Is Church Just an "Add-On" for You?

A very common tendency today is for people to treat the local church as a helpful add-on, but not as the community of faith into which they have been saved… and summoned (by Scripture) to live out their discipleship to Jesus Christ. They are happy to reap its benefits – yet reluctant to commit to or sacrifice for.

As a pastor it is my responsibility to challenge this notion. 

First of all, the Church (made up of believers) is the only thing Jesus died for.  The Church was literally purchased with His blood (Acts 20:28; Galatians 3:15-18).  Second, the Church is the very Body of Christ (I Cor. 12).

No other organization (or endeavor) in all of life has that status.  The church is superior to them all!

Sadly, the church receives lower levels of commitment from some people than the other activities in their lives.

It’s easy to roll our eyes when considering the effect of fringe involvement and nominal commitment.  Yet this is precisely how many professing Christians relate to the local church.  This should not be!  Rather, we should be the very people deliberately looking for ways to define and deepen our relationship with the local church.  We should be making ourselves known to pastors and other believers so they know we can be counted on.

Going to church is not a quaint little time of merely experiencing warm-and-fuzzy feel-good moments.  It's an essential part on one's spiritual growth, as well as an evident demonstration of commitment to God.

For the glory of God, the good of His people, and our witness to the world, let’s labor for churches with full commitment and personal sacrifice.