Five Lies Christians Tell... (Lie #2)

Lie #2: 
If you just attend Sunday worship you’re being a good Christian.  

There are those who believe they’re being a good Christian simply because they obediently and regularly attend Sunday worship.  And too often we use Sunday worship attendance as the only metric for determining who is an “active member” of the church.  Since when has pew-sitting been considered active?  Wouldn’t it be great if we considered as active those members who strive to serve others by following Jesus Christ outside the building?  

Don’t get me wrong.  Regular attendance at worship is important.  I don’t think there is such a thing as a solitary Christian.  We need Christian community.  As the children’s song goes, Church is not a building – it’s the people.  Church is a global community of those who love God and serve others after the example of Jesus Christ.  Yes, we need to come together as community to praise and worship God and to study God’s Word.  But being an “active member” shouldn’t end there. 

First of all, why do we worship?  As Christians we gather for worship because we desire to offer praise and thanksgiving to a loving God who created us, sustains us, sacrificed for us, and offers us everlasting life.  Our response to worship should be that we want to obey God.  We should long to do what God would have us do… which, according to Scripture, is to love and serve others.

If worship is a communal time of Scripture, praise, and prayer that equips us to be sent into this hurting, broken world, then our goal as Christians shouldn’t just be to get our name on the perfect attendance list.  Our goal as Christians should be to do what we can, where we are, with what we have to actively share God’s love. 

So… after Sunday worship tomorrow, let's all get out there and BE the Church.