Two reasons to choose church not shopping this Sunday

We live in a time when there is a huge number of alternatives to church on a Sunday, readily available and seemingly very attractive. Sports. Bed. Shopping. Brunch with the gang. Hobbies. And as the number of options available to us grows and grows, church seems more and more irrelevant than ever.

The debate around Sunday trading hours focuses mainly on the need for “family time”, not church attendance, and the statistics show why: In the UK, it was normal to go to church back in the 1950s—25% of British adults were in a service on a Sunday. Today, it’s 5%. It’s likely that more people will be in your local supermarket at 11 a.m. this Sunday than in your local church. In the US, that trend, though less far on, is nevertheless heading in the same direction.

There are so many reasons why we might not bother with church.

Church is an effort— maybe you’re someone who goes along dutifully to church week by week, but you’ve never been completely sure why.

It is sometimes hard— Maybe you’re someone who goes along dutifully to church week by week, but you’ve never been completely sure why.

And it’s far from normal. So why bother going at all? Why bother making it a priority in your week, every week? Why bother getting stuck in when it means putting yourself out? Why go to church on Sunday, rather than shopping?

There’s a whole heap of reasons—but let’s focus on just two.

You’re needed…

More than once in the New Testament, Paul describes the church as a body. And in 1 Corinthians 12, he draws some very simple, but key, implications. Paul writes:

“If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.” (v 15)

Your church needs you. You may not have the gifts you wish you had, or that seem the most important or visible, but you are as vital to the health of the church as anyone else. There will be a contribution you can make to your church that is unique to you.

Here’s an exercise for you. Take a pen, a piece of paper and a timer. How many times can you write your name in 30 seconds? Now try the same exercise but without using your hands. You can put the pen between your toes or hold it in your mouth. My guess is, you didn’t do so well the second time round. Once you remove certain parts of the body, even simple tasks get harder. It reminds us of how much those with disability deserve our admiration. And it also reminds us of what our church misses out on when we are not there—part of the body is missing. Your church needs you.

…and needy

You need your church:

“The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” … On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.” (v 21-22)

Whether you’re the preacher or a child, whether you’ve been a Christian for four weeks or four decades, whether you’re the most successful businessperson or the longest-term unemployed, you need everyone else as much as they need you.

Your church is vital to you, and you are vital to your church.

The truth is that “God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be … there are many parts, but one body” (v 18, 20). The membership of every local church is no accident; it is by divine design. There is no one there who is a spare part, a third foot or second nose. There is no one there who is not necessary, or who doesn’t need the rest of their church. That includes you—which is really quite exciting. God has chosen to include and to use you. You can make a real, lasting, eternally significant difference by being a part of your church. Your church is vital to you, and you are vital to your church.

Get excited about church by reading Sam’s new book, Why bother with church?

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