church attendance

Tarheel Baptist said:
I think that the subject of leaders who brow beat people into church attendance is moot to this forum....in today's church culture they are the extreme minority....speaking of which, did I ever mention I once owned a three legged cow?
:)
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I bet you didn't own it very long! ;)
 
subllibrm said:
While I don't disagree I will say that your analogy breaks down quickly. We go home to meet our wives. Going is not necessary to meeting God. Again the church is not God.
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The point of the analogy wasn't to say "we go to meet him" but to make an analogy about relationship.  To say that we love our wives but never do anything to demonstrate that, and intentionally absent ourselves from her for long periods of time, or make excuses why we don't want to invest time in and with her, is counter-intuitive.  The same could be said about the organism that Christ gave his life for.

sub said:
Church attendance level is a limited spiritual measure. There are plenty of other things that can indicate spiritual issues. In fact those issues can coexist with heavy church attendance. Better to have good relationships and be able to follow the Spirit as He reveals needs within the body. Rules in place of discernment is a fools game.
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Was there somebody who suggested "rules" in place of relationship?  I thought I demonstrably and explicitly made the opposite sort of claim.
 
christundivided said:
ALAYMAN said:
christundivided said:
Timothy said:
In a dark world, the Church house is a refuge. Pastor teaches us the Bible. The right hand of fellowship is given. Children learn to fear God. Wednesday night is like a battery recharge.

That said - I don't think the Bible says SUN AM/PM and WED PM

But, it does say "so much the more"

The only service that is hard for me is Sunday PM - I almost wish it could be SUN AM, TUES PM, THURS PM ... but, that is just me.
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Christ is your "RECHARGE". Not a church service.

This is many people problems. They only way you judge anything is through the lense of local church attendance. You have substituted such nonsense to the point you pin GOD down to meeting a few times a week.... .WHEN IS HIS WITH YOU ALWAYS.
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If he is with you always (and He is), and this is the rationale for not needing to meet with the body of Christ and submit to His spiritually appointed earthly authority, then why do you ever need to be with Christ's people?
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NO.... I don't have to meet God's people 3 times a week...

and NO... I don't have to submit to any church appointed authority. There is no such thing as local church authority that extends into defining my church attendance. I have absolute no fear of your powerless attempt to define such a standard that's has no standing in my life. Authority to you.... is nothing more than standing around claiming God said this and God said that. REAL authority does something about it.

If you want to display your really authority.... PUNISH ME FOR NOT ATTENDING CHURCH 3 TIMES A WEEK..... EVERY WEEK. Show me just how much authority you have or your pastor has or anyone you know. If God be for me.... IT doesn't matter who's against me. ;)
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You seem to make up the rules as you go along, not liking the concept of authority.  Very antinomian, and fitting in with the spirit of the age.  JIMHO.
 
I attended a church for a long time and rarely missed any of the three services. And that's not all: For many years on the weekends I probably spent about 14 - 16 hours either in church or ministry work as a volunteer. I don't miss those 14 hour Sundays but I'm glad I did it.

The church I now attend has 3 services between Saturday and Sunday but all three are pretty much the same. But there are a lot of things going on during the week. I enjoy going to church here and hate to miss and I love being involved.
 
I would like to offer a different perspective...

I'm on church staff.  I work a full weekday schedule, teach Sunday School and also assist in the Sunday am service.  Until late last year, I also worked in the youth department on Wednesdays.  I gave that up, so I do not regularly attend the Sunday or Wednesday evening services.  "Why?", you might ask...

Many years ago, my brother, a dedicated Christian and diligent servant, advised me to not get caught up into working in all the services.  His reasoning was that each of us needs a time of personal refreshment, which usually cannot be obtained while one is concentrating on other responsibilities.  At the time, I discounted his wisdom, but I did eventually realize that what he said was true.  It seems whenever I am on church property, I am called to work in some way...and don't get the opportunity to just soak myself in the Word. 

What do I do with myself on Sunday and Wednesday evenings?  I listen to church services and praise and worship music on Christian radio.  I use these times to purposely hear the Word with no distractions.  It feeds my soul!

I do not mean this to be a criticism of my church in any way.  In reality, it is a criticism of myself...because I have a hard time saying no, to the detriment of my own spiritual refreshment.  And soaking in the spoken Word refreshes me. 

Many people do serve in all the services and are filled to the brim by that, but that's not how God made me.  So I stay at home.  I think that God puts a hedge of protection around me during those times, because He has taken my feelings of selfishness away for devoting those times to my own spiritual needs.

Oh, and in closing, I had a conversation with my Pastor about this very subject.  He respected my point of view.  Of course, he doesn't feel that way himself...and I never expected him to.  But he didn't try to change my thinking.  God bless him!       

 
lnf said:
What do I do with myself on Sunday and Wednesday evenings?  I listen to church services and praise and worship music on Christian radio.  I use these times to purposely hear the Word with no distractions.  It feeds my soul!
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I hate most praise and worship music (if you're talking about the contemporary stuff), but I used to saturate myself with Christian radio teaching back when I lived in Joisey.  I wish there was a good station around here.  Most of it is garbage. 

