About a year ago, I was gung-ho for my daily visits to the gym. I was engaged with my trainer, ready to get this old body in shape, feeling the need to be conditioned. By mid-October, the enthusiasm faded along with the novelty. Yes, I still knew exercise was good for me, but the fun was worn off. Only real determination got me there. Then, in early November, I hurt my knee during a run on the treadmill. The pain was real and took me out of training, by doctor’s orders, for at least a month. I have not returned! The motivation to go and sweat through a work-out routine is lost, all my best hopes for a conditioned body went slip, sliding away. Do I know I should make a better choice? Of course. Do I think about it? Yes, but less each day.

I wonder if my gym experience is parallel to church attendance for some people? In nearly 4 decades of pastoral ministry, I have seen hundreds of people show up in the congregation, get all excited, make all the right noises, talk about how much it means to them… and then, sometime later, go slip, sliding away. Many just disappear, without a word, leaving me wondering why they left. Others send a note, a few even come by my office to tell me they’re leaving. The reasons are often much the same. Some say that no one was friendly or they did not feel welcomed. Others say they aren’t being spiritually fed, which usually means they don’t like the preaching. Some point to some incident with their kids where they feel the church did not respond well. Almost no one says, “I’ve just lost interest” but I’m fairly certain that’s a reality in many cases.

When someone leaves the church, I mourn. Really, it hurts every time, even after all these years. It’s personal to me. No, it’s not just about a sense of professional failure, though that’s part of it. I mourn for the leaver, too. Their choice has negative consequences. People who are most spiritually healthy and productive maintain a strong relationship with His Body. When a family is inconsistent in their attendance, or when they pick up and move on, the kids will be affected in the long term, even more than their parents are. No factor predicts an adult’s choice to regularly attend church more than being taken consistently to the same church throughout his youth. I also know that ‘leavers’ almost always benefit from pressing through their issues with the church, whatever they may be, than by going to another church down the street. We grow into better people when we resolve conflict, wrestle through doubt, or deal with the desire to be served.

Some of you are wondering if I have confused church attendance with being a Christian. No, I have not. But, no one should believe that they will ever be all that God desires them to be, that their spiritual gifts will develop to full maturity, without being part of the Church. Christianity is a communal experience, never just about me, always about we. That’s why the Scripture directs us to “consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:24-25, NIV) One of the reasons I’m still not working out is that I never made friends at the gym. I did not meet somebody there who would encourage me when I lacked motivation, who would hold me accountable, in whom I could invest myself. That is one of the functions of being ‘in church.’ Those who are walking the highway of holiness with us laugh with us, cry with us, push us and pull us, argue with us, and steady us.

Are you thinking about leaving your church? Have you talked with the Lord honestly about your desire?

The better choice is to stick with it, to bring your whole heart to it, and in more than just Sunday worship, too. Invest time in the people that are there with you. Celebrate the connections. Will it always be perfect? No. Pastors are people who have good weeks and bad ones, too. Christians don’t always get it right. But, together, in love, we are always better together, than we are apart.

So, here’s the word from the Word. May it call you to Christ’s Church, committed, consistent, faithful, and steady.

“I observed yet another example of something meaningless under the sun. This is the case of a man who is all alone, without a child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can. But then he asks himself, “Who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?” It is all so meaningless and depressing.

Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:7-12, NLT)

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Why Church http://www.FaithDiscovery.com/whychurch.wmv

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A Video – “Why Church?”