Faithful Church Attendance

Hey hsmom3, Welcome.

I would agree that it can be tiring and, depending on what kind of IFB you belong to, perhaps overwhelming. Our church is fairly structured. SS last an hour and most services last an hour. Some preachers I've experienced in other churches go on for 2+ hours, although in my experience they usually don't say anything of useful substance that could not be condensed to less than 30 minutes (some maybe 5 minutes ). If your preacher is like that maybe you should find a church that feeds your spirit without tiring you out.

We drive an hour round trip to church 3 times per week with our kids (8, 9, & 12) plus my sons (8 &9) usually meet at the church for Sat. morning visitation. I personally count the reward as more valuable than the sacrifice.

In the past, churches only met on Sunday but often for the whole day. Without electricity, it was not practical to meet at night and many people worked from dawn to dusk the other six days.

[ October 18, 2002, 05:43 PM: Message edited by: Scott J ]

 

I'm a member of a SB church, and I can remember way back in late 40's early 50's as a kid I wondered about this same problem!

At that time the SBC was VERY pro-family, and I could not grasp how it was possible to preach/teach/encourage a family to BE a unit, when everything the church did (except worship service) tended to divide the family!

SS was always segrated, 99% of weekly meetings were either male, female, kids-female, or kids-male. If there was a father, mother, son, daughter, and all participated, it was rare for the family to be able to be together much as a whole family.

I decided early on that my family WAS NOT going to be so splintered.

There were many thing all of us were involved in, butwe DID NOT heed the pressure to be involved in EVERTHING!!!

You've got to set your own priorities, cause if you allow others, via guilt and/or peer pressure to do so, you will have NO FAMILY LIFE!!!

 

I wonder how the first Century church did it since they met every day after a 12 hour work shift. Of course, they did not have movies, sports, computers, band, Girl and Boy Scouts, etc. to take up their time.

A hundred years ago, many would go to church Sunday morning and have dinner on
the grounds and stay for an evening service every Sunday.

Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
(KJV)

Most of us claim to believe that we are in the last days, but we seek to spend less and less time assembling and exhorting one another. When families attended church everytime the door creaked they were a lot closer than we are today now that we are attending church less and really not doing much as a family anyway. Sissy has her things and Bubba has his while Dad works overtime and Mom may work late. Few folks that I have known or have heard of from my other pastor friends ever really spend more time as a family when they tell us they have to cut back on church work and attendence so that they can do that.

There are too many things to distract us. Maybe we need to go back to the everyday mode and see if God will help us turn the world upside down.

 

By the way, average results of the folks that cut back equate to them dropping out completely after awhile, the kids get screwy and the parents divorce. Not everyone, but more folks than I care to think about.

With all the sin and junk abounding around us, we need all we can get to keep our focus. Besides what better family time can you have than showing the kids time for worship and study is to be a large and important part of their lives?

 

Maverick:

Maverick, While I agree with much of your last 2 posts, on this point I've seen the opposite also; Mom and/or Dad spend so much time "working for God" that the family is relegated to second place; a distant 2nd place.

I think that FAMILY matters more to God than our "WORKING FOR HIM". This, I think, was one of the basis of Paul's statements that if you could remain single, you could better serve God since you had no "family" to demand a portion of your time.

Keep in mind also that the original question concerned a single mom who will have more "scheduling" problems that if a father were present.

As to all the external activities, if the family is separated, there is separation regardless of the reason. Too much "churchiness" can be detrimental if not handled properly just as well as secular activities.

The key is balance, and no one but God can show hsmom3 what it takes to achieve and maintain the correct balance in her life!

hsmom3, don't let external pressures push you into something that is injurious to your family!! Everybody should not be expected do be involved in everything. God has a plan for you & your child(ren), and while I do strongly expect He wants you involved, I am equally positive that He does NOT want you involved to the detriment of your family! This should be your decision as God leads you; NOT what somebody else decides!!

 

To answer your question about the historicity of Sunday Schools and Sunday Evening services at churches is at the heart of the matter in your question! The Sunday schools were designed in the early parts of the industrial revolution in Great Britain, about around the early 1800's. Children worked in factories, and at that for six days and ten hours a day. Children had no respite from work in British cities, and could not go to school. Sunday schools were 'invented' to give poor children the chance to get an education. Of course now it is part of "Baptist tradition", where we have Sunday schools in every morning service for just about everyone.

Sunday evening services gained in popularity around the time of Charles Finney (1830's and on forward) where evangelical churchgoers would invite unsaved people to an evening service in order to hear the Gospel. Most people went to some kind of church-- and many went to churches that did not preach the Gospel-- in those days, so the only opportunity to get an unsaved churchgoer to a Gospel-preaching church service was on Sunday evenings. This became popular in most evangelical churches at the time of D.L. Moody (ca. 1900-1910) where evangelicals would invite their Roman Catholic and liberal friends to a Gospel preaching evangelistic service time, usually on Sunday evenings. This too has become part of "Baptist tradition" where we still practice this-- unknowingly of its origins.

Would I encourage a person to 'skip' Sunday school or Sunday evening? No, but I think it's worthwhile to ask ourselves (and our-churches!) why we're doing the things we're doing! Many times if one is skipping these times they veil their argument that they are doing it for the family, when in fact that person is watching a sports event on TV or running errands-- and not spending time with the family. I am not sure whether churches are better off without either or both Sunday schools and Sunday evenings, but we should make our priorities straight as families-- especially the father, since he is the authority of the household! "As for my house, we shall serve the LORD!"


P.S.-- In saying all of this, keep in mind that I am a single man who has never been married!!!!!

[ October 19, 2002, 10:34 PM: Message edited by: LRL71 ]

 

This is an area where I think there needs to be some individuality. Everyone has different schedules, callings, abilities, needs, family situations, etc.

Biblically, it seems that a weekly schedule of some sort is pretty much demanded, so I would say that normally Sunday mornings should be a bare minimum. Beyond that, I think it becomes individual.

If lack of additional attendance is due to laziness or apathy then there is a problem. On the other hand, as others point out, there can be a slavish devotion to church attendance "whenever the doors are open" that makes an idol out of "being there". And, when mixed into the business of many families, becomes detrimental. Is not tending to the needs of our families, jobs, communities, etc. also service to God? A little liberty is called for, I think.

 

Why not go back to the Early Church model. planted by the Apostle Paul. Have teaching on Saturday - the Sabbath. and meet throughout the week for fellowship and various activities of the church.

Sunday Church attendance is by order of the vatican due to a descion taken by the pope in the third century to change the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday to embrace the pagan Sun worshippers into the new national religion.

The Popes edicts have no hold over any born again Christian. Ridgid meetings on a Sunday are a system of making sure the early church christianity does not re surface. We need to get back to community based fellowship all week.

 

It is hard isn't it. I agree. Our church has the "3 to thrive" push as well. I find that I have a much harder time attending during the week, because I have 3 children and my husband doesn't go to services during the week because He works 2 hours away and besides getting home around 8:00 pm has to be on the road really early the next morning..

I don't know about early churches and Sunday morning only services. I was brought up in church that had 3 services a week so I don't know anything else.

I find most of my trouble is that I live a half an hour away from my church...and when I'm tired , as I usually am at the end of a busy day, it's really hard. Especially since our Wed. evening service doesn't start until 7:00 and usually isn't over until 8:30 or so. With the half an hour drive home and trying to get them to settle down to go to bed...they aren't going to bed until 9:30 or 10:00 on a school night. And that is just not good for them.

I think the midweek services are meant to keep a christian on the right track spiritually. But, it's very hard to keep a sweet spirit about attending services with children who I know won't get enough sleep for school the next day. And that will leave them cranky and uncooperative the next morning.

That's just my experience.

 

We should have a desire to Worship and Praise God, we should have a desire to fellowship with other believers. We do these things at church, but we can also do them in other places and at other times. My family attends all three services, sunday schoo, and my wife does ladies bible study on Mondays.

There are certianly times when we don't do all of that every week. I work some evenings and sometimes on Wednesday. I don't choose to, but I have to sometimes. Therefore I don't attend on those Wednesday. If the kids are sick at least one of us must stay home with them. If there is a school function we may miss a Wednesday.

If since I don't 100% attend all services am I a faithful attender? Yes I am. I am there as often as I can be, I do NOT sit home and watch TV rather than going to church. That is what makes the difference. I have the DESIRE to ATTEND even if I am not able to attend.

Bill

 

Hebrews 10:25 has nothing at all do with church attendance every service.

 

Really, Preach? I always thought it did. I just
read it and cannnot find any other application
for it than to get together with other believers.
What do you see in it that I am not? Thank you.

Ah! I just noticed your word, "every"! Now, I got it.

[ October 23, 2002, 11:24 AM: Message edited by: Abiyah ]

 

Well, I could stay in the same Sunday school class as my children, but I just don't thiink what makes a child grow spiritually will make me grow, I need more challengeing study, the class we are in is the most advanced class in our church, I can't see children being ready for that. What splinters a family in my opinion is other activities in life, one plays this sport or that, and another takes dance lessons, or whatever, evryone is doing something different and it results in noone being together becasue everyone is off doing their own thing.

 

Abiyah,

http://www.baptistboard.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=48;t=000052

 

PTW I think I understand your point but I also feel that this verse can be seperated from the latter verses and still carry weight, especially when you read the ones prior to it which speaks of God's faithfulness. Will you lose your salvation by skipping Church? NO, I of course believe you cannot lose it anyway, but you do dishonour God by your lack of faithfulness.
Murph

 

Preach --

Yes, I got it. I agree. If I were to go everytime
the doors opened, I would have to be there
several mornings, all evenings other than
Sunday and Friday, several afternoons,
and all day on Sabbath. As it is, I do go on
Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and all day
Sabbath. Bluntly, I am worn out! I need 20+
years to be subtracted from my age!

 

A Pastor once told me, "you know you do not have to be in the Church everytime the door opens, that is for Baptists". LOL That was what I heard from him at a Non-Denominal Christian Church. By the way he is gone now. Anyway I was involved in every Ministry you could imagine and in charge of one and I got BURNT OUT! Ahhh a sneaky trick of the evil one for sure. Since then I have slowed down and prayed for God to show me where He wants me. And you know what? It was not involved in every Ministry and every study and Sermon there was.
I had to prioritize or else I would have stopped everything.
I hear it said that there are only about 10% of the members in churches that do the Ministry work and most of the others are pew potatoes. Do any of you find that to be the case?
Love in Christ Angie

 

Angie --

You are one smart lady to slow down and
prioritize. At the church I once belonged to,
we were expected to stretch ourselves beyond
our means, energies, time, and even our
potentials (!) in order to serve the church. Both
of my brothers-in-law got caught in this trap
and ended up leaving both the church and their
wives.

I was caught up in that, too, and when I
requested of the pastor to allow me to slow
down and prioritize my ministries in that church,
he let me know that I was dead-wrong and
personally horrible for feeling that way. He
shamed me into continuing, and I did for years.

Finally, I told him that I was through. I was
treated as "backslidden."

If a person is stretched too far, they are inef-
fective. If they are feeling burn-out, our God
is trying to tell them something: reprioritize!

 

I've read the post's but I don't undertand what the unhappyness is about? I go to church every time the door is open. Three times a week or more if I can find a church that is doing something of the Lord's work. You go to church to Worship... correct? You are involved to Serve...correct? Life is so busy that you can not devote One day to the Lord? So does that mean that the Lord gets what is left of your life? I am not saying that Children are not to be considered or that family is not to be considered... it is just that it looks like the Lord is being considered last. I don't think that is where I intend to place him. You choose your priorities... As for me (and my house).....