Do we need the church? Four habits to practice
In the previous two editions of At Grace, I have written on the question: do we even need the church anymore? I am sure it comes as no surprise to you that my answer is yes, we absolutely still need the church today. The church is a divine institution, created and ordained by God for the purpose of spiritually growing and maturing his people. Methods and approaches to how ministry gets accomplished in local churches will change over time, but the gospel of Jesus Christ will never change. Not only is the church the place where God matures His people, it is also the means through which our Creator reveals Himself to the world. Living in this rapidly secularizing culture should remind Christians of how desperately we need the body of Christ. We are called to boldly stand as salt and light in this world. To do so, we need the church. In this time of moral insanity, we desperately need biblically sound, doctrinally faithful local churches that remain unapologetically committed to the proclamation of the gospel.
In the first article of this series, I considered the question: what is the church? In the second article, I answered the question: why do we need the church? In this final installment of this series, I will provide four habits for church members to practice within the body of Christ. The church is important to God; therefore, it should be important to us as well. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus promised Peter, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” It is important to note that Jesus did not promise to build a country club, a political party, or a military regime. Instead, Jesus chose to use the church to build his kingdom. Jesus promised Peter and the other apostles that the gospel would be preached through His church during this age. You need a church family, and there is a local church out there that needs you. As you engage in local ministry, I encourage you practice these four habits:
1. Maintain realistic expectations: Christians sometimes become disillusioned with local churches because they attend with unrealistic expectations. Churches are filled with saved sinners who maintain remnants of their old nature. All Christians are in the process of becoming like Jesus, leaving plenty of opportunities for sinful attitudes and actions to reveal themselves. When we expect churches to be perfect, filled with spotless people, and meet our every need, we are ripe for disappointment and disillusionment. There is no ideal church because all congregations are made up of and led by imperfect people with finite wisdom, abilities, and motives. People are broken, and this brokenness can easily lead to conflict, confusion, and unfortunately pain. Gospel-centered churches will not be characterized by uniformity, but they will be unified around the Scriptures and God’s clear commandments. God equips and designs every person differently; therefore we should not expect perfect agreement in areas of preferences and practices. Healthy church bodies have unity in the midst of diversity. We must all remember that there is no such thing as a perfect church, but there are faithful churches that boldly and unapologetically preach the Word of God. People serving in churches will never be sinless, but God is, and will always be, perfect. He has called believers to commune together around his Word on a regular basis, and for every Christian to be part of a church body. Keeping realistic expectations allows us to enjoy the fellowship and encouragement that comes with being a part of God’s family.
2. Choose engagement: It is tempting to be non-participatory in ministry. From my perspective, churches are filled with two general types of members: worker bees and couch potatoes. Undoubtedly, there is a significant number of people who fall between these two extremes. For simplicity sake, however, I am going to only focus on these two groups. There are church members who cannot fathom the idea of sitting on the sidelines watching ministry happen. They eagerly find a place to serve and engage. Getting them to stop ministering is like asking someone to stop breathing. These are the illustrious twenty percent of church members that do eighty percent of the work. Worker bee Christians are increasingly the minority in the average church. Meanwhile, there are other church members who take a more passive approach to ministry. These are Christians who prefer to attend, sit in their pew, and observe ministry. They are more like spectators in the body of Christ than active participants. Passive church members may serve on occasion, but generally speaking they are disengaged. Certainly, there are worker bee members who need to step away from a few commitments to make sure they are not overextending themselves. These members are by far in the minority. It is the passive members that need to be reminded of the purpose of the church and encouraged to engage with ministry. God equips each believer for service within the church, and he expects his people to use their gifts for his glory. Couch potato Christians need to find a place of ministry and engage. Christians must choose to be contributors rather than consumers by using our gifts to serve the body of Christ.
