I mentioned in the previous blog that the church is necessary to your spiritual life. When I talk like that, I occasionally get pushback from people who feel they can walk with Christ apart from His body.
Here are some reasons people give for separating from the body of Christ.
The church is dysfunctional.
Of course it is. And so are you. Some churches are more dysfunctional than others, and some churches you should get out of, but let’s not throw away the church with the dysfunction. Trying to follow God all by yourself is dysfunctional. If you, thus, abandon the church because it is dysfunctional, all you are doing is trading one form of dysfunction for another.
We live in a fallen world. Dysfunction is everywhere, and dysfunctional people in the church give you the opportunity to learn patience, to show grace, to practice hospitality and forgiveness, and to help you see how you look to God.
The church has hurt me
I’m sure it has. I do not question the pain. If I could offer an apology on behalf of the church that hurt you, I would gladly do so, but I am aware that an apology coming from me isn’t the same. I want you to know simply that I sympathize. I, too, have been hurt by the church.
Likely the pain you feel has come from the dysfunction we just discussed. I do not question the dysfunction.
But the church is your family, and families are full of dysfunction, and often they hurt us, but they are still family. What I want to ask you to do is to look beyond the details of your pain and to Christ. You should then see that the specifics of your case were not likely a result of people following Christ.
So follow Christ. But understand that if you do follow Him, He will point you back to His church. He always does. It is His Bride.
If the specifics are such that you cannot return to the same church, then find a different one. But find one that honors Christ and Scripture.
I don’t need the church in order to worship.
That’s a deceptive sentence. It’s like saying “I don’t need a family in order to live.” It is technically correct on one level but completely off base for life.
You see, technically, I have had worship experiences by myself, and technically God can show special grace to an Iranian Christian imprisoned for his faith. In neither case, however, is the person choosing to separate from God’s people. Why then, would someone choose to separate from God’s people and use this reason for doing so?
The fact of the matter is that in normal life you do need the church in order to worship, for corporate worship is commanded. God desires not just individual praise but corporate praise, and you cannot do that by yourself.
In addition, this objection assumes that the only purpose of the church is to help you worship. But the church helps your spiritual life in so many other ways as well. It helps you know God’s Word, it helps you pray, it provides a need for you, it shows you how to give, it helps you walk with integrity, and more.
Now you could say that all of these are part of worship, and I will not quarrel with you, but I would say that if they are, then you need the church in order to worship.
I don’t need the church to walk with God
That is like one of your hands saying, “I don’t need the eyes.” Or a foot saying, “I don’t need the ears.”
Do you really think that by yourself you can provide all the wisdom, faith, generosity, teaching, evangelism, leadership, service, and compassion that you need?
The notion that Christians can intentionally neglect meeting together fits America quite well, but it does not fit the Bible at all.
