaise of conditional loyalty that has produced an army of ecclesiastical hitchhikers.

These hitchhikers have a certain vocabulary: “I go,” or “I attend.” Not “I belong to” or “I am a member.” St. Cyprian of Carthage wrote of these that they have God as their Father but reject the Church as their mother.

…membership in an invisible church without participation in its local expression is never contemplated in the New Testament.

Are we in the Church if we are not regularly in a church? Is the invisible Church sufficient? Certainly, some of this lack of participation comes down to the individualism that drives us away from the necessity of submission. Looking at the numbers in all three major traditions, this individualism cuts through all traditions.

Both in Scripture and in all traditions there are expectations of regular participation in a church. In addition to St. Cyprian, there is Augustine, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and others.

Hughes points to a passage in Hebrews that outlines the “stupendous meetings” that the Christian experiences in the Church:

Hebrews 12: 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

We come to Mount Zion, the spiritual counterpart of King David’s stronghold; we join with innumerable angels; we are firstborn heirs, being “in Him,” that is, in union with Christ; we come to the judge of all men, God, in awe; we join with the Church triumphant, with the spirits of men made perfect; we come to Jesus, the Mediator; finally, blood that speaks better than Abel’s blood, a blood that brings forgiveness.

Hughes describes the soul-enhancing benefits of regular attendance: worship, hearing the Word, Communion, discipleship, vision and mission. To gain these benefits requires participation, giving or serving, prayer, and membership.

It is to this last point, membership, that I will offer some personal thoughts. As I have mentioned often, I attend two different churches: one, low-church Protestant with an excellent pastor who delivers thoughtful sermons, and also an Orthodox church. As long as I do this – and I find much value in each – becoming a member would be problematic.

That is, if I was driven to become a “member” of a church. I have never been comfortable with this idea. We find nothing of it in Scripture. I think the concept probably never came up until society grew mobile and there were multiple traditions and denominations within easy reach for the average Christian.

Further, I do not like the division that this presents – and in some cases that division is truly troubling for me. I have written of my discomfort with the idea that one baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit can be denied communion if attending another church, yet this happens.

Then there is this:

1 Corinthians 1: 10 Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you.

12 Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

When speaking of a physical church building, I am one of those who can’t really say more than “I attend.” But I do “belong to” Christ, who is not divided; I do participate in His church’s local expression – it just happens to be two local expressions.

Conclusion

With all of that said, regular attendance and a healthy involvement in the life of the church is necessary if one wishes to grow. To worship corporately, to give, to serve, to be involved: these all require participation in a community.