You want to know a secret? Until recently I hadn’t been in a corporate worship service in a long time, about two months actually. I didn’t realize it had been so long until my husband vocalized the time frame to a pastor we met. Although actively pursuing community, we hadn’t attended a worship service for a while due to my husband’s new work schedule. Usually he doesn’t get to bed on a Saturday night until at least 4:00 AM (I guess that would technically make it Sunday morning).
As opposed to other times in my life this difficult season has not pushed me away from God but drawn me closer to him. It has caused me to be more intentional about seeking true Christian community. It has also caused me to ask many questions about the role and function of the church (meaning Christ followers not necessarily a building or service on a Sunday). It has also made me wonder why so few questioned our absence.
Additionally we have been seeking a new local faith community to be a part of. That search has been an interesting, difficult, exciting, and sometimes scary journey. What I can say definitively is that being away from corporate worship for a season has taught me how important it is but certainly not a determination of our spiritual standing with God.
Thanks for letting me share my secret. Do you have any thoughts on the role of corporate worship in the life of the believer? Have you ever been away from the ‘church’ for a season of your life?
129. Worshipping with other believers at New City
130. Hard eucharisteo: not getting what I want
131. A walk Downtown with the hubby
132. An unexpected trip to the farmer’s market
133. Weather cool enough for a caramel apple cider
After almost 40 years as Christians, the Lord has been taking my husband and I through a season of asking "What is the Church?" and we are finding that it isn't a building, an organization or even a service. It's God's people in community, and that can happen in a restaurant with a handful of friends discussing the Lord more than in a corporate worship service. Gail (Bible Love Notes)
ReplyDeleteSo true, Gail. Thanks for the affirmation.
ReplyDeleteWow! We have been asking ourselves those same questions, but you know that. We have been struck by how few people have noticed our absence though, and that makes our struggle even more difficult. We are very thankful for the community we do have and want to do everything we can to make it deeper and stronger.
ReplyDeleteSo true, Molly. It's always a wise choice to keep building community even in the face of obstacles.
ReplyDelete