GONE GIRL- OR GUY
A pastor decided to skip church one Sunday morning and go play golf. He told the elders that he wasn’t feeling well and then he drove to a golf course in another city so nobody would know him. As he teed off on the first hole, a huge gust of wind caught his ball, carried it an extra two-hundred yards and dropped it right in the hole, for a 450-yard hole in one. An angel looked at God and said “What’d you do that for?” God smiled and said “Who’s he going to tell?”
I recognize that sometimes believers- even committed Christians- sometimes have to miss gathering as the Church because of their work or because they are housebound, confined to their home or a nursing facility due to sickness or old age. But other times an absence is more of a choice. Aaron Earls writes how “A Lifeway Research study of U.S. adults who attend a religious service at a Protestant or non-denominational church at least monthly finds several reasons some will miss church at least once a year. Respondents were asked how often they would skip a weekly worship service for six different scenarios.” Most regular churchgoers (77%) say they would miss a weekly worship service at least once a year to avoid traveling in severe weather. 55% say they would miss in order to enjoy an outdoor activity in good weather (like golf!). 54% may miss to get some extra sleep. In addition, the younger a churchgoer is, the more likely they are to stay in bed on Sunday mornings at least occasionally. (Not surprising!) At the other end of the spectrum, those who are 65 and over are the least likely to be absent for any reason.
Exactly 50% would miss in order to meet a friend or group of friends. Most U.S. churchgoers say rain won’t keep them away, but 43% say they may miss church to avoid traveling during rainy weather. Despite major sporting events often happening on Sundays, watching sports is the least likely of the six reasons churchgoers say would cause them to skip church. 42% say they’d miss a worship service at least once a year to watch a sporting event or their favorite team reflecting 46% of men and 39% of women.
Sadly, those who attend Restoration Movement congregations (like the Church of Christ) are among the most likely to miss services for these reasons. I also find it a bit disheartening that Scott McConnell, Executive Director of Lifeway, says “Churchgoers are not on autopilot. Each week they are faced with a choice of whether to attend church, and there is more than one tradeoff when it comes to this decision.” I would hope that coming to church would not be a “choice” any more than one has to make a choice in whether to go to work or not. With a sense of personal obligation and a commitment to obey God’s Word, I think it should just be natural for a dedicated believer to want to be with other Christians to worship, learn and fellowship as often on Sundays as possible. The New Testament tells us we should “consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day (of Christ’s return) approaching.” (Hebrews 10:24,25)
I appreciate that one in 10 Protestant churchgoers (11%) say they would never miss for any of these reasons and 22% say they would never skip due to any of the six options other than severe weather. Perhaps these individuals recognize how awesome it is that Jesus said “where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:20). We may think He’s with us at places like the golf course (especially if we get a hole in one!), but we can be sure He’s with us in a special way when we gather in His name to honor our Savior and Lord!
In His Service, Jim
Scripture Spotlight “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:20