Is Church Necessary?

Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral in Florence, Italy

 Estimated reading time: 14 minutes

Is Church (Really) Necessary?

As I reflect on that question, I’m reminded of a time that may seem unfamiliar to many of you reading this blog. I’m 75 years old, and when I was a kid, Sunday was a designated day of rest — for everyone, regardless of their beliefs. Most businesses (except probably gas stations) were closed the entire day so people could go to church and be with their families. After church, we’d have a big family brunch followed by an afternoon of playing games like baseball, football, or (as was the case with my family) badminton. We had locks on our doors, but no one ever used them. My dad often left his keys in his car in the ignition (parked in the driveway) because, that way, he never had to look for his keys. People trusted people. And, when we disagreed with someone, we’d listen to their opinion, share ours, and then walk away either converted or educated. We understood that not everyone thought the same way we did. Their life experiences were different, and/or their interpretation of their experiences was different.  That was their business, and no one hated or belittled them for it. Although life was not perfect, it seemed more respectful of another’s right to have an opinion different from yours. Don’t get me wrong, during this period, we experienced problems over civil rights, a fear of communism, and concerns about the limitations of free speech (to name a few). But, in my humble opinion, families and the country were held together (in part) because we believed in our country’s motto, “In God we Trust.”

The central unifying place where we expressed our faith in God was the church. Since my background is that of a Christian and the United States has, for all its history, been referred to as a Christian nation, my focus on the question of attending church will come from the perspective of a Christian. What prompted me to write on this subject today is that the world I grew up in bears little resemblance to the world I live in today. Clearly, there are many reasons why that is true, but I would submit that a major contributing factor is a significant decline in the importance we place on God, our faith, and the assembling together in places of worship.

The Popular Vote is — NO to Church!

You may or may not track the trends, but across the planet, attendance at most churches, synagogues, and mosques is down, according to several polls. ((https://www.churchtrac.com/articles/the-state-of-church-attendance-trends-and-statistics-2023)) Why is that? What changed in our society to cause some many to lose their faith in the church? Whereas one would expect someone who doesn’t believe in any religion to reject the need for church, what is truly surprising is that more and more people who claim to be “religious” also reject the need to attend church. Observe some facts taken from a 2023 Gallop Poll:

See the trend? With each generation, church is becoming less relevant. Why is this so? Are people just objecting to organized church or are they also losing faith in God? 

What is going on?

Again, the polls seem to suggest that two major trends have emerged:

1. The loss of faith in traditional organized church:  The long-term, repeated discoveries of abuse in the Catholic church by, of all people, its priests and its leaders has probably done more to drive people out of church (and not just the catholic churches) than another other reason in recent history. Yet, the sins of the Catholic church are not the only problem. Many churches have had their “dirty laundry” exposed thanks to the advent of social media. What was previously hidden has now been exposed, and like my previous blog (Are Christians Perfect?), we’ve now discovered that churches are not perfect either. This revelation has not only had a significant negative impact on attendance, in many cases it has led to an outright rejection of God (See my blog on “Why do people reject God?”)
2. The inability (or reluctance) of the Church to engage in major social Issues: In the past several years, churches have been asked to weigh in on a number of difficult social issues like abortion, homosexuality, foreign wars, and transgender issues. Some err on the side of being overly harsh and judgmental, and some just try to please everyone with a neutral answer that pleases no one.  The churches failure to address these societal concerns has most certainly contributed to its decline. People want and need a safe, non-judgmental place where they can talk about, and find answers to the issues that trouble them. 

Collectively, these issues have resulted in horrible PR for churches of all denominations. Only the nondenominational and charismatic churches seem to have been spared (or, at least injured less). When people believe that the church does not have answers to the questions they struggle with, they abandon it like rats on a sinking ship. This has led many to conclude that the church is irrelevant.  Surprisingly, the trends also suggest that many people are sticking with God while rejecting the church. This group has chosen to worship God on their own terms without any connection to a church. Unfortunately, that violates a basic principle taught in the Bible and set up by God to help both us and the church remain healthy and grow. And as we shall see, it doesn’t work. 

