Three to Thrive?

    There is a common way of thinking among Christianity that if the church doors are open, you should be there.  That church means you must meet Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday evening.  The good ol' phrase "Three to thrive" is reflective of a viewpoint that is, unfortunately, still often taken very seriously.

   Even this past Sunday, Gerald Wolfe, lead singer for gospel music group Greater Vision, tweeted, "I often wonder why 70% of the people who love to worship the Lord on Sunday morning, don't seem to be interested in Him on Sunday night."

  I've heard it said that "Sunday morning attendance shows how popular the church is; Sunday evening attendance shows how popular the pastor is; and Wednesday night attendance shows how popular God is."

  Sadly, I must admit, until a few years ago I would have nodded and smiled along in agreement to the above sentiments.  I used to hear of families skipping Wednesday night services because of homework and think "tsk-tsk".  I would  hear of families skipping Sunday evening to go have time at the lake and shake my head in sadness for their souls.

  Embarrassing to admit.

  In the last few years, though, I've come to think through this and other issues more carefully on my own and have reached some different conclusions.

  First of all, it is never our place to judge someone's heart when they're not at church.  And if we really care, maybe we should be reaching out and letting them know that we missed them instead of merely criticizing them and coming up with negative cliche phrases to pat ourselves on the back.

  Second of all, we have to remember that church today is far from what it was in the Bible.  In a lot of ways this is great, and shows the progress of time (I'm sure Paul would have loved to have a bulletin!:) ).  But in a lot of ways, we have forgotten that what church is now is a lot of style, culture, etc. and not all Biblically mandated. Take the three services for example.  Fine for those who can and want to go to all of them; but is Wednesday night a Biblical mandate?  I think not.  And there can also be too much of a good thing.  Church services are good.  Too many and pressure to be obligated to them all quickly makes a good thing go bad.
Three services a week is a lot.  It's a TON.  And that is apart from other church activities, Bible studies, etc.

    We need to remember that going to church three times a week does not mean you have it all together.  And not going to church three times a week does not mean you don't.  True "Church" is not a building, and it's not a schedule.  It's Christians who worship, serve, and learn together.  That can be done inside the church building, or outside of it.  Our local church is very important and beneficial to our marriages, families, and spiritual growth; but it should not trump our marriages and ministry to our families- nor does church attendance equal spiritual state.

  I'm not saying church should be convenient.  It needs to be a place of selfless service.  I'm saying that I'm afraid we've come to worship church attendance, and often at the cost of actually being the Church.

   We need to ask ourselves... maybe the people who have decided Wednesday night services aren't for them actually have their priorities better aligned... maybe the couple who doesn't come on Sunday nights is skipping church with better motives than someone has for sitting in the pew....

  Maybe "Three to thrive" is just the opposite.  Maybe Mr. Wolfe needs to remember that possibly the 70% are able to worship more outside of church on Sunday nights than they are by going to church that night.  Maybe it's because they are so interested in God that they aren't at church that night.

  We are called to edify one another, minister to our families, value our marriages, be a light to the world... all of these can be done in and outside of a church building.  Only you and God know your motives for attending or not attending a church service, and He is the only one you're accountable to for it.