In Absentia

What do you expect from your brothers and sisters in Christ when you are absent from the times of assembly?  Have you ever consciously thought about that question?  Your answer will say a lot about who you are.

Do you expect the preacher to call you?  Do you expect the elders to call?  Maybe you expect your friends in the Church to call.  Possibly a Bible class teacher should call on you and try to get you to come to class.

Maybe they should ask why you have quit the Church?  You haven’t quit?  How would things be different if you had quit?  Do you have the same attitude of attendance and participation toward your job that you have toward the Church?  Oh, that’s different.  How is it different?  It’s different because you have to work to support your family.  And you don’t need to support the Church and your spiritual life? 

Should a Christian expect to be in heaven with the saved of all time if he did not have the time to be with the saved on the earth when they were assembled together?  Is assembling together as the Church something that ought to happen?  Would it be alright if we decided to close the doors and quit meeting together?

I want to suggest that we all quit going to church.  I have been doing that for almost 63 years.  It is a part of my life.  I cannot even imagine if that were not possible anymore.  And yet, I am suggesting that we all quit doing it. 

You might ask rightfully, isn’t a weekly assembly something God expects from us?  The Hebrews writer seems to be saying that it is.  “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as is the manner of some…” (Hebrews 10:25).  We know that the early Christians met together on a regular basis by the teaching of the apostles (Acts 2:42).  It sure seems that God wants us to keep doing this.  However, I have a different suggestion.

I think we should stop going to church and start being the church.  You might ask what the difference is.  If we are merely going to church, the church becomes a destination.  With that attitude, God is over there—in the church building.  That is an Old Testament attitude where God was identified with the Holy of Holies in the temple.  Furthermore, merely going to church elevates the church building to some kind of holy status.  The building is referred to as a sanctuary.

If we emphasize being the Church, “going to church” will not be an issue.  Assembling together is what the Church does.  A school that never meets, in some form, is not much of a school.  A team that never gets together is not any team I have ever heard about.  Assembling together is just part of the deal.  The Church is a destiny and it has a destiny.

So, you want us to continue to meet on a regular basis because it is the right thing to do?  If you are consistently absent, are you not actually voting that it would be alright to close the Church and all of us stay home?  The real question is, “What does God want us to do about those who consistently refuse to make time to assemble with the saints?”  What is your answer?

-Mike Johnson