How’s that Working for You?

In the absence of the church, social media has taken over as THE vehicle by which many of our values are determined. Unlike church, we do not know who is driving the social media bus much less what values they embrace. Everyone’s perspective counts — until it doesn’t. If you’re not deemed to be a thought leader whose ideas “go viral,” then “the collective” will “cancel you”, “marginalize you”, and/or attack you. The more you express your ideas, the more the collective rejects you. Truth is no longer a subjective examination of the facts, it is whatever the masses say it is. If the masses say your views are racist, then you are a  racist. And, since everyone hates racism, the vote will be to marginalize you and then cut you out of the herd. Social media is driven by the whims of those whose posts are followed. What is “IN” today, may be “OUT” tomorrow. Values operate on the principle of, “If it feels good, do it!” where the “it” is constantly changing. This is the new “church.” Trying to follow God on your own terms in such a fluid environment is impossible. What better way to destroy the values of a nation than by first breaking up an institution that provided a common value system? The results have been devastating:

• Religion is less valued than in previous generations resulting in confusion over what is right, what is truth and what is good.
• Patriotism is less valued than in previous generations resulting in a decreased love of the country we live in.
• Money, Success, and Social Acceptance is more valued than in previous generations resulting in an unhealthy obsession to be “relevant” and “influential.”
• The Media and Social Outcries are more popular than actually investigating the facts that drive them resulting in a blurring of what is truth.
• Individual Rights carry more weight than how those rights impact the rest of society resulting in a decreased respect for the law..
• The Family Unit has been severely eroded threatening the safety and security of our children. The percentage of broken, single-parent families has risen from 11% in 2000, to 27% in 2010, to 30% in 2022 (Wikipedia) resulting in more kids who lack the discipline, perspective and values of a stable home..
• God’s Position and Authority has devolved to one of questionable relevance and limited (if any) authority resulting in more people abandoning the sound teaching of God’s Word, the Bible.

What are we Missing?

It seems to me that the world I live in today is not nearly as attractive as the world I grew up with. No, that world was not perfect, but it seems to me that there was once a lot more trust and baseline values we could depend on. Back then, we took our direction from the church and worked out their teaching in the family. It may not have been perfect, but at least we knew who was setting our values (God, through His Word, the Bible). Those values had been proven to work over  thousands of years as long as we remembered our faith was based on God, not men. Now, because we have let an unvetted and unknown collective who dictates our values, we should not be surprised when those values fail to solve our problems. When religion, patriotism, and family become questionable benchmarks in society, we should question who is driving those decisions. Since ~1500 B.C., humanity learned that there were certain minimal requirements that constituted a stable civilization. Those basic building blocks have always included:

• A stable family unit. The decline of two-parent households robs any children in that home of the perspective brought by two people who probably do not see the world the same but who try to model a value system driven by faith in God’s Word (See my blog on “What Makes a Marriage Work?“). This diversity of thought gives kids something to think about as they decide how they are going to live their lives.
• A fair and stable set of laws that are actually respected and enforced. Society has always recognized that they need a common, mutually agreed to yardstick by which all will conduct themselves. When we fail to agree on that yardstick and/or stop enforcing what it says, chaos results.
• A reverence for and adherence to a common religion. Religion, in its most basic form, provides a common code of behavior that acts as the glue that holds society together. Without it, it’s just a free-for-all. The Christian religion is based on a belief in the one and only true God who created everything that exists — anywhere. Those who take the time to study Him with an open mind will find truth, power, and peace in their lives. Their faith directs them to “do the right thing” and, as a result, society benefits.
• A loyalty to and support of our community and country. Churches are historically the #1 place where communities gather. When they exist (and are healthy), they are a place to discuss community needs, politics, and general topics of concern. It is often where many will solidify their positions and establish productive ways to solve local problems. Churches usually provide much needed prayer support and actual physical support to its members. A sporting event may seem like a suitable alternative, but no sporting event ever resulted in a hospital being built in a place that needed one, nor did it come together and build a home for someone who didn’t have one.
• A place to discover ones calling. The Bible talks about the church being “the body of Christ.” Each member is called by God’s Holy Spirit to fulfill a specific role in the church (just like each part of a body fulfills a unique role). A major function of the church is to help its members find their calling, train them in how to use it, and then provide a vehicle for where they can exercise their gift(s). The calling of the church is to help people truly understand why God created them. Its called fulfillment. Here’s what the Apostle Paul had to say:

