What determines if people in your church make it to the gathering on Sunday? What do you think goes on in their hearts and minds as they get up out of bed on Sunday morning and attempt to make a decision as to whether they will “go” to church or not?
I think a key task in discipleship these days is leading people out of the bad habit of going to church – where such a decision even exists on a Sunday morning for people.
I think over the last forty years of American church, Christians have been habitualized into going to church for bad reasons. We have learned to ask the wrong questions as we consider “going to church.” These bad questions then shape us towards a certain disposition so that when we do go to church we are incapable of entering into the worship of God so as to be formed into His life and Mission. AS A RESULT, WE ARE AS A PEOPLE CUT OFF FROM ENTERING INTO THE LIFE OF GOD AND WHAT HE IS DOING – ironically by the ways we “go to church.”
Over the years, I have noticed some of these bad habits have been trained into people particularly well by mega churches (although believe me we all do it). Some of these bad habits/bad questions might be:
1.) The bad habit of asking “Who’s preaching this morning?” When we get up on Sunday morning (or for that matter whenever the time is for you that you consider whether to make it over to church), if we find ourselves asking this question, it is a signal that it is already too late. We have missed the point of the rhythm of the gathering. We do not go to church to hear a good sermon. We go to practice submitting to the Word and responding to it so that we can do the same throughout the week no matter what the form the coming of the Word might take. Surely we need trained and gifted proclaimers of the Word. They help! Nonetheless, remembering that the greatest impact of the Word was made by a preacher who was a bad communicator (apostle Paul – see for example 1 Cor 2:1-5), we should make the hearing of the Word on Sunday a discipline to train ourselves into for life. We should NOT practice being mesmerized by charms and wit of the motivational speaker.
2.) The bad habit of asking “Do I really need this morning?” When we get up on Sunday and ask this, it reveals that we are trying to live our lives in independence from God. We are in a sense asking whether I need this service to connect with God or, strangely, am I good on my own. Yes? Any time we ask this question, I suggest, we are in essence missing the point. We are not going to the gathering in order make a connection to God in worship. We are going to submit, quiet ourselves, and practice with others living in the presence of God so that our sensibilities are properly trained to continue in His presence the rest of the week. It’s a spiritual discipline that continues into the rest of the week not a point of contact to live off of the rest of the week. The worst thing that can happen to us is to need or become dependent upon some emotionally induced high we get from a produced worship experience that cannot be part of our ongoing way of being the rest of the week.
3.) The bad habit of asking “Is so and so going to be there?” Of course we go to the gathering on Sundays to be with people. It’s corporate for a purpose. Together we become the people of God. I believe a rich kind of community develops out of our corporate worship together as well as many other social practices. Nonetheless, let’s guard against gathering purely and only for who we can connect with. Let the community develop out of our life in God. Let it be part of a wider rhythm Let’s understand that regular rhythm of seeing and being with people in worship feeds into fellowship in every other area including those who are not in Christ. If this is the only time you see Christians all week, this is another signal of a bad habit of going to church.
BOTTOM LINE
The bottom line is we are desperate in N America for training ourselves out of some bad habits for going to church. We all too often go to get something whether it be “lights out” preaching, “worship experience” or even connecting with someone I really need to talk to. Not surprisingly, busy suburban self-sufficient evangelicals miss church more than half the Sundays. 50% of all evangelical Christians only go to church twice a month. Sadly church is something we do, instead of part of a rhythm for life with God in His Mission. I contend we need to see the gathering as a sustaining part of a whole life rhythm for mission. Worship at the Sunday gathering should part of a whole life rhythm so that gathering on Sundays is the equivalent of eating, bathing and the other things we do to sustain our lives. It should be such a part of everyday life that indeed asking the question of whether to go or not on Sunday morning would seem rather strange, like the occurrence of an emergency or something.
Do you agree? Do you think I have just made the church gathering more important? What other bad habits of going to church can you think of?
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I loved this.. "We are not going to the gathering in order make a connection to God in worship. We are going to submit, quiet ourselves, and practice with others living in the presence of God so that our sensibilities are properly trained to continue in His presence the rest of the week. It’s a spiritual discipline that continues into the rest of the week not a point of contact to live off of the rest of the week." Couldn't agree more. I'll be re-posting this. Thanks Dave.
Right. On.
Along the same lines…"I hope so-and-so is leading worship today." Reflects the same sort of consumeristic attitude towards church. I couldn't agree with your post more! Thanks for sharing.
Haven't we fostererd this by putting church opn par with other forms of entertainment? This has become a hallmark of modern evangelicalism. A good show along with cheap grace.
Great thoughts, David. I think a huge part of the general problem in our approach to church today is we have forgotten that church is a sacrament. What's worse is we've forgotten what a sacrament is.
