Missing Church is Missing Out: Faith Reflections from a Cancer Oven (#13)
[A note from our Managing Editor: Tim Shorey, pastor and author, is one of our Gospel-Centered Discipleship staff writers. Tim is also currently battling stage 4 prostate cancer. On Facebook and CaringBridge, he’s writing about his journey. We’re including some of his posts in a series on our website called “The Potter’s Clay: Faith Reflections from a Cancer Oven.” To preserve the feel of a daily journal rather than a published work, we have chosen not to submit these reflections to a rigorous editing process.]
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Missing Church Is Missing Out
July 30, 2023
Dear Journal,
One of the negative side-effects of cancer and its treatment is that together they can cause church absence and even tempt church neglect. Debilitating illness, weakness, pain, fatigue, and just not “feeling it” can make the gathered church experience difficult, if not impossible.
That was my case recently when I missed four Sundays in a row. I may be forgetting other times, but I think that’s only the second time in all my nearly sixty-five years of life that I’ve gone four weeks without being in church.
During my absence I heard that there were powerful messages each Sunday, not to mention wonderful singing, sweet fellowship, a deep sense of the Lord’s presence, great encouragement to live life for the glory of God’s name, and more. But I really wouldn’t know. I missed it. And even had I been up for watching the livestream, I still would have missed it.
I know from experience that when you miss church, you miss out. That’s not a (former) pastor’s tricky way to get people to church. It’s actually a theological statement—a summary of what actual texts of Scripture clearly teach about the nature of biblical church life.
Whenever a person misses church, he or she will invariably miss out because the true church experience is a shared organic and dynamic experience of the presence and power of God. There are experiences that we can have only when mingling with the gathered congregation of a Bible-teaching, gospel-centered, Jesus-loving, and Trinity-worshiping church.
I’m not being legalistic about this. In fact, it’s the opposite. I’m not appealing for church attendance based on fear (i.e., “Be there or God’s going to get you!”), but on faith (i.e., “Be there so that God can bless you!”)—a belief that the gathered church is where Jesus promises to be and to bless.
The reason I say this is because God always has plans for what he’s going to do every time a church gathers.
For example, the gathered church is where qualified and committed pastors preach the Word, that very Word that God always sends forth with a saving and sanctifying purpose (Isa. 55:10–11; 1 Tim. 4:14–16). This means that he intends specific blessings to happen when the Word is proclaimed, blessings I will miss out on if I am not there.
Likewise, God promises to be present when the church gathers, to “walk among” the saints and to relate to them as sons and daughters (2 Cor. 6:16–18).
In addition, fillings of the Spirit happen specifically in and for the gathered church, which leads to the sharing and singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs that edify the church (Eph. 5:18–20; Col. 3:16).
Then there are Spirit-prompted words shared in the church and given for the upbuilding, encouragement, and consolation of the saints, which I miss if I’m not there to hear them (1 Cor. 12:8; 14:1–3).
Also, Hebrews tells us that when we fail to be with the assembled church, we lose out on the encouragement we need and on the mutual promptings toward love and good works God has planned for us (Heb. 10:24–25).
And finally, there is no way to offer and receive all the “one anothers” of Scripture when one is absent.
There are, of course, exceptions and valid reasons for missing church. Sickness, very important family needs, and other occasional plans or events all have their place. But I must remember that whenever I’m absent from God’s people—even if for good reasons—I’m deprived of something God has planned for his people.
For this reason I want to keep my absences to as few as possible and to push through my illness-caused limitations as much as possible. To be sure, God has his ways of partially compensating for us when we truly have good or necessary reasons for missing church. And equally sure, I’m not afraid that God’s going “to get me” if I miss church today.
But I would do well to remember that God is always up to something when his people gather in local churches all over the globe—and there’s no way to experience those blessings in full measure if I’m not there to receive them.
So while I am not feeling great this morning (when am I, for that matter?), I’m going to church. Because if I miss it, I miss out.
* You can read all the posts in this series here.
Tim Shorey is married to Gayline, his wife of 45 years, and has six grown children and 14 grandchildren. After over forty years of pastoral ministry, he recently retired from Risen Hope Church, in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Among his books are Respect the Image: Reflecting Human Worth in How We Listen and Talk; The Communion Truce: How Holy Communion Addresses Our Unholy Conflicts; 30/30 Hindsight: 30 Reflections on a 30-Year Headache; his award-winning An ABC Prayer to Jesus: Praise for Hearts Both Young and Old. To find out more, visit timothyshorey.com.