Church People: Go to Church, #1 - Your Local Church Is A One-Stop Shop

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Emily Dickinson wrote:

Some keep the Sabbath going to Church (236)

Some keep the Sabbath going to Church –
I keep it, staying at Home –
With a Bobolink for a Chorister –
And an Orchard, for a Dome –

Some keep the Sabbath in Surplice –
I, just wear my Wings –
And instead of tolling the Bell, for Church,
Our little Sexton – sings.

God preaches, a noted Clergyman –
And the sermon is never long,
So instead of getting to Heaven, at last –
I’m going, all along.

(For clarification, "keeping the Sabbath" used to primarily mean "going to church on Sunday", as evidenced by the rest of the poem.) It includes two of the things Christians do that I mentioned in my previous post: worship God through song and increase knowledge of God. I said before that our Christian duties can be kept either within or without traditional "church", and it seems Emily prefers without.

I don't think that's wrong, but I do not believe it's as beneficial as traditional church. That's right. I believe traditional church is better.

In this post, I'm not going to get into things like corruption, fraud, judgmental people, doctrinal disagreements, and all that. I promise I won't ignore these things! But for now I'm staying on relatively neutral territory.

So here we go.

Your Local Church Is a One-Stop Shop.

If you're a Christian, you don't need me to tell you that you should be giving and serving and fellowshipping and learning and all that. 

And traditional church is designed to provide ALL of those opportunities in one community.


Photo by Peter Bond on Unsplash

I'm not saying you're bound to do everything within that community. We call that a cult. You could attend the church and a Bible study, tutor at the local school, and give to a homeless shelter.

It's simply more convenient to do these things within a church community, and even more so if you have children. (Note that I said more convenient, not easier!) 

And that's it. What have your experiences been with churches that offer - or don't offer - opportunities for Christians to follow Christ? For reference, here is the list I gave in my previous post. Add as you will, because this list is off the top of my head and incomplete.

  • Giving
  • Serving
  • Singing 
  • Praying
  • Reading, memorizing, learning, and studying God's Word
  • Meeting together

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