Thank You, Pastor McCain! "When You Do Not Go to Church"

Sometimes my inbox contains treasures!  On this extraordinarily beautiful, Texas Thanksgiving Morning I found a wonderful short article.  Pastor Paul McCain, son of my classmate, Deaconess Mccain, joined me in my discussion of why people want to be in church, whether they know it or not.

…  "Each Sunday is a gathering of the family – and when a beloved family member doesn’t show up for the family gathering and meal at Christmas or Easter or Thanksgiving, there’s a hole, a gap, a pain that everyone feels. We’re all the less for that person not being with us to revel in the celebration of that day. Their absence diminishes the joy of the family…"

See the whole article here.

So…  The discussion.  I am still a little bit shy when it comes to talking to people about church attendance.  I know what a life line being in church has been for me.  Regular hearing of God's Word, receiving forgiveness on my tongue and in my ears in the Sacrament, and encouragement from God's People helped me through a depression that I never sought help for in any other way.  (I didn't really think it, or I, was worth that kind of effort.) Sermons, bible classes, Communion, and Christian friends helped me when I was well on my way to losing my faith.  They sometimes challenged me to think things through again.  They sometimes made me angry or frustrated, they often invited me to try and do things, they listened. The gifts that God gives through church are so important to me that I almost cannot talk about it.

Enter Real Life.  I have a cluster of cherished friends and a few beloved family members who see "going to church" as a major waste of time.  They feel it is like a third grade English class, the direction of learned it by now - after all, it is only ONE book.

So…  I firmly stuck both feet in my mouth and talked about it.  I listened.  I talked some more.  In some cases, I have been talking a couple of months.  In some cases, several years.  In three cases, over a decade.

I have tried "Law." Verses like Hebrews 10:24-25 (And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.) became part of my repertoire.

Granted, I knew that polishing a pew with your seat isn't the point.  I just know that God's Word is powerful and active, working changes in heart and life.  In church, God's Word is directly delivered in the preaching, teaching, and sacraments.  I want to be there when good things are handed out.

That isn't a sufficient reason…

I have tried "Gospel."  When Jesus said that HE would be president when "two or three" of us gather in His Name, that sounds like the most jaw-dropping celebration on the planet.

That doesn't seem to be a sufficient reason…

I don't know, any more.  At this point, if I bring up the subject anymore, I will drive these people that I Care so much about.  I think I will just shut up until THEY bring the topic up again.  Yes, I will continue praying and reading and learning…  But nobody gave me the role of the Holy Spirit.  Maybe the best thing to do is to rest and let HIM work.