Are You in Love with Your Church?

What does the church mean to you? Is it just a place that you go once or twice a week (or maybe less often?) to get a “spiritual fix”? Or, perhaps you recognize that the church is not a building, it is people – people who have been born again by the grace and power of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But what role does church play in your life? Is it one of many things that are a part of your life? Or does your life revolve around the church?

You may ask why a Christian’s life should revolve around the local church. Why can’t it just be a part of my life rather than the central theme of my life? Well, because the church is more than just a gathering of Christians. The Bible tells us that the church is the Body of Christ. First Corinthians chapter 12 says, “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.” Just as the parts of your body are dependent on the body as a whole for their life and function, so we as members of the Body of Christ must realize that our spiritual life, growth and function depend upon our connection to the Body as a whole. And that Body finds its visible manifestation in the local church.

Joshua Harris has written a book entitled, Stop Dating the Church: Fall In Love with the Family of God. In this book, Harris makes the case for the biblical mandate that we live our lives centered around the Church – the Body of Christ. And he shows that our commitment to, and involvement in, the local church is the primary way that God wants His children to live that Church-centered life.

Allow me to quote the back of the book:

We are a generation of consumers, independent and critical. We attend church, but we don’t want to settle down and truly invest ourselves. We’re not into commitment – we only want to date the church.
Is this what God wants for us?
Stop Dating the Church reminds us that faith was never meant to be a solo pursuit. The church is the place God grows us, encourages us, and uses us best. Loving Jesus Christ involves a passionate commitment to His church – around the world and down the street.
We can’t be apathetic. It’s time to fall in love with the family of God.

I praise God for so many of you here at Immanuel Baptist who are truly committed to this local body of believers! Your faithfulness is an encouragement to me everyday. But perhaps as you read this you realize that you are one of those who has been holding back. You are only dating the church. Perhaps you have not yet taken the step of obedience in water baptism or you haven’t joined Immanuel as a member. Or maybe you are a member, but you have gotten distracted by other things and you just need to return to the love and fellowship of the Body. I strongly recommend this book as one tool that will help you fall in love with the family of God all over again.

The Book: Stop Dating the Church, by Joshua Harris, Multnomah Publishers
Where you can find it: http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=23653&netp_id=337799&event=ESRCN&item_code=WW&view=covers