~candice~ Posted June 15, 2011 Group: Royal Member Followers: 5 Topic Count: 955 Topics Per Day: 0.16 Content Count: 11,318 Content Per Day: 1.89 Reputation: 448 Days Won: 33 Joined: 12/16/2007 Status: Offline Share Posted June 15, 2011 I feel slightly bemused when people ask 'do you attend church'. I feel it's the wrong question. The real question is - are you a member of the body? I am not too concerned by whether people get their name ticked off on a Sunday, I want to know where their heart is, are they an active member of the local body, are they accountable to others, do they sit under teaching, do they encourage others and receive encouragement? When did "church" become three songs, a sermon, a prayer, a closing song, and if you are lucky a cup of tea before you leave? Going to church should be a natural expression of our membership in the body, not motivated by an obligation to be attend but desire to participate in what He is doing and mutually and publically enjoy His greatness. I sense there are a lot of Christians who don't turn up on a Sunday but are active for Him in the body, and a lot of people who do turn up on Sundays who really aren't active in the body. Am I wrong or is Sunday attendance really the wrong question? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saved2Serve Posted June 15, 2011 Group: Junior Member Followers: 0 Topic Count: 10 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 75 Content Per Day: 0.02 Reputation: 10 Days Won: 0 Joined: 02/02/2011 Status: Offline Birthday: 09/16/1993 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Am I wrong or is Sunday attendance really the wrong question? I suppose it is your motive behind the question as well as who you are asking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~candice~ Posted June 15, 2011 Group: Royal Member Followers: 5 Topic Count: 955 Topics Per Day: 0.16 Content Count: 11,318 Content Per Day: 1.89 Reputation: 448 Days Won: 33 Joined: 12/16/2007 Status: Offline Author Share Posted June 15, 2011 Am I wrong or is Sunday attendance really the wrong question? I suppose it is your motive behind the question as well as who you are asking. There's nothing wrong with sunday attendance. It just isn't the whole deal. My motive comes from a desire to be in His body and seeing Him work and personal circumstances mean Sunday mornings I can't go where I want, but I'm loving seeing His body in action at work in our local prayer meeting. He's alive . I just want to boogy tonight . He fills my life with joy . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saved2Serve Posted June 15, 2011 Group: Junior Member Followers: 0 Topic Count: 10 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 75 Content Per Day: 0.02 Reputation: 10 Days Won: 0 Joined: 02/02/2011 Status: Offline Birthday: 09/16/1993 Share Posted June 15, 2011 (edited) There's nothing wrong with sunday attendance. It just isn't the whole deal. You refer to others treating church as more important than prayer, fellowship, and/or devotions? Yes, i agree - And althought these do not make one a Christian, we must not forget - these are all fruits. And if we see that these fruits are not evident in someone's life, we must pray for that individual, not go around tearing them down. Edited June 15, 2011 by Saved2Serve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
other one Posted June 15, 2011 Group: Worthy Ministers Followers: 29 Topic Count: 599 Topics Per Day: 0.08 Content Count: 56,260 Content Per Day: 7.56 Reputation: 27,988 Days Won: 271 Joined: 12/29/2003 Status: Offline Share Posted June 15, 2011 :My grandmother used to tell me that where/what you attend Saturday night has more to do with where you spend eternity than does Sunday Morning.... I tend to agree with her. Too many people think Sunday Morning is what's important, and in reality it's how we live our whole lives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~candice~ Posted June 15, 2011 Group: Royal Member Followers: 5 Topic Count: 955 Topics Per Day: 0.16 Content Count: 11,318 Content Per Day: 1.89 Reputation: 448 Days Won: 33 Joined: 12/16/2007 Status: Offline Author Share Posted June 15, 2011 There's nothing wrong with sunday attendance. It just isn't the whole deal. You refer to others treating church as more important than prayer, fellowship, and/or devotions? Yes, i agree - And althought these do not make one a Christian, we must not forget - these are all fruits. And if we see that these fruits are not evident in someone's life, we must pray for that individual, not go around tearing them down. Hmm maybe I am expressing this wrong. I mean that church attendance is not the be all and end all, and I think the concept would have been strange in the early church. I think the essence of being part of His body is 'community', not just attendance. Make sense? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Treasure Posted June 15, 2011 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 272 Topics Per Day: 0.08 Content Count: 2,338 Content Per Day: 0.65 Reputation: 11 Days Won: 0 Joined: 07/19/2014 Status: Offline Share Posted June 15, 2011 Hmm maybe I am expressing this wrong. I mean that church attendance is not the be all and end all, and I think the concept would have been strange in the early church. I think the essence of being part of His body is 'community', not just attendance. Make sense? I think so. Are you saying that a particular gathering of people on Sunday morning should not be our focus. That should be Him alone. Our hearts should be where He is, we should live our lives as He would have us to, not any particular gathering of people, but in ministering to the true Body. It saddened me once when I went to speak with my pastor at the time about some concerns I had. The concerns were such that I was praying about leaving that particular fellowship. I don't remember the whole conversation apart from one statement he made. It was so disappointing and I don't think I'll ever forget it. We were discussing church growth and he said something along the lines of "this church has seen more baptisms than any other church in ----------- County. I'm pretty certain there must have been tears in my eyes when I asked him "where are all those people now?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SavedByGrace1981 Posted June 15, 2011 Group: Royal Member Followers: 6 Topic Count: 104 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 2,924 Content Per Day: 0.61 Reputation: 462 Days Won: 2 Joined: 04/02/2011 Status: Offline Birthday: 03/22/1953 Share Posted June 15, 2011 There's nothing wrong with sunday attendance. It just isn't the whole deal. You refer to others treating church as more important than prayer, fellowship, and/or devotions? Yes, i agree - And althought these do not make one a Christian, we must not forget - these are all fruits. And if we see that these fruits are not evident in someone's life, we must pray for that individual, not go around tearing them down. Hmm maybe I am expressing this wrong. I mean that church attendance is not the be all and end all, and I think the concept would have been strange in the early church. I think the essence of being part of His body is 'community', not just attendance. Make sense? I can only speak of my own experience, but when I finally (after many years of being "under conviction) gave my heart to the Lord, I wanted to be around His people. That meant in part attending church services. I've been fortunate in the 30 or so years that I've been a Christian in that I've never looked at attending church services as a "duty". Something to be marked off on a checklist. Rather, I've been blessed in that I look forward to attending church. I draw strength from the music, the message and the fellowship. If the day were ever to come where for some reason I couldn't attend, I know that I would greatly miss it. There would be a void in my life. Most of us are social beings, so it makes sense that if we truly belong to Him then we should enjoy being around His people. But on the flip side, I don't believe we can be legalistic about church attendance, either. Blessings! -Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nebula Posted June 15, 2011 Group: Royal Member Followers: 10 Topic Count: 5,823 Topics Per Day: 0.75 Content Count: 45,870 Content Per Day: 5.94 Reputation: 1,897 Days Won: 83 Joined: 03/22/2003 Status: Offline Birthday: 11/19/1970 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Am I wrong or is Sunday attendance really the wrong question? No, I don't think you are wrong. Church was meant to be an organism, not an organization. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Am I wrong or is Sunday attendance really the wrong question? No, I don't think you are wrong. Church was meant to be an organism, not an organization. Exactly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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