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Vol. 2, Issue 2

Do I Really Need to Join a Church?

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In attempting to give spiritual advice to the world there is a problem. At MySpiritualAdvisor.com we find that the world at large, well, it has "issues" with God.

The major barrier for the world to "get spiritual" has been a HUGE distrust of God. The world seems to be saying loudly and clearly that they can’t stand God. But the question we haven’t asked up to this point at MySpiritualAdvisor.com is this: Can God stand us?

I remember a choir director I had said to me, "If it weren’t for Jesus Christ, we wouldn’t be speaking to each other." Sad to say, but there are people at church who really grate on my nerves. There is no getting around it. It seems that places would be perfect if they just didn’t have people.

There is no getting around people. They are simply everywhere. This seems to be another major impediment to wanting to join a church.

In the preceding articles (click here to read previous articles) we have talked about the spiritual nature of God. He is the only thing that can fill our empty void. He reaches out to us through Jesus Christ. He loves us.

Let’s do a little spiritual exercise which will drive home the fact that God loves us. First, close your eyes (after you get done reading this). Then imagine the most irritating person in your entire world. Then think about this: God loves them. Now that you have picked yourself up off the floor, let’s think about this: You may very well be a person that someone else has imagined when doing this exercise.

With all of the little fights we pick and things we won’t forget, it is amazing that God wants to have anything to do with us. So, if one of our objections to not joining the church is the people, then we are simply not spiritual. Because being spiritual is doing what God (who is spirit become flesh) does, then we must seek out other people throughout our lives, no matter how irritating people might be.

Not only does God love them, he became one of them. And believe you me, Jesus Christ irritated quite a few people. He irritated them so much that they decided to kill him. He died willingly because he loved them. He died even for the irritating people.

In the Mass at the Catholic Church I am attending are these words, "Lord, look not upon our sins, but upon the faith of your church." These words are key to getting spiritual.

The best spiritual advice is based on the understanding that there is something more out there. There is a higher calling than to just "unleash the power within." Why would I want to "unleash" me without change when the "me" I am is not getting it done? There is more to the picture.

There is a relationship with someone who is otherworldly, beyond our reach. And that one, named Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is the one who comes to us and others. It is all about uniting with each other as we unite through Him, with Him, and in Him.

But what good is it for Jesus to come to the earth if he was not going to die to pave a way for us to join him? His resurrection achieves a pathway for us to become one with him (covered in another issue, click here for additional articles). He showed that the way to the Spirit is through commitment.

God does not want so much for us to be happy as he wants us to be committed to him. And this commitment comes when we are committed to those who are also committed to him.

Rather than quoting Bible verses, let me make a point about the coming of Christ. When Jesus started his ministry, he gathered people to him. He went out and picked the Twelve Apostles. He didn’t sit in his room alone. He didn’t eat alone. He didn’t go to the record store on Friday Night, get some carry out food and then go home for the evening. When Christ came, he formed a community.

To that community, he was committed. He taught them. He took them all over Palestine. He shared his thoughts and visions of a new world order, a new covenant with humanity. Here is another observation: he was so committed that he gave his own life for the cause.

Through a spiritual bond formed in Christian Baptism, we become one with Christ. And through this mysterious spiritual union, we become part of Christ. When Christ died, we die. When Christ rose from the dead, we rise from the dead. When Christ goes to heaven, we go to heaven.

And not only do we personally do these things, but everyone else who loves Christ and is baptized does the same thing. Joining the people who are committed to Christ cements the message that we send to God. Getting Spiritual means that we do what God does. God is committed to the point of death to his people and all the world, and we need to be as well.

We show our commitment to God by joining in a public way with the others who openly love him. To NOT join a church is like having sex without commitment. Sex without commitment is a cheap way to use another human being. Going to church without joining is using God to make ourselves feel better without having to acknowledge the claim that God has on our lives.

MySpiritualAdvisor.com’s advice is to join a church. And here is how:

Attend a Church for at least four Sundays to see if it is a place you would like to investigate.

Ask for literature to read about what the Church believes.  then ask some people what is the best thing about their church to see if faith, God and the mission of God are central to their life.

Meet with the pastor/priest.

If you want to talk with me about this issue of joining a church, click here.