3. Stay committed: We all have a lot of demands on our time. America is a busy place with all kinds of options vying for our time and attention. Despite the rising number of frazzled citizens, our culture’s pace shows no sign of slowing. Our fast paced society, filled with frantic pleas for our attention, makes deciding where we spend our time all the more important. Sadly, church attendance is often the first commitment eliminated from people’s hectic schedules. As we studied in the previous two articles, the body of Christ is essential to the life of a Christian. God expects His children to regularly invest time, energy, and giftedness in gospel ministry. Worker bees are committed. Couch potatoes, not so much. Like couch potato Christians, those lying in between these two groups are prone to losing heart and becoming unfaithful to their local congregation. We need to stay committed to the ministry because serving the body helps mature believers in their faith, and when we are committed, we are far less likely to walk away. There are Sundays when I do not necessarily feel like preaching, and months when I do not feel like writing an article. If we minister for Christ based only on how we feel, we will never stay committed. I preach and write when I do not feel like it because I have a commitment to keep. God has entrusted a pulpit to me; therefore, I must fulfill my God given obligation and duty because that is what He has asked of me. Do not view words like obligation and duty negatively. When we feel a sense of obligation to fulfill our duty in the church, we will remain committed to the work God has given us. There will always be activities outside the church, even many good ones that vie for our attention and push us to make difficult choices in where we invest our time. As tempting as it may be to diminish your involvement in church, refuse to allow other commitments to pull you away from ministry. Stay committed to Christ, and stay committed to His church. The body of Christ functions best when all of its members are engaged in ministry and committed to fulfilling their God given function. Without involvement in a local church, you cannot maintain the spiritual momentum necessary to live a godly life. Rather than becoming distracted by lesser priorities, find a place to serve Christ and stick with it. Like everything else in this world worth doing, ministry requires grit. God commands His people to be an active part of a local church for the purpose of ministry and proclamation of the gospel. Commit to a local church ministry, and for the glory of almighty God, stick to it.
4. Serve sacrificially: Faithful church attendance is a good thing, but it is not enough. Rather than being a passive spectator taking up space, find a place of ministry and get busy serving. Be a worker bee. By nature, we are all selfish with our resources. Time is one of the areas where we tend to be particularly stingy. Time is precious. We can’t buy more. It is profoundly wise to budget our money, and it is equally important to budget our time. Investing time into ministry and God’s people is as important as investing money in your retirement fund. While it is prudent to plan for our financial futures, that pales in comparison to investing in eternity. In the hearts of those who have eternal hope in Christ, there ought to be an insatiable desire to teach the gospel to others. Church is not about being served and having all of your perceived needs met; it is about finding a place to serve others. Rather than concerning yourself with being served or entertained, seek out a ministry where you can sacrificially invest your time, energy, and talent into the lives of others. Personally, I would much rather serve than sit and watch other people do it. There is great joy in serving the Lord. Yes, ministry always requires sacrifice. Rather than waiting for someone to serve you, find a place to serve and sacrificially invest your time for Christ. As Jesus said in Matthew 16:24, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Most Christians are eager and willing to wear a cross, but many are not interested in bearing one. Jesus washed the disciples’ feet as an example of how we are to serve our brothers and sisters in Christ. Rather than being a couch potato Christian, grab a towel and get it dirty with the dust and grime of ministry.
No matter how adamantly the culture refuses to acknowledge the importance of the church in the world, God’s people are commanded to become part of a local body of believers. Christian, you need a church family, and there is a local church out there that needs you. Make sure your expectations are reasonable. Choose to purposefully engage God’s people. Commit to an imperfect local congregation. Find a place to sacrificially invest your gifts and abilities in service to the Master. Not only will you be honoring the Lord with your faithfulness, you will also have the privilege of being an active participant in gospel ministry. Allow Jesus to use you in the building of His kingdom for His glory. In 1 Corinthians 4:2, Paul writes, “It is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy.” Are you a trustworthy part of Christ’s body? If not, now is the time to get involved. If you are trustworthy, stay faithful, show some grit, and serve your risen Savior.