by Zeke Flores<\/p>\n
I see an epidemic in the church today, although the underlying attitude is as old as mankind. The attitude of “I won’t be bothered” manifests itself in many ways. One obvious way is in worship attendance. The number of “stay-at-home” Christians is growing. For a while, at the tail end of the pandemic, those who stayed home outnumbered those who determined to attend every worship service or Bible study the local church offered.<\/p>\n
Many reasons can explain why a Christian decides to stay away when his brethren are assembling: hypocrisy among the members, personal grudges, scheduling conflicts, sickness (both major and minor), and the ever-popular “The Bible doesn’t say I have to attend every service!”<\/p>\n
I get it. Sometimes, things come up, and we must choose what to do. Sometimes, our illness may not be severe, but it’s contagious, and we don’t want to infect others. And, no, the Bible doesn’t say we must attend every time the doors open. We are, after all, an army of volunteers.<\/p>\n
However, just as one’s attitude can determine how one dresses for worship, it can also affect whether one attends in the first place. Please understand that I’m not suggesting that every time one misses a worship service, his heart is not right, but I am suggesting that it can certainly be an underlying cause.<\/p>\n
For instance, having to interact with someone we may not like much forces us to inspect whether we can “forbear” with others as Colossians 3:12-13 says we should. Other commitments scheduled during worship time are an opportunity to decide whether we’ll put the kingdom first or something else, however important it might be, as Jesus instructed in Matthew 6:33.<\/p>\n
Fellowship isn’t safe, nor is it convenient.<\/strong> Sometimes, we may have to force ourselves into polite conversation with someone who just isn’t our cup of tea. Or when we’ll have to make a tough choice about devotion to God and encouragement to His people when other pressing matters present themselves. Or when choosing between an uncomfortable pew and a soft, inviting couch.<\/p>\n But there’s an assembly of believers who need you, and you need them. In His wisdom, God grouped us into local churches for a reason. Perhaps it’s to experience a sense of belonging that we can’t get anywhere else. And if we’re not getting — or giving — it, it’s time to ask why.<\/p>\n “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering … not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together<\/em>” (Hebrews 10:23, 25).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Zeke Flores I see an epidemic in the church today, although the underlying attitude is as old as mankind. The attitude of “I won’t be bothered” manifests itself in many ways. One obvious way is in worship attendance. The number of “stay-at-home” Christians is growing. For a while, at the tail end of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[356],"class_list":["post-81711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-attendance"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":88174,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-a-sin-to-not-attend-on-sunday-night\/","url_meta":{"origin":81711,"position":0},"title":"Is it a sin to not attend on Sunday night?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 26, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was raised in and am a member of the church of Christ.\u00a0 God blessed me with faithful parents who didn't just \"take me to church,\" but lived it.\u00a0 I am 66 years old and have struggled with an issue for most of my adult life. It is the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":92373,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-a-church-have-the-right-to-remove-from-its-roll-a-member-who-no-longer-lives-in-the-area\/","url_meta":{"origin":81711,"position":1},"title":"Does a church have the right to remove from its roll a member who no longer lives in the area?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 28, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Sir, I have been reading your articles and learning a lot from your Bible teachings. Thank you for all you do and for your heart to spread the Truth. Here's my question: There's a sister in our Church who was reached out while working as a house helper\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":59606,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-sin-of-small-churches\/","url_meta":{"origin":81711,"position":2},"title":"The Sin of Small Churches","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Mike Thomas It is not uncommon for people to measure a church's success solely by the numbers it has in attendance. One of the first things I am asked when people learn I am a preacher is how big the church is where I attend. They will then use\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8953,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-a-sin-not-to-attend-wednesday-night-bible-study\/","url_meta":{"origin":81711,"position":3},"title":"Is it a sin not to attend Wednesday night Bible study?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 9, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm a member of the church have been all my life. I was wondering how important you think Wednesday night services are? Some people don't think you have to go on Wednesday night, some say when the Bible says not to forsake the assembly it means Sunday morning. I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1403,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-the-command-to-forsake-not-the-assembling-of-ourselves-together-apply-only-to-sunday-worship\/","url_meta":{"origin":81711,"position":4},"title":"Does the command to “forsake not the assembling of ourselves together” apply only to Sunday worship?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 4, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In our Bible study at church, the statement was made that if elders schedule a meeting, then it would be a sin for one to 'forsake the assembly\" if one could have attended. I feel that a person should attend, for it is a benefit to study and learn\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2875,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/gathering-together\/","url_meta":{"origin":81711,"position":5},"title":"Gathering Together","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 14, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When we talk of worshiping God, one aspect of that worship is our gathering together \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Psalm 122:1 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Is this your attitude, or do you feel dragged here? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0To worship God requires assembling with fellow Christians \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Hebrews 10:19-27 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The writer of Hebrews discusses the conversion of a man \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jesus consecrated a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81711\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}