This is one of my favorite sayings from my mother-in-law. I like it because it is funny, and even more because it is true. Hanging out with chickens does not make you a chicken. Of course, my mother-in-law also has a second part of that statement: and sitting in the church house doesn’t make you a Christian. But some people think it does. This is the attitude that leads to church attendance without church involvement.

People think that God accepts them if they show up at his house on Sundays. They do not want to be offended by the sermon. They do not give any money. They want to sit in the back and be left alone. Or they may be friendly and engaged in the worship service, but they have no intention of letting Sunday church attendance interfere with the way they live the other six days of the week. They subscribe to the church beliefs, they show up most Sundays, and they may even be good people who live moral lives.

But they are missing the point. Christianity is about being with God, not an attendance policy. Our sin separated us from God, and Jesus died for our sins so that our relationship with God could be restored. When we give our lives to Jesus, we are dying to ourselves in order to be born into a new life. When you come to a church service, you need to know that you are surrounded by people who are there to be inspired to live up to the commitment they have made to Jesus.

They are there to celebrate their life in Christ together. They come with their struggles, their sin battles, and their failures. But they come to celebrate forgiveness, restoration, and the power of God to change lives. They are there to encourage each other, to pray for each other, and to remind each other of their commitment to that belief.

So if you have been going to church without the commitment… you might as well sit in the hen house and see if you grow feathers.

Being on the church roll may not get you on God's roll.
I would enjoy visiting with you about what going to church really does mean. Write me at steve@hopeforlife.org or join the blog discussion at www.hopeforlife.org.

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