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How Important is it that You Attend Church?

On a scale of 1 - 10, how important is your weekly attendance?

  • Total voters
    14
Mike

Mike

Member
In your heart, when do you feel comfortable skipping church? Will you skip because of a secular conflict such as children playing a sport or you have tickets to a large sporting event? Will you try to visit a local church when you're on vacation?

If you have a morning or evening (whenever your church meets) that you're just not "feeling it", are you comfortable saying in your heart that you're taking a "me-day" that day?

Do you scoff at people to, in your opinion, take church attendance too lightly? Where is the line you draw between a legalistic required attendance and sloughing off the call to not get out of the habit of meeting (Heb 10:25)?

I was raised in a Catholic church where it was viewed as a sin to miss a single mass. There wasn't any question about whether we would find a church if we were on vacation when I was a child. It's been 20 years since I considered myself Catholic, and I still have to fight guilt for missing it. I try to go as often as I can, partly because I want our children to see its importance. But for any of the reasons I mentioned above, I feel okay missing church, as long as it doesn't become habitual. God knows my heart, and I don't think He'll mark me off for imperfect attendance.

What are valid reasons to play hooky from church?
 
IMO it is only okay to miss church if you are doing something like vacation, where you don't know a church member...

When it comes to a sporting event...Never! God comes first. I will never skip to go to a football game. When I am in Hawaii though, I miss church because I don't know of any and anyone etc.
 
I love church...it's not a matter, do I have to be there...I want to be there. But lately, we have had some serious heath issues... Steve's seizures, and Thomas and my asthma... just have been bad this year. And, with Steve's seizures and the asthma issues, the person sick cannot be left alone. I think Thomas has made it to school for a full week about twice since the Christmas holidays.

And, since I cannot leave him home alone, I don't work on Thursday or Friday like I would like....I must work on Saturday when Viola and Steve can be home with Thomas.

Which means that Sunday is the only day the four of us are together.

I probably should mention that we live a long ways out of town and going to church means getting up by 6:00, leaving the house by 8:00am and not being home until about 5:00pm. It's a day trip, unless we spend the day at the house in town, which we often do. But, when Steve is gone most of the week, he'd rather be able to stay home when we're together.

I do believe church is important, but I believe wholeheartedly that family is even more important. We worship God individually and as a family throughout the week...but we have foregone church to spend time with just each other...and I think that God is good with that.
 
Is it only about sports?:bigfrown :sad :angry :shame


Good news is that Champions League Final is not gonna be on a Sunday:D

If La Liga falls on a Sunday it's always played after the normal church service. So it's not a problem to me. Mike and Jman take time:lol

(The first day I missed part of the church activity [Note that I didn't say 'missing church entirely] I felt I was going to die. I was afraid to walk back inside into the children's department. I just went to ease myself and suddenly played a little outside...I don't remember exactly what happened. I had this great fear and remorse in me. I thought if I entered inside God would kill me. Thanks to my parents.)
 
For the most part I feel an obligation to be there just out of respect for God.Its important to go..not only to show that but also to learn and be refreshed weekly.

I usually wont go when Im sick.Mainly because I dont feel good,but it also doesnt seem sensible to unnecessarily expose others to it.

I also work away from home alot and as such Ive found that the majority of the time I only go when Im home.Im really not comfortable with that,but many times its due to necessity.We work 12 hour shifts,so its extremely hard to make those static times that most churches have.Other times laziness kicks in and I just dont want to drive back into civilization,and make the return trip for the sake of a 1 hour service.Fortunately I can usually catch one of the good radio preachers when Im driving..it really helps fill that gap.
 
I picked 8

Generally speaking, if the church is open, we're there. Even when we go on Vacation we try to find a church to attend.

My son wrestles (It is a sport he has been active in for the past 7 years) and until this year, he has missed any Wednesday practice that was offered and we tried to wrestle tournaments that fell on a Saturday, although a few fell on a Sunday.

This year was a little different. We decided that he could do the Wednesday practices and we set out a plan to get him to State this year, which included many Sunday tournaments. For awhile, this meant that we were only attending church on Sunday night, and it happened to fall on a time where we were taking a parenting class on teens, and our son was part of that class.

When I told him he could attend the Wednesday practice, he was beyond belief and very surprised. But he also understood what was expected of him and he held his hectic crazy schedule together pretty well all things considered. Ironically, toward the end of the season, he actually opted to go to church and wanted to miss practice. Who am I to argue that one?

The main season is over, but we've got him in a program that will run through August. He will even spend a week at Michigan State this June for a wrestling camp and with a lot of hard work, it is my son's hope to take State next season.

As parents, we are hoping for a wrestling scholarship to help with college tuition and we are looking at many good Christian colleges that we otherwise would not be able to afford. If he can get a scholarship to a good Christian college, that, we believe would be a better environment for him to grow as a Christian than say our local community college.
 
"Going " to church is important... just ask some one who doesn't have a church :sad

Going to church is not as important as BEING the church. Although they sure do go hand in hand.

Because of my nonchristian husband, coupled with our location, going to church is not an option.... This place this forum has become my church.

There is Bible studies here, fellowship, leadership. I do long for 'real church' while being thankful for this one...

Stove, it is a great feeling when we give the kids an inch and they use it well. :yes

Way to go Dad!
 
Thanks Reba!

We always try to say "We get to go to church" because it's something we look forward to. We've never complained when our son doesn't want to leave the church building because he was having fun with his friends, etc. Those are relationships we want to grow, and they only grow if they are interacting in activities they enjoy.
 
Wow! Is that Stove? Break over, and Bolts is back. Welcome back StoveBolts. How is Wick doing? Extend my greetings to Flame Pot.
 
In my opinion, going to church is about as important as opening your skull and removing your brain and letting someone else babysit it for two hours. Its a place where hypocrites can act holy for a while, where preachers can spread false doctrines, and denominations can make lots of money out of parishoners who try to buy their salvation.

Modern Western Church is not an honour, it is not a privelige. its a curse to the christian faith and a blight on the name of Jesus
 
thethinkingrebel said:
In my opinion, going to church is about as important as opening your skull and removing your brain and letting someone else babysit it for two hours. Its a place where hypocrites can act holy for a while, where preachers can spread false doctrines, and denominations can make lots of money out of parishoners who try to buy their salvation.

Modern Church is not an honour, it is not a privelige. its a curse to the christian faith and a blight on the name of Jesus Christ.

The last real church died in the colesseum.
Click to expand...

This just sounds like a clueless rant to me.

Noone here would agree that all churches are perfect,which includes the members.Perhaps you think you are more holy and/or perfect for not going?To each his own,but I believe it to be in your best interest that you realize youre just as imperfect as the rest of us,church or not.

Further,I think this generalized life sucks attitude with which you conveniently view the church would be as much a blight on Christs name as any offense you mentioned.

Humorously enough,all you managed to do was come off sounding like one of the self-righteous hypocrites that you just leveled a crooked finger at.Congrats.

For a "thinking rebel" you apparently didnt give this much thought.You may wish to consider that in the future.
 
The Church is individual.
His Church His Temple
The Church is the family.
The Church is the Body.
The church is not:
A Building
A Symbol
A Program
A Denomination
Or Always right.

the picture of the church as the temple shows how the church is both individual "you are living stones" and universal "god is building into his spiritual temple"

We must understand the church as the temple of God for us to live efficiently in the other active roles the church has as Christ's body and his family.

We can go to church or be the church. Reba was leading into this. I believe going to church is important and helps you learn and have fellowship.

In My Opinion: When it comes to going to other events I think it's about priorities. Judge your priorities carefully because one day we will be judged for our decisions.
 
At times I ask myself: 'Why should some be engaged on Sundays...and missing church?' some are very sick to move, some are nursing mothers, some (may) live very far away from churches, some are doctors, some are threatened by religious extreemists etc. There are some justified reasons why some miss it.

I have never felt 100 percent justified missing church, no matter the circumstance that prevented me from attending it.

Forum Church is cool, TV church is good, Internet church is interesting - but no church like the one done inside a building - with your fellow brethren.
 
I honestly want to miss church every sunday morning when i wake up because i work 6 days a week and sunday is my only rest day , but everytime i am tempted to the Lord will always ask me

" Girl, come to think of it , how much you need the church and how much the church needs you?" And i would say , " Lord, maybe i can survive one day missing the church. I really, really need to sleep. " Then , He would say " But the church needs you"....
 
I answered an eight in the poll. I kind of based my opinion on two things: how I feel when I go and how I feel when I don't go. There's always a sense of guilt when I don't go, no matter what the reason is. I almost always end up streaming when I can't go. But when I do go, I feel great. I'm always happy and glad I went. I've never left my church disappointed or like I didn't learn more about the Word.

So while I have taken some "me-days," I don't feel completely free from guilt. And I will say while on vacation, I probably couldn't bring myself to go to another church. I'd stream my church if at all possible. I'm just not all that comfortable going into another church.

All that being said, I can't scoff at anyone who doesn't go to church as much as I do. That's bordering too much on the line of being a Pharisee and a holier than thou attitude. I don't know their heart or their walk with the Lord, but He does.

If they feel like they should go, then they should. I do the same, and just because I feel like I need to be at church more is my business. There are valid reasons for each person to not go, I just don't have many of them in my personal life.
 
I think it is very important to attend church services regularly. Is it mandatory? Not for salvation but I believe it is for spiritual growth. Out of sight, out of mind seems to come into play for me. If I were to stop attending and being involved in our congregation, I am quite certain I would stray from the flock.

I think we need to fellowship with other Christians for there is strength in numbers. I believe as a member of a congregation it is also important to take an active role in the church. For me that means singing in the choir, leading our High School Sunday School program, serving on the church council, attending our men's group meetings, assisting with building maintenance, etc.

Our faith walk is a living walk and should not be allowed to remain idle in my opinion. Admittedly, there are times when I don't feel that I am living it very well but we all go through ups and downs.
 
aquamarinesky54 said:
how I feel when I go and how I feel when I don't go. There's always a sense of guilt when I don't go, no matter what the reason is. I almost always end up streaming when I can't go. But when I do go, I feel great. I'm always happy and glad I went. I've never left my church disappointed or like I didn't learn more about the Word.
Click to expand...

I push back sometimes. I'm not the "Satan's picking on me" type. I mean, I'm pretty sure he's not involved in my life personally. No doubt, at least one of his demons has my name on his dance card. Also on that card with my name is "Persuade Mike not to go to Bible Study. Tell him he's tired after getting up at 4am and at work all day. Tell him it would feel so good to get in his pajamas."

I think there is some real spiritual warfare going on when we have this conficl
 
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