I sat in the barber chair donned in a black cape. The conversation flowed naturally between me and the lady trimming my hair. We were getting to know about each other. All of those details that people tend to exchange when they meet were exchanged. After mentioning why my family moved here and what we have prepared for (pastoral ministry), is it any wonder that we got on the topic of church? Several years ago she regularly attended, then moved, looked around for a while and decided to give up the search. She couldn't find what she wanted and resolved that she didn't really need it anyway.
I started out this post by sharing with you what her words were. When I heard them, I felt immediate concern. I thought of things that I know the Bible teaches. I thought "how can I point this lady in the right direction without sounding like I am chiding her or without it seeming like I want to manipulate her. I wanted to be careful with such a delicate topic. I didn't want to come across wrong and it wouldn't have been appropriate to get into some long explanation of why we DO need the church...so I had to think of something fairly brief.
My immediate thought had to do with Hebrews 10:25, that we should not neglect coming together as the body of Christ. That God wants us to meet together to encourage and edify one another. I shared this with her, and the conversation turned to another topic soon after that, but her statement really got me thinking. I knew there had to be more I could have said or maybe something different I could have said. But it's hard isn't it? It felt like she had dropped a bomb and I didn't know where to start picking up rubble. I don't just want to say "You need to be in church missy!" because the question that begs to be answered is why?
Have you ever thought about that? What would you have said to this lady? This experience motivated me to look a little deeper into that. If you haven't come across it yet, you probably will. I have heard it from a lady in the church hallway, I heard it while getting my hair trimmed and to be honest I have had similar thoughts at one time or another. You know, when things get challenging and your questioning "Do I really need to go?". I think we've all been there. The fact is we make choices about where we go and what we do with our time. Isn't it good to know why we are doing it? Isn't it essential to have a biblical answer for someone (even ourselves) who does not think it is necessary? What is God's heart and plan for his church anyway?
After looking into it more and talking with my husband about it, I realized that there is so much more that the Bible has to say on this vital topic. But this post is already long enough. I will post again about how God is equipping me to answer this challenge in the future...but for now I'll leave you with some questions...
Why do we need church?
From what we learn from the Bible, would God ever say that it's fine with him if we don't go?
What is the purpose of the church?
I'd love to hear your thoughts on the topic. Comment or send me a message. Have you struggled with this or heard people say this? Has God equipped you with an answer from his word?
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