 
I had a pastor once who told a story of a couple in Texas who were saved and started attending every service faithfully.  They became involved in various ministries but he noticed that the husband started to miss a couple of Wednesday night services and eventually both quit coming to the Wednesday evening service altogether.  Today the husband in is prison for killing his wife and it all started with him missing Wednesday night service.  If that doesn't put the fear of God in you I don't know what will.
 
biscuit1953 said:
I had a pastor once who told a story of a couple in Texas who were saved and started attending every service faithfully.  They became involved in various ministries but he noticed that the husband started to miss a couple of Wednesday night services and eventually both quit coming to the Wednesday evening service altogether.  Today the husband in is prison for killing his wife and it all started with him missing Wednesday night service.  If that doesn't put the fear of God in you I don't know what will.
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I crown this king of non-sequiturs.
 
christundivided said:
Timothy said:
In a dark world, the Church house is a refuge. Pastor teaches us the Bible. The right hand of fellowship is given. Children learn to fear God. Wednesday night is like a battery recharge.

That said - I don't think the Bible says SUN AM/PM and WED PM

But, it does say "so much the more"

The only service that is hard for me is Sunday PM - I almost wish it could be SUN AM, TUES PM, THURS PM ... but, that is just me.
Click to expand...

Christ is your "RECHARGE". Not a church service.

This is many people problems. They only way you judge anything is through the lense of local church attendance. You have substituted such nonsense to the point you pin GOD down to meeting a few times a week.... .WHEN IS HIS WITH YOU ALWAYS.
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And Christ can use the Church service in many ways to bless. Sure, I could read the Bible on Wednesday night, and surely the Lord will bless this. But, if my brothers and sisters are down the street at the Church House meeting with our Lord Jesus Christ why would I miss this? The Lord will use the message, the prayer, and the time with saints to recharge me. I am not looking at the service, but toward Christ for strength. The Church house is one place you will find the Lord.
 
The Rogue Tomato said:
biscuit1953 said:
I had a pastor once who told a story of a couple in Texas who were saved and started attending every service faithfully.  They became involved in various ministries but he noticed that the husband started to miss a couple of Wednesday night services and eventually both quit coming to the Wednesday evening service altogether.  Today the husband in is prison for killing his wife and it all started with him missing Wednesday night service.  If that doesn't put the fear of God in you I don't know what will.
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I crown this king of non-sequiturs.
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Mater,

I can go one better. All heroin addicts drank mothers milk or formula as babies. Now don't that  make you stop and take notice of a problem?

;D
 
@biscuit1953 I heard some sad news out of Arkansas, where a youth pastor,  independent. Baptist, faithful ..  killed his wife.  Now explain that.  I do support people going to church, it's my hope people go to church whenever the doors are open,  but instead of trying fear tactics, try the Word of God, show them what blessing they can get and a blessing they can be. But using fear tactics is plain wrong.
 
callmeJay said:
@biscuit1953 I heard some sad news out of Arkansas, where a youth pastor,  independent. Baptist, faithful ..  killed his wife.  Now explain that.
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Injuries caused by him, on her body, ultimately caused her brain to asphyxiate because it was no longer able to receive sufficient oxygen.

I assume that's probably not the "explanation" you were hoping for, so you need to be more specific about what you feel needs explaining.
 
The Rogue Tomato said:
biscuit1953 said:
I had a pastor once who told a story of a couple in Texas who were saved and started attending every service faithfully.  They became involved in various ministries but he noticed that the husband started to miss a couple of Wednesday night services and eventually both quit coming to the Wednesday evening service altogether.  Today the husband in is prison for killing his wife and it all started with him missing Wednesday night service.  If that doesn't put the fear of God in you I don't know what will.
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I crown this king of non-sequiturs.
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I take this back.  It's entirely possible he killed her because she nagged him one too many times to go to Wednesday night service and he cracked. 

 
For years, my family was active in church.  Youth group, Scripture publishing, AWANA, VBS, choir, Puppet team, plays, Sunday School teaching, children's church, etc.  All in addition to the regular services.  I don't mean to brag but simply point out that in a small church, you wear a lot of hats.  There were some Sundays and Wednesdays that I simply didn't want to go to church.  I was tired.

Now that I am disabled and can't go, I miss it.  Just to be able to sit in a service and listen to the preaching and singing....you don't know how much it means until you can't go.  Only the Lord knows how many times I have prayed that I would have the strength to go back to church one more time.....

We can argue how many times someone should go to church.  But don't lose sight of the fact that there are those of us who would be greatful just for the chance to go once, much less three times a week.
 
callmeJay said:
@biscuit1953 I heard some sad news out of Arkansas, where a youth pastor,  independent. Baptist, faithful ..  killed his wife.  Now explain that.  I do support people going to church, it's my hope people go to church whenever the doors are open,  but instead of trying fear tactics, try the Word of God, show them what blessing they can get and a blessing they can be. But using fear tactics is plain wrong.
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You may have misunderstand what I was saying.  I was showing the absurdity of "performance Christianity" that is so legalistic that guilt is the main motivator.  If someone missed even one service they had better have a good excuse.  That same pastor refused to close a service until someone had come to the altar and if no one came he would come right out and have everyone come down to the altar and pray with him.  We had a visiting preacher come one time and at the end of the sermon when no one responded by going down and praying, he got mad and told the whole congregation, "When everyone gets right with God let me know."  He then proceeded to storm off the platform in a huff.  That is the kind of church I was accustomed to and finally left. 
 
MrsRow said:
What scriptures do Pastors refer ppl to when telling them that they must attend church twice on Sunday and Wednesday night prayer meeting?  Who made those rules? Did it originate because Christ was crucified on Wednesday and arose on Sunday?
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My pastor doesn't even go to Sunday PM service or Wednesday service.
 
my great grandmother was the closest woman to proverbs 31.  hard working, feminine glorifying God every day of her life and i never knew her to go to church once .
 
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