"Sadly church is something we do, instead of part of a rhythm for life with God in His Mission." Church is not a "Rhythm" because that even suggest somthing that must be done, church is the People of God, WE are the church so it's not something we do, or just a "rhythm for life" church, for the believer, is "who we are, the bride of Christ." Church is not the gathering of Gods people for an hour or so on Sunday, Church is the Gospel transforming community of believers responding to the life, death and resurrection of Christ for his Glory. Sunday morning is just one of the ways God has asked the Church to respond to the Gospel because that is how he likes to be loved and worshiped. While I appreciate the mood of the post, just realigning behavior will not change things, responding to the Gospel will.
I have thought about Church in general. It seems that the style of services is for the congregation to watch not really participate. Only a few people really lead the service and the rest sit back and do what they are told. This disturbs me. I have attended a couple of services with the Jehovah Witnesses, and whatever else you may thing about them , They have a participatory service. The congregation participates by being informed of the sermon texts and content ahead of time to read, pray and prepare, and then at the service answer questions about the texts. Church is about ministering to each other, learning more about our walk with God and each other. But the services need to provide that opportunity as fully as they can.
I really enjoyed the post, thanks Dave. Especially the willingness to look at how "church" in this day and age is geared for the comsumer and perpetuated by the consumer.
I am also glad that you asked the question at the end on whether or not you made the church gathering more important, because in a sense, I think you did. You seem to appraoch the topic with an assumption that of course a Church gathering should be on a Sunday morning. I believe the Sunday morning gathering has been made way too important in our church culture. In response to this, and Sean's comment in which he says "Sunday morning is just one of the ways God has asked the Church to respond . . ." No where in Scripture does it tell us to gather on a certain day of a week, be it Sunday or any other. The more sciptural approach is actually to meet DAILY. Dave, you touch on this bit when you talk about a rythem, and I totally agree. We, as the Church, should live in a rythem of community and gathering with one another in many different ways and settings. I believe this is the example that we get from Christ and the disciples in the Gospels.
Somehow, over the course of generations, we have come to believe that Sunday morning is when God wants us to meet, like he is more available to us then! Of course, I believe this to be completely false. While in our culture a Sunday morning gathering may be most convienent, it should only part of a rythem that we live out daily. This thinking will suddenly downplay the importance of one particular gathering because there is so much more opportunity be the Church in our everday life than just one morning a week.
Just FYI … Aaron … the Sunday morning gathering is located on Sunday why? Because we gather on the day, time of the resuurection … there's a living into a historical memory here… and so a theology of time and rhythm I think is too easily dismissed here in your comments .. peace bro …
I agree with the historical importance of Sunday morning, but eschatologically worship will be 24/7.
I think The Burner is also hitting on the issue of 'Why Sunday?' often arises. The majority of Western Christians have Sunday off – so for purely rhythm reasons it is a logical day (and for what David points out). I think the concern about Sunday being THE day is a distraction. I sense people are crying out for something that is less a chore and that they have a burning passion to be with people we love and want to share God's love with others. If this was true we wouldn't care what day or even consider the question; the community would find their day in the Spirit.
David, fantastic post! Like andrewsporch, I was drawn to the idea of going with others to submit to the presence of God. I had never even heard this idea of "connecting with God" in a service until 20 years ago or so. I quite often felt a little bad, like I was missing something, because friends would say that they had really connected with God on a particular Sunday or another, yet I don't think I ever had that same feeling. So, I am really connecting with your description of why to go to church. I think I'm even beginning to see my dad and mom's priority of going to church in a different light. In a way, I think they had these ideas of rhythm and submission. This is just what we did. Of course adding Sunday nights and Wednesday night prayer meetings, I see, were all a part of the rhythm.
Of course you also give me great back up for when my wife asks me what I get when I read the Bible. I always tell her, "I am a patient hearer of the Word".
Great food for thought in terms of how I disciple people. Thanks David…
David,
It seems that the "style" of a worship service may make it more difficult for some people to go to church too. Many of the bad habits you suggest seem to rise out of what the church is doing more than what the individual Christian is choosing. It seems to me that while all of us must take responsibility for ourselves in this – entering into the rhythm of corporate gatherings, many churches (e.g. mega churches and smaller ones who copy it) have created a climate that make these bad habits more possible. Agree?
Scot … oui …
you speak my language …
This has been an issue we've been wrestling with in Los Angeles: discerning why we gather and what formats or experiences best provides for the reason/vision behind our gathering. We want to lead people in an experience of God, but do not want to suggest that God is only or best experienced in our particular gathering; we want to facilitate an experience of community while recognizing that many of the intimate relationships are formed in venues other than our large group gathering. Lots more could be said, but I appreciate the rhythm/discipline aspect you raised and look forward to continue conversation about what missional gatherings look like.
I also agree that people are often tied up in the thought of "going to church" as if they're not already a part of it. They don't realize their importance in the church. They see church as a place that Christians have to go to each Sunday in order to be a part of the faith. I think they are forgetting their own place in the church. People, as you said, focus on who's preaching, or rate the worship that day, but they lose perspective of their part in the body of Christ.
I Cor 12:14,18 "Now the body is not made up of one part but of many… But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be."
I believe that if people realized their individual spiritual gifts and learned how to use them to better God's kingdom, the "going to church syndrome" would be cured.
