Background<\/h1>\n

Recently, twitter and blogs have been alight with the idea that people are too involved in church (in effect asking, how much church is too much); and the anecdotes support this theory.<\/p>\n

For example, there\u2019s the man who is at church 4 nights a week, away from his wife and children, playing the drums in the praise band.\u00a0 There\u2019s the flutist who is also in the praise band who is having the affair with the drummer.\u00a0 There are the deacons who are meeting every Friday night to watch the game on the projector in the fellowship hall.\u00a0 (And if there\u2019s a little gambling or drinking going on under the table, we\u2019ll just “sweep it under the rug” and keep it quiet.)<\/p>\n

We can add more innocent scenarios.\u00a0 The family who goes to the contemporary worship service on Saturday night so they can sleep in on Sunday.\u00a0 Then the kids attend youth group on Sunday night so the parents can have a date. Mom is at the ladies small group on Monday night.\u00a0 Dad is at the fella\u2019s small group on Tuesday night.\u00a0 There\u2019s Choir practice on Wednesday night.\u00a0 The kids go to a midweek youth activity on Thursday night. And Friday is the only night the family actually has dinner together.\u00a0 Good, solid, Christian family?\u00a0 Dedicated?<\/p>\n

New Faith Lifestyle?<\/h1>\n

Maybe and maybe not.\u00a0 See, this new faith lifestyle we are seeing develop has everything to do with religion and nothing to do with faith.<\/p>\n

The people who are looking for something to criticize seem to be taking the position to the extreme, saying: “We don\u2019t need church at all”.\u00a0 So let\u2019s address both points and see what God has to say about it.<\/p>\n

\n
1. Church is not a social club.\u00a0 When people try to make church their social outlet, problems arise.\u00a0 Families are neglected.\u00a0 Affairs occur.\u00a0 Faith begins to be placed in the church leadership or the church institution rather than in Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Sin creeps into the mix and we end up with a corrupt club that has left its first love.<\/li>\n
2. Church is not to be dismissed.\u00a0 It is an important part of maintaining a relationship with Jesus Christ.\u00a0 When we cut ourselves off from a church community, we diminish our relationship with God.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

   What is Church?<\/h1>\n

   What is church?\u00a0 It is not a building, a preacher, or a praise band.\u00a0 It is not a kids club, a food pantry, or an entertainment center.\u00a0 Church, as defined in Acts 1-4, is a group of people with a common faith.\u00a0 The early church met in secret under penalty of persecution and possibly death.\u00a0 They were people who had seen the miracles of Christ.<\/p>\n

   They had seen Him crucified.\u00a0 They had seen the strange natural phenomena that had accompanied His crucifixion.\u00a0 Most importantly, they had seen Him walk bodily among them, eating, teaching, and visiting for over a month after His crucifixion.<\/p>\n

   They had a common knowledge.<\/strong><\/p>\n

   They had heard Him say He was preparing a place for humanity and would return so that we could be where He was.<\/p>\n

   They had a common expectation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

   They continued steadfastly in the Apostle\u2019s teachings, with communion as a remembrance of Christ\u2019s vicarious death, and prayer.<\/p>\n

   They had a common practice.<\/strong><\/p>\n

   They knew that Christ had told them to bear witness of Him. A witness has a duty to provide truthful, relevant information performing a limited role.<\/p>\n

   They had a common purpose.<\/strong><\/p>\n

   Take a long look at the church you attend\u2026 or you are thinking of attending.\u00a0 How closely does it reflect these tenets of the first church?\u00a0 Ultimately the church is the people who share an expectant faith and support one and other as they practice that faith and fulfill their purpose.<\/p>\n

   When \u2018church shopping\u2019, if the small groups, praise band, and basketball teams are what makes the decision, then those bloggers are probably right, it\u2019s just a waste of time.\u00a0 But if we are lucky enough to find a small group of people with an honest faith\u2026 then we\u2019ve *really* found a place to belong.<\/p>\n

   Bible References<\/h1>\n

   Acts 2:42-47<\/a>.\u00a0 The Fellowship of the Believers.<\/p>\n

   Hebrews 10:19-35<\/a>. The Full Assurance of Faith.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

   Background Recently, twitter and blogs have been alight with the idea that people are too involved in church (in effect asking, how much church is too much); and the anecdotes support this theory. For example, there\u2019s the man who is at church 4 nights a week, away from his wife and children, playing the drums […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1601,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[196,107],"tags":[197,100],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n