Why I need the church

Wow, did I ever stir the pot last week. My previous post on a certain celebrity, charitable giving and the church all made for a blog recipe that was bold in flavor. I got tons of feedback, most on facebook where I import my posts to. As well an anonymous reader (or readers) gave me some food for thought, and I had a stimulating online dialogue with a group of Christians who have basically walked away from the institutional church. I followed a link that someone gave me, and if you want to see the conversation you can click here. To everyone who gave me feedback I thank you; you've helped me in the process of rounding out my views. After some thought and prayer I decided to follow up last week's post with a response that, by applying the wording to myself, I hope to make a case for why I (and perhaps you as well) need the church. This is mainly intended for my Christian readers, but hopefully my "secular" readers (who probably say "So what?") will see the benefits as well.

Now, when I say "the church" I refer here to a local, organized assembly of believers. There's the concept of the "universal" or "Catholic" church (not to be confused here with Roman Catholicism) that all believers in all nations and for all time are a part of "the church." Those who object to the idea that Christians need to "go to church" say that they haven't left the universal church but rather the local church. They basically left because they were jaded by issues of leadership, money, doctrine, or whatever else that's turned them off. I don't blame them. I've been disappointed by the church too. As a former leader in the church I've seen the other side of doing church, and it's not pretty at times. You find out things about people and deal with issues that you wish you didn't know or have to handle. But does that give me license to just walk away from the church? Why do I need the church?

In a nutshell, the church is where I experience Jesus. And believe me, there's nothing better than experiencing Jesus. Whether it's at my home church of Calvary Baptist or Harvest Vineyard, my home-away-from home, or any number of other churches I've visited where the people love Jesus, I encounter Him there. When I worship God in a corporate setting I feel His love. When I receive teaching about God's kingdom and apply it to my life I become more like Him. When I serve others with the gifts that I have I sense God's pleasure on me. Guilt doesn't motivate me to attend church, but relationship does. Not only with Jesus but with people. In fact it's through relationships with people that I come to know Jesus more. I need the prayers and encouragement of those who love me, both parishioners and pastors. I've been blessed by the wisdom and guidance of godly people, and if I had not been mentored by the church leaders in my life I would not be the person I am today (which would not be a good thing). And I can't get much of this by jumping from church to church every Sunday, or not at all for that matter. I need to put down roots somewhere so that people can get to know me, and I know them, so I can encounter Jesus in a deeper way.

The church also is a resource for those in need; not only spiritually or relationally, but materially. I've been the personal recipient, on more than one occasion, of the generosity of the church in times of great need. And I'm not the only one; for several years now my home church (Calvary) has sent teams to Mexico to build houses for the poor. Two years ago we began sending groups to Vancouver to minister to people in their inner city. And once a month we send a group, on a Sunday morning, downtown to give away food, toiletry and clothing to the poor. We've spontaneously taken up oblation offerings for people in our congregation who have hit on hard times. We took up an offering for the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami victims. I can go on and on here. I'm not saying that we couldn't do more, but I am saying that the church, as an organized institution, can be a force for good in the world. I know it's made a difference in my life, and I know it's made a difference in the lives of others. I guess that's another reason why Bono hits a nerve with me - that there are actually churches out there that are doing the very thing he's saying they're not doing, which is helping the poor.

I understand the reasons why some people don't think they need the church. But honestly I just can't relate to them, especially when they say that God "told them" to leave the church. It flies in the face of everything I've read in the Bible and it flies in the face of everything I've experienced. Again, we see the world for who we are and not so much for what it is. So if your experience with the church has left you jaded, let me ask you this: Why throw out the baby with the bathwater? If the church you attend spends more money on its pastor or building than its worth, does that mean God has left the church along with you? Like I said in my last post, Jesus didn't let the hypocrisy of the day stop Him from going to the Synagogue every Sabbath, and neither should it stop me from going to church on Sunday. Besides, I have been just as much a part of the problem myself at times. So if I decided to stop attending church it's not so much as an indictment on others, but myself. Judge not and you will not be judged, Jesus said. It's a good word I constantly need to remind myself, especially when I'm in church on Sunday.