In America today, any number of individuals who identify themselves as Christians are not affiliated with any local church. Their typical response to questions about their non-affiliation is simply that you can be a Christian without going to church or having any real connection to a local church. Some are part of the “electronic church” who watch their favorite evangelist on Sunday mornings or early weekdays and, perhaps, send in a donation from time to time. Others have been “wounded” by the actions of some in a church and so stay away from all churches. A third group has been disappointed in churches and felt that the churches they were involved in were missing the mark and were not spiritual enough. Those individuals tend to reject the organized American church as being unbiblical in some way and have settled into small house churches or family churches. They may visit local churches from tome to time to connect with people they know but still hold some disdain for the church. My question is, “Are these believers hearing from God in their rejection of church involvement?” I’m not using “church” here in the sense of the universal body of Christ, but rather of local congregations made up of segments of the body of Christ.

This discussion came up in my men’s group this morning so I reflected on it during the day. I think it may be an important question because so many believers feel no need for involvement in a church or, in fact, oppose involvement in anything that looks like a traditional church. I know I risk alienating some folks who fall into these categories (some of which are long time friends), but I want to share my thoughts on that.

First of all local, organized churches were God’s idea. The church at Jerusalem was by all definitions a mega-church the day the doors opened. Three thousand members became part of the church after Peter’s opening sermon and then grew exponentially from there. Churches were also identified and establishes in cities all over the Mediterranean – Ephesus, Corinth, Rome, Sardis, Laodecia, Antioch, etc. These churches had apostolic oversight, elders, deacons, evangelists, prophets and so forth. History, as well as the New Testament, tells us that they typically came together in one place on Sundays for communion, preaching, prophecy, revelation, and mutual encouragement and met in homes at other times. They had organized benevolence programs (Acts 6) and sent out and supported missionaries. They gave to the poor. They had conferences (Acts 15) and emphasized four things: the apostle’s teachings, communion, fellowship, and prayer (Acts 2:42). In other words, what those churches did under the direct oversight of the apostles was not so different from what most churches do today. My point is that God ordained local, organized churches.

The next question might be, “Okay, but can’t I just stay home and believe in God and Jesus and live a good life?” If you are asking whether or not you will go to hell if you don’t attend church regularly, I would say not because you didn’t attend church. If you are asking whether it is okay in the sight of God to stay home and be a spiritual “Lone Ranger,” I would definitely say “No!” The writer of Hebrews said, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Heb.11:25).

In addition to that admonition, in the New Testament there are a number of passages often referred to as the “one another passages.” They command things such as love one another, encourage one another, serve one another, pray for one another, teach one another, accept one another, admonish one another, and forgive one another. If we are not in fellowship with other believers and intentionally doing life together, those verses have little meaning. John tells us, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 Jn. 4:20). If you love someone you do not break off fellowship with them or abandon them by choosing to disconnect from God’s church. Some may respond that even though they don’t go to church they still have Christian friends that they love. Jesus said that even unbelievers love those who love them. Loving the unlovable is a mark of the true body of Christ. You definitely get that opportunity in churches, but not so much when you pick and choose those with whom you fellowship.

Thirdly, Lone Rangers and small house churches that reject organized churches rarely grow or turn the world upside down. They violate the “body principle” of First Corinthians. In chapter 12, Paul likens the church to a human body in which God has created different parts with different functions – each contributing to the welfare of the other parts. In chapters 12 and 14 he discusses spiritual gifts distributed by the Holy Spirit. He says that the Spirit gives different gifts to different people but all are to be exercised for building up the body of Christ and one another. God has created his church to be interdependent on one another – not self-sufficient. There is a synergism when the body with all its parts and gifts operate together. Individual believers or a few meeting in a house loose that synergism and rob God of a great deal of fruit that could have been born if they were working in tandem with large numbers of believers.

Finally, many will argue that they are not involved in a church because today’s churches have so many problems and are often “unspiritual.” Are you kidding me?! No one can top the church at Corinth for problems and a lack of spirituality. Leaf through Paul’s first letter. He calls them carnal not spiritual. He deals with divisions in the church, cliques based on spiritual pride, tolerating open immorality, lawsuits among believers, unhealthy marriages, issues with idolatry, abuse of the Lord’s supper, the misuse of spiritual gifts, disorderly worship and a total misunderstanding of the resurrection and end times. Yet he calls them the church of God at Corinth and those sanctified to be holy. This messy congregation was still part of the bride of Christ and loved by God. Nowhere does Paul suggest that the truly spiritual or wounded should jump ship and leave the church to create a their own personal church or watch church on television. God’s church has never been perfect. His will is for his people to stay, forgive if needed, continue to love God by loving his people, and be part of the solution rather than running away.

On top of that, as believers, we are in a war. Soldiers separated from the main body while in enemy territory are a great risk. If they have left the ranks on their own, they are no longer under authority so they have little or none of their own with which to face the devil.

I am not saying that once you are part of a congregation you should never leave. Sometimes God is calling you to another part of the body. There are congregations that are toxic. The message is not to give up on church in general or to isolate yourself from other believers. The message is not to give up on God’s ordained plan for the body of Christ simply because it is imperfect. God ordained marriage. We don’t give up on the institution simply because marriages are imperfect. If you have gone from church to church to church and find all of them intolerable then, perhaps, you have developed a spiritual cynicism that keeps you from seeing the good in any church. You may want to pray about that. God wants every believer connected in meaningful ways to many other believers for their own sake and for the sake of the kingdom. It’s not okay to be disconnected so if you have been out for a while, you may want to reconnect. Ask God to lead you.