2 in 5 married couples meet ONLINE today. But even those 2 in 5 couples who meet online don’t stay online…they get married. Love can be expressed online, but its fulfillment happens deepest through PERSONAL CONTACT. The same can be said about your personal relationship with Jesus through His body...the local church.
Online church DOESN'T ALLOW for serving opportunities & face-to-face interaction with others. When you get up early to set up and tear down, lead a small group of children, greet people with a smile, serve on the production team or serve meals to the homeless, somehow you find a place in service of a goal GREATER THAN YOURSELF.
Parents can catch a podcast or watch online, but KIDS really miss out when PARENTS MISS. To be with their friends who are running in the same direction & to have another voice (youth pastor) who knows their name, favorite food & hopes & dreams saying the same thing a loving parent would say, is so far unreproducible in the online world. I believe that when the parents miss church, the kids are the biggest losers.
About 20 years ago, a CHURCH MEMBER was considered active in the church if he or she attended three times a week. TODAY, a church member is considered active in the church if he or she attends three times a month. :(
Something is wrong with this picture. For 2,000 years, the LOCAL CHURCH, as messed up as it can be, has been God’s place for BELIEVERS to gather, worship, minister, and be accountable to one another.
And every time I mention something about church membership & attendance, I inevitably hear a CLAP BACK of “legalism” or “the church is not a building” or “the church is a messed up institution.”
But the LOCAL CHURCH....yes, the messy local church, is what God has used as His primary instrument to MAKE DISCIPLES. But COMMITMENT is waning among many church members in North America...in this trending cultural slope.
FIVE REASONS WHY....
1. We are MINIMIZING the IMPORTANCE of the local church.
When we do, we are less likely to attend. A few drops of rain may keep many folks from attending church, but it won’t stop them from sitting three hours in the downpour watching their favorite sports team.
2. We worship the IDOLS OF ACTIVITIES.
Many members will replace a day in their church with a day at kid’s soccer or softball games or sleeping off the hangover of the previous day’s activities.
3. We take a lot of VACATIONS FROM CHURCH.
I am not anti-vacation. But 20 years or so ago, we would make certain we attended a church where we were taking a vacation. Today, many members take a vacation from church.
4. We do not have HIGH EXPECTATIONS of our members.
Any purposeful organization expects and gets much out of it members, whether it’s a sports team or a civic organization. It is ironic that most churches do not come close to being a high expectation church.
5. We make INFREQUENT ATTENDEES leaders in our churches.
When we do, we are making a clear statement that even the leaders of the church do not have to be committed to the place they supposedly lead.
Recently I read where a leader of an organization told the members he did not want them if they were not fully committed. They could not be AWOL if they wanted to be a part of the group. He expected full commitment. He is a HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL COACH. And all the team members follow that high expectation of commitment.
If we truly expect to make a DIFFERENCE in our communities & our families, members of local churches need to have at least the same level of commitment as members of sports teams.
After all, the MISSION of each local church is FAR MORE IMPORTANT than any sports team on this planet.
At least it should be.
Every blessing God has given you comes through THE LOCAL CHURCH. He set it up that way. He birthed the LOCAL CHURCH. He mandated it with a MISSION.
Thank God for THE MESSY LOCAL CHURCH! Still the best!
#Room2019
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