Featured Reasons Not to Go To Church

Thanks for taking a look at this, but, I should warn you, if you were looking for an excuse not to go to Church, and hoped to find it here, that's not what you're going to find.

Rather, in view are legitimate reasons why some would not go to the House of the Lord to worship God and to fellowship with other believers.

I think there are some legitimate reasons that we should keep in mind.

While it is true we do not have to go to a church building to worship, or fellowship, we see a general pattern of this being carried out in the New Testament Early Church. We can certainly extend our worship (and should) outside of regular attendance, but there is just something different about being a part of a Church Family that I don't think we will find in exact degree as we do there.

That being said, I would like to kick this off with a reason I myself can relate to, as it impacted my own attendance after I was saved...

...being socially inept.

And some would say I still suffer from that, lol.

What I mean is that there are some people who do not do well in large groups (or even small ones) of people they aren't familiar with. You might say, "Get over it," or, "You will get used to it," well...easy for you to say.

Some people have a fear of social interaction, and don't do well. I'll relate a story to illustrate this. All names will be changed to protect the innocent (or guilty, depending on your perspective):

There was a man who had a brother who married a woman (despite the then unsaved brother's best efforts to talk him out of it) that must have grown up fairly isolated. They were married, and it didn't take long to see this woman had issues with interacting with people.

They had children, and then the brother decides to divorce the woman (despite the now saved brother's best efforts to talk him out of it), and due to the woman's behavioral issues the children grow up with an apparent disrespect for their mother, which, was not acceptable to the now saved brother.

At a family gathering, the now saved brother notices one of the daughters, about 10 years old at the time, being very disrespectful to her mother. The child is warned several times, until finally the now saved brother takes her into a bedroom, sits her down on the bed, and questions her about her disrespect. The child apologizes, but, being one who feels discipline is necessary and that a lesson had to be taught, he asks the child if she felt she had been in the wrong. The child acknowledges she has, and when asked the question she wasn't expecting, "Do you think punishment is in order?" she tearily stammers "Ye-es."

So she is told to wait there, and the now saved brother leaves the room, and comes back with a belt in his hand. Then the tears really begin to come. The now saved brother asks the child, "Does this belt scare you?"

"Ye-es," comes the muttered response.

The now saved brother then says, "That is the same fear your mother feels when she is around other people, hon. Now go back in there and try to show a little respect, and think about how it feels when someone is afraid."

End of story? Well no, not really. The difficulties of the mother have never been resolved, she is still fearful when around other people, and, there is still a separation between mother and children.

But the point would be simply to understand that some people are afraid of other people, and we might see that as rational, but, it is something to keep in mind when someone doesn't attend services regularly.

Praise God for those who, when a stranger walks in, makes that stranger feel at home. This is a gift of God in my view.

So how about those that have this problem? I know for myself, when I was saved I felt very awkward going to Church, and eventually got used to it, but...how can we help those that have that problem?

Any suggestions?

So that is one legitimate reason I would give for not going to Church, but, it is not meant to be an excuse. The primary reason for bringing this topic up is for the Body to discuss it and maybe, just maybe, we might play a role in helping someone overcome that fear, which has it's origins usually from our enemy.

Any other reasons we might find people not regularly worshipping and fellowshipping?


God bless.

 

Hello Pwarbi, and welcome to the Forum, I hope your time here will be blessed and that you in turn will be a blessing to those here.

But let me ask, do you think that the person that was sick and stayed home is in error?

Again, welcome to the forum, it is good to see so many new "faces" showing up.


God bless.

 

Thanks for the response brother Glen, but I just have to ask, first, would you condemn someone for laying out sick?

And secondly, are you saying, in light of the scope of the OP...there is no legitimate reason for missing Church?


God bless.

 

Hey thanks for the honesty, Corndoggy. It is true that the trappings of a social medium can get a little, well...soap opera.

And I agree the OP was oversimplified, as it was meant to be simple.

The question in view is, now that you have expressed an honest view of your own feelings, do I have a right to criticize you for those feelings, or, do I have a command to make sure I do not contribute to them? I think one thing can be said about us, is we have a better understanding of what is in man than the unbeliever. That doesn't mean we can't learn to love others, but, we don't caricaturize the weaknesses we still have either.

Again, thanks for the response.


God bless.

 

And this is one of the underlying issues I hoped to address in the Thread. We know there is good reason for being a part of a local body, but not everyone does, and sometimes their reasons are, in my view, legitimate. We just don't know what a person has gone through which has made it difficult for them to interact on the local level. Forum interaction I pretty easy, because it is primarily anonymous.

And I think you have touched on the real reason why someone would go to Church...to worship God. Unfortunately, some go for the social interaction, and some because they feel it is just what they do to be "Christians."


God bless.

 

That would fall into a legitimate reason to go to Church.

But the priority for me is to meet with God. I say that because I believe firmly that God will communicate to us through the man of God preaching. Some are more worship oriented concerning music. I prefer congregational singing myself, but enjoy the message most. That is the highlight for me (unless they sing "Orphans of God," lol).


God bless.

 

Awesome point.


God bless.

 

Okay, anyone else have any thoughts on legitimate reasons for not going to Church?

God bless.

 

When I was newly saved, as I said, I had a little trouble getting used to being around people. From the time I was 13 I was primarily around band-mates, and while I could get on a stage and play in front of large crowds, going to Church was unnerving. Partially because I was newly awoken to my own sin, and felt like everyone in Church was "Moses on the Mountain," so to speak.

I have come to the realization that my walk with the Lord is missing something when I am not regular in attendance. It's something we can't really get anywhere else.

And a reverence for the House of God is just a Bible basic. I wonder, if we were nomadic in our culture, if we would erect altars to specify a place to meet with God. And that probably sounds a little strange, but, I too see that the building can be viewed as holy ground. We know the Body is the Church, but that place of meeting has earned for some, a reverence distinct from any other place where we meet. That same reverence is not considered if we were to meet at a pizza joint to fellowship. And while I love pizza, lol, it's just not going to be the same.


God bless.