What You Miss When You Miss Church

Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house? Luke 2:49

The sound of a modem connecting to the internet can be disconcerting the first time you hear it.

The uninitiated might conclude this is how robots communicate with one another or that aliens have finally invaded earth, or worse yet, that his or her computer is about to explode. For all of you youngsters out there who have not had the joy of listening to the noises generated in the modem-dialing procedure, I’d recommend you YouTube it just for edification.

The process begins simple enough with a typical dial tone followed by dialing. Then the magic happens.

You might hear a couple of beeps then noises so diverse and bizarre English’s onomatopoeia has yet to catch up. Although I’m sure brighter wordsmiths than yours truly could conjure up better descriptions, I would describe the dial up sound like this. Imagine a man at the beach with a bird on his shoulders. The bird is attempting to squawk repeatedly with a beak full of water while the man strikes a triangle in rapid succession. Behind the fowl and human, construction is underway on a new condominium. And in an instant, a tsunami force wave envelopes them all.

Now imagine all of this cacophony digitized and auto-tuned to a key unbeknownst to even the most progressive musicians. Yeah, it's kind of like that.

And yet, while that sound is far from melifluous, for me in late 2002 it brought much anticipation.

No, Your Church Isn't a Big Deal

A few years ago I began seeing a proliferation of t-shirts and bumper stickers that screamed, “My church is kind of big deal." A quick google search reveals several churches who have run similar campaigns or sermons series. 

Stefan Kunze

Before I continue: I like my church. Quite a bit.

But the truth? Neither my church nor yours is that big of a deal.

To All the Church Attendees with a False Sense of Security

Just because you attend church doesn’t mean you’re saved.

But how many of us operate that way? It’s the modus operandi: salvation by association. Redemption through osmosis. But it’s a myth. It’s a lie. It’s a false sense of security.

Boston Public Library (CC)

We think that by belonging to a group or a particular church we’ll sneak our names in the book of life. It doesn’t work like that. (And that’s a good thing.)

How to Be a Part of Something That Matters

Quick question: What does the Tower of Babel have to do with Pentecost?

The Tower of Babel, Pieter Bruegel

You know the Babel story well. We humans got together to try to build a tower that would reach heaven. So God mixed up our languages making it difficult to work together. In the process, He says something interesting:

The 9-Step Guide to Finding the Church God Wants You to Attend

It's hard to find the right church.

Looking for one can feel like attending a timeshare seminar, a blind date, or a multi-level marketing "party."

Jim Sorbie (CC)

But perseverance pays off. Katie and I went through the process a year ago, and we learned some valuable lessons along the way. Here are nine steps to finding the church God wants you to attend:

1 Way to Lead Someone to Christ (Even If You Have No Clue What to Say)

I've said it before, but I'll say it again:

Evangelism is scary.

Logically it shouldn't be, because we know we stand on truth, but it still is. We don't like rejection. We don't like persecution.

No one does.

Andrea Tummons

But if we believe what we believe, then we know that God cares about the lost. And so should we. If Christ can die for us, we can kill our pride for the sake of the kingdom.

So I have a challenge for you.

Get More Out of Church: 5 Practical Steps

Do you desire a more meaningful church experience on Sunday?

Vinoth Chandar (cc)

Last week we looked at one way to accomplish that goal. Here are five more ways:

1. Expect to hear from God

Pray that God will send His Spirit and speak to the congregation.

And then expect that He will.

If you don't have faith that God is going to speak to you then why go to church at all?

Jesus says in Matthew 7:7 to “ask, and it shall be given you” (KJV). Ask that God would speak to the congregation and then attend in anticipation.

It may not happen every Sunday, but if you never ask will you ever receive?

2. Get plenty of rest

Getting enough rest helps ensure that you will be engaged in worship and focused during the sermon—not to mention a lot less likely to make a fool of yourself by snoring in church.

The fourth commandment tells us to rest, but if you begin the night before, you will have a better church experience.

Besides that, it will make the next step much easier.

1 Way to Get More Out of Church

Have you ever left a church service and thought to yourself, “Well that was a waste of time”?

I have.

Lest we get confused, this is not a limitation on God’s part. And it is rarely anyone else’s fault either. No, this is on us.

Photo Credit: Chad Kainz (Creative Commons)

So here is one way I have found to help avoid these instances when I feel something is lacking on Sunday: