I will wrap up my list of some of the improper reasons that I've seen people use the church. I want to be very clear that God can use these motivations to get people to church and allow the seed of the Gospel to be placed in their life and bring them to salvation in Christ. I've also seen people who were improperly motivated do more harm to the Gospel than good too.
I want my kids to be moral and the church will do this for me. To this individual the church is simply a moral institution that will fix their kids for them.
I feel guilty for my sin. These folks show up sporadically. They come to church when they have “fallen away from God.” They will come to church for a while, begin to get life back into some sense of balance, believe that they are now strong again, quit going to church because they can handle life on their own, and then go right back into the same lifestyle again. When the pain gets bad enough – wow they are back at church – again. And the cycle goes on for years until they eventually give up on God (and the church) completely.
I’m a predator. Believe it or not there are twisted individuals who use the church as a hunting ground for their depravity. It would be nice to believe that there are no such individuals but I assure you that they are out there. I will also assure you that I as a pastor/shepherd am always on the lookout for those who would prey on women, children, and yes, even men.
There’s nothing else to do. These are the folks who carve out time for going to church when the weather is neither too bad nor too good. If the weather is good, we will be at the lake; if the weather is too bad we will not venture out. These are the folk that will be at church as long as they are not at the big game/race. These are also the individuals who are not too tired from their activities on Saturday night. It seems that the stars have to align just right to see these folks back at church.
Coming up next: why I personally go to church...
so, Kris, what series is next after this one? Do you ever do a verse by verse study through a book or are your studies all topical? And, how's this study going? What's your response?
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I'm reading the D'Souza book, "What's so great about Christianity". I think you would really like it.
Mike,
ReplyDeleteI'm not preaching on the topic of "Why I Go to Church", although, I think I could. I just thought it would make an interesting series of posts on the ol' blog.
I will have to check out D'Souza's book, sounds interesting.
I will be praying that you have a safe trip to Kiev!
Thanks, these are all great reminders to check ourselves with. Sometimes while I am at church I remind myself that I am there to worship God. I sometimes then need to use some discipline on myself.
ReplyDeleteThanks, these are all great reminders to check ourselves with. Sometimes while I am at church I remind myself that I am there to worship God. I sometimes then need to use some discipline on myself.
ReplyDelete