To the surprise of no one who knows me, I’ve never been the seafaring type. Travel on the water (in whatever form) has exactly zero appeal to me. That being said, something I do know about travel on the high seas is that the worst possible time to abandon ship is in the midst of a storm. When the waters are rough, when the wind is blowing, when the rain is pounding the ship; this would be a terrible time to jump overboard. Why? Because your shipmates need your help and Davy Jones’ Locker is a dangerous place to be, especially alone.
At all times in this age, Christians will have trouble (John 16:33). For we are sojourners and strangers (1 Pet 2:11) traversing a dark and fallen land. There is, however, something uniquely challenging about the church in the middle of a pandemic. Not that this is somehow worse than any other time in history, but that it presents distinct challenges we are still trying to navigate. Among the questions of safety procedures and the return to “normalcy,” a majority of churches have not seen a return of all of their pre-Covid members. Where are they?
The reasons vary, of course. Some may have gotten a little too used to watching from home in their pajamas with a cup of coffee in their hand whilst scrolling through social media. Some have taken this opportunity to go to a different church, one that perhaps caters to their preferences better than the church that they are members and pre-Covid attenders of. Some were sporadic attenders to begin with and have found not going to the gatherings easier than ever.
In this space, I would like to encourage you, dear church member, that now is no time to abandon the fellowship. The author of Hebrews exhorts us all to not forsake the assembly “as is the habit of some” (Heb 10:25). The word “forsake” means something like “leave in the lurch,” “desert,” and “abandon.” When we leave the church, we are doing something far more than choosing one civic or social or country club rather than another. We are abandoning the fellowship. In a time like this, when churches are filled with uncertainty and struggling to regain their footing, now is no time to leave them in the lurch. Allow me to offer three simple reasons:
You Made a Vow
Sam Allberry writes in Why Bother with Church? “The church is the beloved bride of Jesus. Church is not his hobby; it is his marriage – and it’s ours too.” If you are a member of a local church, you have formally entered into a covenant with that church. This means you have made a vow to stick with that church, even when it becomes inconvenient to do so. In sickness and in health, you told the church when you joined that you intended to be there for the long-haul.
When things get tough, that is when our mettle is tested the most. Hardship, then, is a great revealer of our character and what we think of the vows we have made to our fellow believers. Church membership is our marriage. Since we are married to Jesus, we love what Jesus loves. And since the church is the beloved bride of Christ (Eph 5:25-33), we must treat her with the care that Christ’s calls us to. When she needs us, we do not run, we stay, we fight for her purity, we keep our promises, we love her unconditionally.
You Need the Church
When the storm is raging and we are on the ship, jumping overboard is our worst option. The seas are dangerous and dark and full of frightening creatures. Staying tethered to our fellow crew will keep us from danger. The fact of the matter is, we need the church to keep us in the love of God (Jude 20), to keep us from the fire (Jude 23), to be stimulated to love and good deeds (Heb 10:24), and to be encouraged (Heb 10:25) in order to stay on the narrow path of Christ followership. None of us can live the Christian life alone, and we were never meant to. As John Wesley wisely said, “The Bible knows nothing of solitary religion.”
We need the church in order to obey the “one another” commands of the New Testament, for accountability, and to use our spiritual gifts for the edification of the body that we are attached to (1 Cor 12:7). To abandon the fellowship when the Day of the Lord draws nearer by the hour is to court spiritual trouble. Don’t jump overboard, the sea is a scary and dangerous place. God knows this, which is why when He saves us, He saves us into a family. Now is no time to go at it alone.
The Church Needs You
Finally, the church needs you and your gifts. She needs you to function since the Holy Spirit has sovereignly placed you in that particular church for her good and growth (1 Cor 12:7, 18). Not being with the body that you are a member of is tantamount to being a severed limb like Thing from The Addams Family. What a strange sight that is! And how hard it is to eat and see and hear when you are a severed hand all on your own.
Your church will feel the pain of your abandonment. The rest of the body must compensate for your absence. This means to abandon the fellowship is to do active harm to the body of Christ. When you jump overboard, the rest of the crew must work extra hard to make up for the missing crew members, which causes them to work overtime.
The times are hard, the days are strange, so return to the church you vowed to love. Stay, give, serve, love, even if it is hard. You need them, they need you, and God will be glorified through that kind of other-worldly commitment.
The Bearded Ecclesiologian 