So, should we just NOT gather at all?

Some who are fed up with church attendance and "church services" feel we should just go be Lone Ranger Christians...

but, we ARE called and commanded to gather together for many reasons. It is a command of scripture that we gather together... I just think that the current modern concept of a 'service' is totally off track. It looks little to nothing like what the church in the Bible did when they met. Maybe it is not the gathering that needs to go... it is just the way we gather and the ritualized things that need to go.

Today's concept of 'worship service' is a ceremonialized acting out in my view. The church of the Bible met to allow everyone to contribute their giftings... They gathered to encourage, to share a meal, to show love for each other, to pray together... not to be led in singing by a band or a 'worship pastor' and be preached at every week by one man who is professionally trained, not to pretend to fellowship on a superficial level, not to give money to a fund that simply constructs bigger buildings and pays salaries to perpetuate the 'services' of the church, and not to volunteer your service to programs rather than people. In fact, if you take the exact opposite of all these things you would be pretty close to what the Church is talking about in gathering and living as the church.

While the 'typical service' might not be necessarily 'wrong' (as in: we should not allow anyone to do it), it is not something that is necessarily strengthening to individual believers, or the church in general. It is an environment that seems to leave it to the individual if they are going to grow or not. If the person is hungry for God, he will seek something more than this 'service' will offer, and soon the 'service' will seem like candy and not anything nourishing to them (Maybe their head knowledge will be challenged a little, and maybe their feelings tickled by 'worship music' but any exercise of their gifts or understanding or involvement is not being nurtured).

Sadly, those who are comfortable with just sitting, listening... These find it comfortable in a 'service' because they don't have to exercise at all... And thus they are fooled into thinking this is about all that their faith can do. The 'service' becomes only a social event that they think is mandated by scripture, and they think they are being 'fed' by it, when in fact, they are being lulled by it, and at best becoming fat on it for lack of exercise.

I say this not to tear anything down, but because I have experienced it myself. I have been a believer for over 25 years, and I have benefited from the teaching and even the experiences of 'services' no doubt, but I can also say that I should be much further along in the living out of my faith than I am. I think I was one who was taught by 'services' to become fat spiritually and rarely exercise.

The 'Attend worship service and-then-go-serve-outside of the service' model does not work (at least no for me). The church is really to be an 'on the job training' sort of thing in my opinion... Participate in the building up of the church (not the building, the people) as you grow and learn... But today's 'service driven' concept is modeled after the 'go to school first -- become knowledgeable -- then go get practical work experience'.

The modern day concept of 'worship service' just trains people to be sitters and listeners. Even if they hunger for something more, the tendency is toward the path of least resistance... Sit and listen. When I say "Modern concept" I don't mean just this past century (although the last century of Americanized Christianity has taken the 'service' to new places that continue to get further and further from the Bible)...

I mean "modern" in contrast to what we see in the NT.

You could say that the "modern" concept of a 'church service' began the moment the 'church service' was conceived by Constantine in the 300s. I am not arguing for a "better church service"... I am saying that I don't know what a "church service" is because it does not look or sound like what we see in scripture.

How does one Go To Church?
How does one Attend Church?
We ARE the church. You don't GO there!

Taking away the easy-to-use 'worship service' from people and making the gathering just a simple gathering of believers -- open to what the Lord wants to do in their midst -- can be a threatening thing to most Christians. They don't know what to do with that. I think there is actually a bit of "detox" that has to take place in weaning people off of their 'worship service addiction'.

Some say that more private and personal disciplines are necessary rather than gathering, but they say this only because we have over-emphasized the 'gathering' aspect in the institutional church in the form of the 'worship service'. I think there should be a balance of these things. Attendance is not "the thing" and no one should assume that lack of attendance with a group means they are less spiritual.

On the other hand, we are the church only as a GROUP (whether that is a physical gathering or a more long-distance relationship/contact kind of thing)... Not as individuals... And because the gifts God distributed to the individuals of the church are given out to each of us as He sees fit... And because they are intended to edify the body of believers (often in a face to face kind of way)... Gathering of some kind is necessary so that these gifts can be worked and shared with others.

Now... As to whether that means one can be making these contacts and gatherings with various groups, in various locations, and not 'primarily sticking to any one group' ... That might be possible... But given the nature of humans to be social... Having a deep relationship with a few individuals in a group as your constant circle of believers/friends is often the more practical way to walk this out.

All that to say that I agree that the church needs to learn the 'personal responsibility' aspects of being the church... But I also think it is possible to over do that and forget that the church is the believers TOGETHER... One being a hand, one an eye, one a muscle...

End of the story... we do need to gather and be in relationship with other believers, and we need to take on personal responsibility for our faith and growth and life, but sitting in a "church service" is not the gathering we are talking about.

Be the Church.