Why do you attend church services?

Ever ask yourself why you go to church? I have been asking myself this question a lot more lately, especially with the extra services during the Advent and Christmas season. Many of us live a life of habit and assumptions. We run through the motions and thoughts that constitute a comfortable and stable life.

But do we take time to consider the reasons why we go to church? Our lives can go on for months or years without any reflection, until the balance and stability of our lives is shattered by a crisis - the loss of a job, health problems, the death of a family member, etc. Then everything begins to be questioned.

Sadly, for many people, going to church is a personal decision that does not cost anything or gain anything. There appears to be no compelling cultural, political or economic reason to go to church.

So why do you go to church? For many of us the answer is because we feel as if we should go, out of a sense of obligation or duty. Perhaps our parents or pastor told us that going to church was simply "the right thing to do." We may have certain images of ourselves that are nurtured by church attendance. (Remember those perfect Sunday School attendance pins?) We want people to think we are good, wholesome people - "church-goers" - because being a "church-goer" keeps us on the "straight and narrow."

Some approach church attendance by looking at needs. We may attend church to find peace, to calm our anxious, stressful lives, or to have a religious experience that makes us feel a certain way. We may even be seeking something or someone outside ourselves that will give new meaning or hope to our lives.

As an artist and one who loves ambiance, I can relate to those who go to church to find beauty and art in the experience. Maybe it is the atmosphere, the smells, the architecture, the music, the lights/candles or the poetic language of the liturgy that draws you in. If that is the case, church becomes an aesthetic experience, often no different than going to a nice spa or an art gallery. Ironically, people can enjoy the beauty of church without any formal Christian belief. This also can be true of the moral and spiritual reasons for going to church. They do not require commitment to any formal Christian faith.

And then there are those who feel a sense of guilt. "I have sinned, so I better go to church." Those who find themselves in trouble or whose life has taken on a heightened sense of uncertainty think that church will be the fix. They go to church to have God grant them their need or desire. But God is not a magical genie Who can be bribed.

I ask again, why do you go to church? The phrase "go to church" sounds as if the church is there for us, whether we attend or not. Let's remember that we do not "go to church," we go to "be the church."

The reasons given for "going to church" (moral obligation, our needs, aesthetic experience and crisis fixing) have one common theme. They start with ourselves. When we go to be the church, we encounter God and participate in the life of God's people. Church is not how we fit God into our lives; church is where we find our place in God. Church is not there simply or only to meet our needs. Church is the venue from which we have life and have it abundantly.

This month, we celebrate Epiphany; it's a time to focus on the manifestation of God in the person of Jesus. When we gather to worship, we enter into the movement of God. Our gathering is literally the epiphany of God in this world. You and I actually become the manifestation of God because we are His hands and feet to a hurting world. When we leave our earthly homes to gather as the church, we participate in a journey much like the Magi who were drawn by the light, a light that enlightens the world.

This Epiphany and new year let us enter the movement of God and become His manifestation to our world.

By Robert Henry
This article first appeared in the FWLutheran January 2010