going to church 3 times a week

From one social outcast to another- I want you to know I don't like you either- I love you because you are my brother in Christ and I am going to put you on my prayer list and pray for you daily.

P.S. I love corndogs!!!

 

Corndoggy,
I can understand what you are saying about wanting family time, a family spending quality time together is important. My opinion is that, if you choose not to attend your regular meeting time at church, why not gather your family with you in your den or around your kitchen table and teach them from the word of God yourself.
Read your Bible during the day when you have some time and that evening take thirty min or an hour an show your family what God has shown you through His Word. You will find that is the best of any "family time" you could ask for. Questions that are brought up will put ALL of you DEEPER into your Bible than you could imagine.
I wish you well,
KJVO (Hugh)

P.S. If you would like any further correspondence on this topic please feel free to email me at your convience.

 

:thumbs: I am happy that you and your family are doing well, it is refreshing to hear of someone that has a relationship with the Lord outside the church building ( as well as in) and all seven days of the week.
Hugh

 

Why would it be unreasonable for the pastor to expect deacons to be at church? What if you went to church and the pastor just didn't show up, would you not expect some kind of explanation?

 

My pastor calls me when I'm not at church and I praise God for him. He calls to see if I'm sick or need something and sometimes I am and I do. He never hangs up the phone without praying with me.

The deacons should be at church. Aren't they leaders? Aren't we supposed to follow their example?

 

I thought deacons are servants, not leaders.

 

A leader should always be a servant, but a servant is not always a leader...so your answer is "yes"

 

Deacons should set examples on how to be a servant.. and a deacon that rebels against going to church does not have his heart right, and should be removed from the deaconate.

A rebel cannot be a servant....

 

Who is the 'they' here? It is obviously someone other than the LORD GOD. It is people.

The psalmist wrote in Psalm 69:

Throughout the Word of God, God's people are exhorted to gather together. Hebrews states that we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together in this day and age. The author exhorts that we should gather 'so much the more as we see the day approaching'.

If your pastor is encouraging you to be in the house of God every time the doors are open, you should be glad to go. Your desire to be about the Father's business should be above even that of your family.

We cannot put family above the things of God.

 

Well said! :thumbs:

 

Let's look at the importance of Church services by looking at the Word.

hmmm. From many of the posts I have read in this thread, several feel they are closer to the Lord when apart from His body.

Something wrong with this picture.

 

Careful, now.

God should take priority over family.
God is not always synonymous with church activities.

In my priorities, God comes first. Family comes second. Church comes after those.

And it sometimes takes discernment to decide, "is this a God thing (ahead of family) or a church thing (behind family)?"

I'm sorry, but I've seen too many pastor's kids whose lives were wrecked because Daddy worked too much doing "the Lord's business" to spend time with them. Sad.

 

That is why I said we need balance.
If a preacher neglects his family, he is worthless...

 

I think the deacon was rebelling against the fact the pastor had the gall to call him and ask him where he was. Pastors are not dictators or our parents and have no right questioining if they are not at church. Now, if the deacon had an appointment to keep, or stated he would be there and doesn't show, that's another thing. But if he wanted to spend time with his family, and the pastor called him then asking where he was, I'd be pretty upset, too.

 

The first church I pastored was a replant. It had ten people left and had lost their pastor and building. Those people met three times a week, and had a Sunday School each week. When I began to ask them about their neigthbors I quickly found out that they knew almost nothing about them and expected that they would be a witness to them. The fact was that they were not reaching anyone and had actually programmed themselves to die.

I came in and told them they were programmed to die. They had no othwer idea how to reach people and grow. I tok that same group of people and met with them each week in Bible study. During the week they were to spend time with God and do their Bible study. That amounted to about one hour each day. Those people spent seven hours each week studying and reading the Bible. Then they met with me for two hours each week to discuss their studies. Within one year everyone of those people had started some kind of community outreach to reach people to Christ. The people went from being tired and discouraged to sharing their faith while at the same time reaching people for Christ.

When people get the vision Christ gave in reaching people for Christ and making disciples there is an unquenchable joy that can be gotten no other way.

3 Jn 4, "I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth."

Ask that pastor to read http://www.bibleteacher.org/Dm118_8.htm

 

Seems to me the churches that thrive are built and continued by those who are willing and happy to be in church at least three times a week. Its not about a secret 3-a-week formula, but the attitude that often accompanies it.

That's not a blanket statement, just seems a general trend.

Those with genuinely good attitudes bring their families along, their families have a good time, they are strong families and they are a blessing to others and help the church grow. Some here seem to say that it is either family or church.

You know, I have this super-pharisee like 15 year old kid in the church. He could play in major soccer teams and move up into the big money as he grows older. But you know what this little legalist believes? He thinks he should be in church on a Sunday rather than playing football? Amazing! (Instead he plays in the significantly less important Saturday leagues...)

I enjoyed Tim's posts. I think they contain a lot of truth.

I am not dictatorial about services. This week one of the most faithful men in the church, probably the most faithful man in the church, came to me and said he may not be able to make it Wednesday. Knowing his normal faithful routine I said that's fine, it happens. He apologised and explained the situation. I was fine with that.

On the other hand I have a those who are only there once a week.

Some of them have very good reasons for not being there other times, others I have known in other churches are the ones that make it sound like they're doing God a favour coming along and they tend to be the ones who are most critical but do the least.

Anyway, we may end up with some strong families with no churches to go to... There has got to be balance between all the priorities God has put in our lives.

 

I will clarify first, that I don't go as regular as I would like. Like I am sure with many of us, for one reason or another there are times when things just seem to come up. Regardless if it is someone sick, poor planning of time, or just worn out, it just does seem to happen.

However, I do feel bad when we don't go regularly to all services as a family. A lot of people on this thread seem to make it about what is important to them and how they feel about it. But in my opinion the bible is very clear in Hebrews 10:25 that we should not forsake assembling together. Obviously if God instructs us to be there it must be better to be there. Maybe not always easy. but sounds like always better. I have to say that I cannot think of a time were even though I almost didn't go, or didn't really feel like it, once having gone, not been happy I went. I try and remind myself of that when it seems like it is hard to "squeeze" in.

Another reason I believe we are instructed to go is found in the verse just prior to verse twenty-five. In Hebrews 10:24 it tells us to "consider how to simulate one another to love and good deads," Then it goes right into verse twenty-five instructing us not to forsake our assembly together. I believe it is not just about us, and what we get out of being there. While yes that is important, I believe many times by going to a Wed. night service or the Sunday evening service, I might also be encouraging others. God knows we need each other. He instructs us to be there when we assembly together for both us and the others.

Once other thing I think of when I find it hard to make it. I remember a Missionary once showing us slides of some remote church. I don't even remember where I think somewhere in South America maybe. But what stuck in my mind was picture of people that had walked fourteen hours in the mountains just to be able to hear the word of God preached to them. Then had to walk back fourteen hours again afterwards. In comparison usually anything hectic we have going on gets put in a proper perspective when I recall that.

But I do agree it is not always easy, and I also admit I don't go to all services as regular as I would like. Something I have to pray about and work harder at. I would only add to the original OP, that if you do go to many of the other services, and go with the right spirit of heart, and you consistently still get nothing out of it, you might want to consider looking for another church.