My only problem of going to church: waking up early in the morning. I have no problems of who are preaching because the priest always manage to catch people's attention in his sermon and connecting the bible verses to anecdotes and everyday lives. The choir in the church is also great. Perhaps it is case to case basis. Thanks for the article
People try to find reasons not go to church because church is frequently boring. Most services are neither participatory nor engaging. The common sing-announcements-special music- didactic sermon (with no chance for response or questions from the congregation) does not fit what people are seeking from their free time.
It's no wonder that people are finding going to church to be a chore. We've got to find a new model–not just dressing up a typical service with graphics behind the words on a screen, or bringing in a funny preacher, or trying to force community during one minute of greeting time. Talk about old wine in new wineskins.
Just wanted to say thanks for this article. My family is part of a house church for a season, and one of the things I've tried to do as we "de-tox" from traditional church for a while is to remember that there's no such thing as "going to church" if we are The Church. Instead I've used language like "Church gathering" to describe what we do on Sunday mornings. A couple of Sundays ago, my sweet 2 year old told us it was time to "go to our church gathering," and I was so pleased!
David, I like your topic and the responses. I prefer a "gathering of the church" rather than the church. I don't go to church, I am the church or at least, part of the church.
We've made church into product. One that gives you purpose, or is good for your family dynamic, or whatever. All that may be true, but it misses the point.
[...] Fitch on the bad habit of “going” to church. Good stuff as [...]
For "worship" to be part of our daily living throughout the week is a big challenge. Two things: the first question is that of the secular/sacred divide. I'm interested in the question in the theological and practical senses. Some theologians I got to know recently will say something like: it is in the purely human experience that we encounter the divine. Specially when we are with the suffering and oppressed ones. The second question to me is an anthropological one. I am really excited to think about worship practices embedded in our daily living. But can we so seamlessly intertwine the secular tasks with divine meaning so that the borders go away? I may be getting History all wrong, but it seems that for quite some time humans express their spirituality and create systems of beliefs and have a reserved space for that.
In (ridiculously busy) southern California, I find that most people aren't at the Sunday gathering because there are other things going on (i.e. work, soccer game, etc.).
I encourage our members and visitors to be gather as much as possible, but also remind them – almost weekly – that the gathering is not the church. Just like the building is not the church. The people – and only the people – are the church. And they can be the church at a soccer game.
Curtis,
I think we agree that people can be the church at the soccer game, but I am afraid the situation you describe is one where there is no wherewithal left to shape a presence that might be the gospel at the soccer game. It is not the church just because some people who claimed to have made some faith commitments show up at a soccer game. There has to be (so I argue) a place for the formation of one's life in Christ sufficient to know what that might look like at the soccer game.
K-fe … I'm confused by your questions … by the way you use the word worship … but what i was trying to say is that the gathering becomes part of a rhythm that shapes all of life into Christ … and His Mission.
peace
Dave, why do you argue that a group of believers at a soccer game aren't a representation of the church? What does your statement "There has to be a place for the formation of one's life in Christ sufficient to know what that might look like at the soccer game" mean?
I'm curious because I tend to think in the same way that Curtis thinks. For me, there is a mystical union that is the Church that has more to do with the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of gathered believers no matter where they find themselves than it does in the planned actions of believers themselves (i.e. "planned actions" = going to Sunday gatherings).
So, it seems as though your article focuses on the doing of church. What are your thoughts on what it means to "be" the Church? That question isn't meant to ask you to eek out the fine details…LOL…just what it means in relation to Curtis' post about being the church at a soccer game, bowling alley, surf session, etc. If you've already written some on that, I'd love to read it. Just post a link and I'll check it out.
Peace.
Dan Lowe
Dan,
of course a group of believers at a soccer game are a representation of the church … yet this assumes thr prior question, how did they become believers? By "Mystical union" do you mean invisible church? What I continue to push for is without formation, believers don't come into existence. This is the default, that individuals can somehow make sense of salvation and become Missional Christians apart fromt he practices of the church which shape us into God;s Mission. In short, Missional Christians just don't magically grow on trees. This is why the practice of the church's worship, as properly faithful to the formative practice of God's people, is indispensible … yet I agree, once it gets consumerized, the gathering becomes contra missional… DF
[...] David Fitch looks at the “ritualized” activity we call “going to church;” and thinks the “going” should be more connected to everyday life. More at Reclaiming the Mission. [...]
Where in the Bible does it say we need to get up early on a Sunday and get together in a million dollar building with a $20000 sound and light rig and worship that way? If someone works 6 days, shouldn't he or she be allowed to rest and take a sabbath day and spend time with the Lord any way they want? The Bible is clear on resting, ( it's a commandment ) and also on the gathering of people together however the format is not clear and that I believe is on purpose. I hear where you are coming from, I for one work at Church and enjoy Sunday Church because I just like it that way.
Dude,
you're preaching to the choir. Read – http://www.amazon.com/Great-Giveaway-Reclaiming-O… –