¹⁴ The human body has many parts. ¹⁵ The foot might say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not part of the body.” But saying this would not stop the foot from being a part of the body… ^18-19 If each part of the body were the same part, there would be no body. But truly God put all the parts, each one of them, in the body (the church) as he wanted them… But God put the body together and gave more honor to the parts that need it ²⁵ so our body would not be divided. God wanted the different parts to care the same for each other. ²⁶ If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it. Or if one part of our body is honored, all the other parts share its honor. 1 Corinthians 12:14-26 NCV

In this passage, Paul is comparing the church to a human body. We are to be united together as if we were all part of the same body. As a result, we cannot say to the church that we reject them just because we don’t see “eye-to-eye.” We are all part of the same body. We must work out our differences together. Each member has a different function and, even if we don’t like how one part functions, we must try and work things out together. The body of the church is supposed to take care of each other. I think this is where much of the decline in our churches started — we stopped helping each other when things got too difficult.

• An Acknowledgment that God is in Charge: People lose faith in the church when they forget who is in charge. That applies especially to church leaders who allow their power and position to go to their heads as they take God out of the driver’s seat and put themselves in. The church belongs to God. He created it as a place to learn of Him, acknowledge Him, and revere Him. When that emphasis changes, the church suffers. God created the church because He knows that we need each other to really understand Him, relate to Him, and receive the full blessings God wants us to have. Further, Paul taught us that, “He (Jesus) is the head of the body, which is the church.” (Colossians 1:18 NCV) Therefore, to reject the church, is to reject Jesus.

When the above blocks are solidly in place, the church flourishes and so also society. When they are not, chaos reigns. And, the cornerstone behind it all is when a community gathers together under a common belief in an all-powerful God that will hold them accountable for their actions. Many governments have tried to control their people through spying, intimidation, torture, and imprisonment. But nothing creates a stronger society than one rooted in a belief that God will prevail. The Bible itself encourages us to attend church:

²⁵ You should not stay away from the church meetings, as some are doing, but you should meet together and encourage each other. Do this even more as you see the (End of) day(s) coming. Hebrews 10:25 NCV   (Emphasis mine)

The author of Hebrews makes it clear that meeting together helps to encourage each other. How does this work? More importantly, what have we missed that has allowed us to drift so far away from the blessings of God’s teaching?

The (Hidden) Blessings of Attending Church

I say these blessings are hidden because (if they were not), the church might be in better shape today. When the church is functioning as God intended, all members are acting as one body and using their gifts as God intended, and the resulting blessings are:

• A strengthening of our faith: Church attendance supports this in two ways. First, it helps to see that others share our faith when we attend. And, when we get involved in the activities of the church (like volunteering, attending Bible studies or prayer teams) our exposure to God’s work in society will hopefully bless us and strengthen our faith. Second, when we have a good teaching pastor, they help us learn and apply the wisdom of the Bible’s teaching.
• A strengthening of the family unit: When husbands and wives bring their children to church, it instills habits in them that will hopefully stay with them for life. This works best when those values are lived out in the family unit. When children see their parents “walk the walk,” they are more inclined to do likewise.
• Finding and developing our spiritual gifts: In Acts, God sent the Holy Spirit to indwell the believers and to develop “gifts of the spirit” in each one. Learning what these gifts are and how to use them is a lifelong journey and something that must be done as a community of believers helping and encouraging each other in the church. When this is not done, the power, spirit, and vision of the church is lost.
• Sending disciples into the world: When a church is healthy, following the teachings of the Bible, and being obedient to God, it flourishes and grows — not just in its own congregation, but by sending disciples into the world to “spread the good news.”  This is the very essence of what the Bible teaches as the “Great Commission.” Jesus said: