The Reason I Attend Church

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:25

When I was a young boy, going to church was anything but my favorite activity. In fact, going to church was a cruel form of torture. Sitting still for one hour seemed liked an eternity to a boy filled with a ton of energy. I used to sit through the service and daydream about playing sports while wiggling in my seat. My mom would pinch me and whisper intensely in my ear, “Sit still!” Every once in a while I would try to pay attention, but I would quickly become distracted because I had no idea what the man in the robe was saying. I couldn’t wait until communion because it was a chance to get out of my seat if I hadn’t sinned too badly during the week.

I was convinced that my parents would make us go just to lord their authority over us, or get even with us for some bad behavior during the week. Every Sunday morning, my brother and I, would make it as inconvenient as possible to get us to church. Knowing my mom is a very punctual person, we figured making us late would be our only hope of not having to go to church. My mom would literally have to drag us or beat us out of bed. Locking ourselves in the bathroom, we would take forever to get ourselves ready. I would eat my cereal one cheerio at a time as a last futile attempt to do anything to delay the inevitable.

Church became less of a priority in my life once I got confirmed in the eighth grade and started having ball games on the weekends. I would spend the next seven years of life never attending church except on Christmas and Easter.

As I reflect back on my feelings about going to church as a young boy, I am amazed at how I could go to church and miss the reason for attending—Jesus. Church for me was nothing more than a bunch of dead traditions and empty rituals. I would find pleasure in finding out about those once faithful church members who were no longer attending because of a divorce or some other reason. To me, it reaffirmed my belief that going to church was a senseless duty that most people participated in to somehow try to feel better about their life.

Today, you could not pay me all the money in the world to miss a church service. Boy, how things have changed! In fact, since the age of twenty-one, my whole life has been centered on my faith in Christ and my participation in church. What has made the difference? Why is attending church such an important activity to me now? The answer is I have had an encounter with the reason for going to church—Jesus Christ?

Now, every song I sing in the service has deep significance because I know the One we are singing about. The word of God is powerful to me because it is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I consider giving my tithes and offerings a privilege because Christ sacrificed his life for me. And, I am always excited to see such a diverse group of people united together by the Spirit of Christ for the greatest purpose on the planet.

This Sunday at Every Nation Tallahassee we kick off our new sermon series titled "Witness". For the next four weeks, attendees will hear real people testify about their life changing encounter with God. Everybody has a story to tell! I hope to see you at ENT if you are in town.

Remember, Jesus is the reason we attend church.