Published in The Des Moines County News on February 16, 2017.

Wake up early, rush to get ready, run in late… give up an hour on my day off for an hour of music and listening to somebody talk about the Bible?  Don’t they all think they’re perfect?  Who wants to join a crowd like that week after week?

This seems to be the growing perception of many, as church attendance wanes and many churches are shrinking.  Is church worth going to?  Should I do it to keep God happy, or is it a waste of my time?  That’s a fair question worth examining!

Let’s start here:  if you were going to go to church, what would you want it to be like?  Great music?  Eloquent speaker?  Less speaking?  More inspiration and less call for change?  No hypocritical people?  Of course, the follow-up question is:  Why??  Why do you want those things?  For entertainment?  Comfort?  Ease?

It seems like too often, many want church people to stop thinking they’re perfect, but they still want the perfect church.

No church is perfect.  That’s because they’re filled with imperfect people.  In fact, when the Bible refers to the church, it is never referring to a building; instead, the church is the people.  And, if the people understand correctly, they are there because they have trusted in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins, not because of their own perfect records.  In fact, there are several messy churches in the Bible, because sin has affected the church.  However, church people should always be striving to overcome sin and live their lives the way God wants us to… not hiding sins and pretending perfection, but constantly confessing sins and restoring relationships broken by sin.  That’s the pattern of life for sinful people, such as those that fill the church.

Church attendance also does not earn us anything before God.  Anything!  Want to go to heaven?  “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).  The Bible says plainly that salvation is not something we earn by being good, but it is instead a gift from God that we receive by faith (Ephesians 2:8-9).

So why go to church?  It is important to gather together because those who believe in God are family, and we have the opportunity to worship together and serve one another.  As we gather, we can love and care for one another, and encourage each other to keep growing.  We can hear the Word of God together, recognizing that we’re together on the journey of obeying God, and understanding that we all make mistakes along the way.  Then, we can help each other to keep going and not give up, because Jesus is worth it all!  Church is a privilege and blessing to be with family and be refreshed in our walk with God.  As we go, we can “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).

Luke Scallon