When church becomes a chore

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing... Hebrews 10:25


One of the pleasures of church life is welcoming new people to the various services and activities. Perhaps, for most of us, this doesn’t happen every Sunday, but hopefully it’s not too rare. (If it is, perhaps it’s time to do a bit of serious thinking together...)

But the downside, of course, is when the opposite happens - when people who used to be regularly with us aren’t any more. We find ourselves saying to one another, "We don't seem to have seen so-and-so much recently, do we?" or "Do you know what's become of so-and-so?" (Hopefully somebody is active in following these people up...)

People fade out of church life for all sorts of reasons.

Occasionally there is a problem - a disagreement, a bit of a personality clash or misunderstanding, perhaps a feeling of not being quite happy with the way things are going. There may - who knows? - be some kind of spiritual crisis going on in someone's mind and heart.

But more often, judging by my experience, it's a matter of plain drift. We start to get out of the habit. Other pressures crowd in and conspire to squeeze God out. Somebody I hadn't seen for a bit responded to my enquiry by laughing in an embarrassed kind of way and saying, "Oh, I've been finding it hard to get out of bed recently!" (Oh well, ten out of ten for honesty.)

The fact is that initial enthusiasm can fade. We can, as the New Testament puts it, "lose our spiritual glow". It’s all there in Jesus’ parable of the sower, Matthew 13.

Well, if it's any consolation, this verse from Hebrews suggests that the same problem existed just after the birth of Christianity.

We are tempted to imagine that in those heady early days everyone was bursting with red-hot zeal for God. But apparently not so: there were those, it seems, who were "giving up meeting together". True, they may well have had a far better excuse than us - the church was experiencing persecution, or at least the threat of it, just as it is today in many parts of the world. Going to church could be dangerous. But, whatever the reason, this is a danger we can all fall into.

I remember a Sunday School teacher telling us that the church is like an old-fashioned wood fire. If you take a burning stick off the fire it will carry on burning for a bit, but very soon it will die and just be a bit of charred wood. We, said the teacher, are like that. If we get separated from the church we won't suddenly stop being Christians, no - but little by little the glow will fade until there is nothing left. Sad!

Do you ever find yourself thinking "Perhaps I'll give church a miss today"? Or that some television programme is more attractive than the prayer meeting or house-group? Of course you do! We all do. We're only human. As Jesus put it, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).

But it's at times like that that we need to be careful. This is where Hebrews 10:25 is the jolt we need. (And bear in mind, by the way, that often, having made the effort, we end up saying "Well, I didn't feel much like going to the service today - but I'm so glad I did!")

I always feel that holiday time is a real test here. Can I ask a direct question? If you are able to go away for a week or two, do you plan to be in worship on the Sundays? Or do you think of holiday time as a holiday from church? Shame on you! How can that be right?

It can in fact be really refreshing and stimulating to go along to a church other than your regular one - quite possibly to one from a different denomination or tradition - and experience another kind of worship style and spirituality. Not to mention the encouragement you can bring to that church by saying who you are and where you're from.

One last thought. It may be that as you read this you are in fact one of those who has gone missing. Well, what can I say? Just this: You need us, and we need you. It would be great to see you back!

Dear Father, it can sometimes seem a bit of a chore to keep "meeting together" with my fellow-Christians. Please forgive my lukewarmness. But help me to remember that sometimes what I do as a duty quickly becomes a joy. Amen.