Is Church a Hobby?

Hobbies are my weakness.  When I’m bored, I love to learn about new things.  This generally means I’m buying new things.  Ask anyone who has known for me longer than five minutes, and they’ll tell you some product they’ve purchased for me at some point in my life that relates to something I just “had to have” because that was my passion.  At the moment.

When I was in my early 20’s, it was Stampin’ Up.  During my late 20’s, I loved to decorate cakes.  Once I rounded the 30’s, I was into cooking.  Two years ago, I was in love with card making.  Then, my obsession became makeup.  It’s a nasty habit that fills what little storage space we have in this house with tons of “stuff.”

Sometimes, I think that we often put church service in that category.  We get really excited about how God is working in our lives.  We are watching transformation happen.  We’re attending church regularly.  Yet, church service gets left behind for an extra hour of sleep or the new brunch time we set up with our friends.

I recognize that I’ve fallen into that trap before.  I start getting busier with my job and use that as an excuse to not attend service on Sunday.  Ummmm….I work from home.  I was up late last night working on bible study.  So I shouldn’t go to church the next day???  Does either excuse even really count?!  Even now that we’ve been under quarantine, it’s easy to continue in the same pattern and skip out on service if you’re back to meeting.

While some would say that church wasn’t a “thing” in the New Testament so why go to church now, I would say the church then was the community where the body of Christ got together to praise and worship and learn the gospel.  When we are with our fellow Christ-followers, we are surrounded with people who love Jesus, who encourage in His Word, who follow and trust Him faithfully.

While the full church functions may not be a reality at the moment for some due to health restrictions or quarantine, I would encourage each of you that are able now to find a local church and become a part as much as you can.  Whether its small groups from your congregation in your home, or small groups at the church, dig in to the community.  If your church is back to the sanctuary, I encourage you to go.  If it’s still Zoom with your pastor, do it!

There’s something special about community among believers!

~Erin