“Don’t go to church, be the church,” urged an influential Christian leader whom I respect.
I understand his call to action. If you must choose between attending a weekly service or demonstrating Christ through service, please calls the church to perform, please opt for the latter. Sacrificially loving your Christian brothers and sisters is preferential to attending Sunday morning service out of obligation. It’s better to joyfully steward our God-given gifts rather than sliding in and out of the back row every Sunday. Caring for the orphan, widow, and the jobless outweighs downing an (admittedly delicious) New Life Bible Fellowship donut and coffee.
Let me offer a quick caveat: when we talk about “going to church,” we aren’t talking about going to a building. The church is the people of God, it’s not a structure. The early church met in the temple and in homes, but neither the temple nor homes were the church; the people were “the church.” So it is with us. Whether we gather in homes or a in church building, we the people are “the church.”
But God doesn’t ask us to choose between going or being! In fact, making a choice to be the church without going to church robs us of the power Christ has offered us as he calls us outward to serve.
“Don’t go to church, be the church” is a false dichotomy. This admonition demands that we head west or east at the fork in the road, when God intends for us to hit the accelerator on the unbroken highway north.
The early church regularly gathered for worship, prayer, and teaching in the book of Acts. The glimpses we get of this vibrant community show the energy they received from the indwelling Holy Spirit in gathering and serving. It is as though they are a tennis ball, propelled out by the racquet of their gatherings to serve and share the good news in their communities, only to be propelled back to their worship meetings by the racquet of service. Back and forth they go, with each racquet energizing them back to the other direction. Or, consider a yo-yo, with the coiled energy of the string in the palm of the yo-yoer that is propelled downward until completely uncoiled, and then, with that same energy, spun back up into its coiled position only to be spun back out.
In Acts 2, Luke gives us a glimpse of this propelling and impelling energy at work in the community:
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
The early church didn’t feel the need to either “go to church” or “be the church.” This passage testifies that they did both.
The early church met regularly, pressing in to worship and prayer and the Word of God. These corporate gatherings were the energizing force for their spiritual health and for their spiritual service.
We misunderstand the role of the gathered people of God in our lives if we think that we can forego “going to church” and merely opt for “being the church.” We need the prayers of our brothers and sisters in Christ. We need to sit under the teaching of the Word, receive the body and blood of Christ together, raise our voices and sing praises to our Redeemer, and hear encouragement from one another.
When the author of Hebrews chastises some for pulling away from the gathered community, we see these spiritual necessities at the heart of his admonition. He urges, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Heb 10:24-25). The author sandwiches his exhortation to not stop gathering together between two admonitions. First, he calls them to “spur one another on toward love and good deeds,” and second, he invites them to encourage one another.
We need to gather because we need to be spurred on and encouraged as aliens in this world. We need to experience the presence of God manifested in his people. In essence, we need the body of Christ.
Data supports this claim. A University of Indiana study found that church attenders donated significantly more money to both religious and non-religious causes, and volunteered significantly more time.[1] In addition, many studies have affirmed that mental health is improved by regular church attendance.[2] Divorce rates have been shown to drop by 50% for those who regularly attend religious services.[3] A recent survey demonstrated that teens who attend church have significantly lower rates of depression, anxiety, and porn use.[4]
Meanwhile, our culture continues to disengage from formal religion. For the first time in the history of America, in 2020, fewer than half of Americans reported belonging to a church or other religious institution. Church attendance has been declining precipitously for years. The pandemic allowed us to have the ease of accessing content online. Still, we shouldn’t confuse watching a sermon (a great thing to do!) with participating in the gathered community, exhorting and encouraging one another. In his mercy, God doesn’t just leave us with his words (as vital as they are); he gives us his Spirit and his people.
Let’s not put a fork in the road where God has made a highway. On my own, I will flounder. On my own, I will make faith something I consume, not contribute to. Friends, let’s be the church and go to church.
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[2] See https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/05/22/study-shows-better-mental-health-care-workers-attend-church-column/5236473002/ and https://www.journalpatriot.com/study-indicates-regular-church-attendance-helps-mental-health/article_388f72c1-11c8-5fa6-ac59-09ab400c04f5.html, for instance.
[4] See my summary here: https://www.thebeehive.live/blog/are-teens-influencing-or-being-influenced-by-the-world#_edn1. The original survey is here: https://onehope.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/US-GYC-Report-3.pdf
Photo by John Price on Unsplash