To church or not to church

We all have our own ideas of what a dysfunctional family looks like. One thing we can agree on is that a dysfunctional family is one that does not function properly. They argue incessantly, do not know anything about each other, and frankly do not care. I cannot even fathom the idea of living that way. The home I grew up in, though imperfect, was functional. My parents acted selflessly, and my brother and I did not always try to kill each other. My new family life (that being my wife and I) is similar. We are honest with each other, and we (almost) always put each other first. What would happen if I just decided to stop coming home every night?

You may be thinking, "Uh... you would be an idiot." You are correct. A family needs to spend as much time together as possible. You cannot help someone with their problems if you are not with them.

Now let us take a look at your own life. You probably have some sort of family, whether broken or not. You would agree you need to be with them.

Now let us take a look at your bigger family. I do not mean let us add the uncles and aunts into the mix... although they might be part of it. I am talking about church. Would your family be able to survive if you spent as little time with them as you do with your church?

Humor me for a second. When you were saved, were you saved into some sort of "personal Christianity?" For some of us, we think that way. We have our own little "personal walks." Let me tell you... that is a load of bullocks.

Yes, you were saved as an individual. But once Christ brought you in, He did not bring you in to your own little room separate from everybody else. You were saved into a community, a family. God said that it is not good for man to be alone. God gave Adam a wife to be with. The wife was not given to man primarily for procreation. Woman was given to man primarily for community.

"But I do my own personal devotions!" That is great. Now talk about it with someone at church who needs to hear it.

"I watch TV preachers! That should be good enough!" Well, it is not. If the function of the church were simply just to learn, there would be no point of Heaven.

When the church started, Acts 2 says that they met together daily in the temple. Daily! We think going to two services on Sunday is too much. Trust me, only in community can a Christian grow. If you are not in Christian community (i.e. church) as much as possible, you will start to decay in your Christian walk. You are part of a body, and I have never heard of a finger that continued to grow after it was cut off from its host.

So, is not going to church a sin? The simple answer: yes. The complicated answer: yes.

As always, if you leave comments, I want scripture. Not just simple American negotiation: "Well I think blah blah blah..."