Article link: The Creeping Trend of Church Absenteeism, by Murray Lean (from The Gospel Coalition Australia)
“One could easily get the impression that church attendance is an optional thing, and even secondary to anything else that might compete for our time on the weekend.
“Personally, I’m not comfortable with this line of thinking. In some mysterious way Christ is present among His people when they gather together (Matt 18:20) and there is a special unity when the body of Christ functions well together and we increasingly become “members one of another” (Romans 12:4-5). Anything that fosters this closeness will enrich the whole church family, deepen its fellowship, and allow us to put into practice what it truly means to love one another (1 John 3:11-24). Regular attendance in church is a good spiritual habit, but it’s much more than that. It’s an important opportunity for the whole body of Christ to worship together and to grow spiritually, both personally and in our relationships with one another. We really do need each other in this increasingly de-personalised world.”
