Many African American Christian congregations
have a midweek (Wednesday) service of some sort and also special services on
Friday evenings a lot too. And we can’t leave out the many things that might go
on any given Saturday, and we’ve yet to talk about a weekly Bible study. Therefore
if you look at a month with four weekends in it the doors to the church
could possibility be open at least 12 to 15 times a month. That’s a lot.
When I found myself with a 2 month preterm
baby and a pediatrician who was a Christian, the first thing she told me, “Don’t
take your baby to church for at least 3 months.” She explained that with her
being preterm she needed not to be subjected to all the germs one might find in
a large gathering of people until her immune system was stronger.
I took her advice.
What did I do? I read my Bible and watched
the Believers Voice of Victory during the week, Charles Stanley on the weekends
and did a bi-weekly women’s bible study over the phone and stayed in touch with my mentor to discuss the Bible.
In the course of the next few years, there
were many times I didn’t attend a church service or event. Often it was the
lateness of the hour or inclement weather. But here’s the catch, when I missed
a service, it never failed that some well meaning sister would come up to me
and say, “Girl, I didn’t see you Friday night…you really missed it!” And after
awhile I began to believe them. I thought I was missing out because I refused
to drag my child out into the cold night air or for whatever other reason I
wasn’t there.
When talking to my mentor about it, she reassured
me that I wasn’t missing anything. And you know what? She was absolutely
correct. God is able to keep us no matter what. And the only way I would have
missed anything would have been if the Holy Spirit instructed me to go and I
just didn’t do it. Yeah, disobedience will do that for you.
If you are in a congregation that has a lot
going on it doesn’t mean you have to be there for everything—all the time.
I’ve had conversations with two teachers who
complained of how tired their students from Christian households were on Thursday.
Why? Being at church on Wednesday evening and getting in the bed later than usual.
One even said she no longer scheduled tests on Thursday because they did so
poorly. That is not a good testimony.
I have witnessed this first hand, especially
with single mothers. They pick their children up from after school care; stop
at McDonald’s on the way to church. Service starts at 7pm, is over at 8:30 or
9:00 and then they still have to get home and often attempt to do homework.
One Friday night during a special service, a
woman stood up and gave a testimony of how she had been so disrespectful to her
husband. During their marriage she became a Believer and her husband had not.
She was one who came to church every time the doors were open, with no regard
to his feelings. She said the Holy Spirit had corrected her and she would be
stepping down from the ministries she was on and spending more time with her
husband. About a year after that, he started coming to church with her and
accepted Christ as his savior. You see, her actions no longer made him resent God
for taking his wife from him.
As a single mom who homeschooled, and worked
from home for two different people, I was often tired. And I had to learn to
have balance in my life before I burnt out or became so overwhelmed I just gave
up! I started taking one Sunday a month off. We slept in, stayed in our
jammies, and I made sure to cook the day before. It was a real blessing!
It is wonderful to belong to a good strong congregation,
but there is no magic is being in a church building two or three times a week. That
doesn’t make sense for everyone’s lifestyle.
When I homeschooled, if we did go to church
during the week, my daughter was able to sleep in and get the proper rest she
needed or else we would not have went. I never jeopardized our safety by trying
to get to church (or anywhere for that matter) when there was inclement
weather, especially ice. Just recently we had a lot of ice on a Sunday morning,
and people were asked to stay off the roads. So, why were so many out there
trying to go to church? Are we not supposed to obey the law or officials? It
shouldn’t matter if your church is open or not—wisdom if key.
There are many different reasons one may not
be able to attend church services, and we should not be bent out of shape when that happens. The key is a personal and upfront relationship with God. Yup! That’s it.
Reading and studying our Bibles, gives us freedom and great understanding.
Sisters, have you ever questioned why we are
beat over the head or made to feel guilty if we don’t come to church more than
once a week? Where in the Bible, does it
say we must do this? And if you are thinking about Hebrews 10:25, it is so
often taken out of context.
If you are a single mom with young children,
don’t feel pushed to keep them out late at night. They will not always be young
or little—you will have a season when you will have more freedom to do things.
If you desire to attend women’s bible study, see if someone will help you by
babysitting. If not, study and read on your own until that time when you are
able to attend a bible group. It is the Holy Spirits job to lead us into all
truth—you study God’s Word, and trust me—He will.
Wives, if your husband asks you to stay home
on a Sunday morning with him, don’t be afraid to do that. God is right there
with you. You will win him over with love.
Some of you might have disabilities or are battling
an illness and haven’t been able to get out. I do understand your desire to be
with the saints, but don’t let it be a discouragement to you. You see, God will
keep us no matter where we are. Just look at how He keeps those in Muslim
nations who have converted to Christianity. They can’t go to church publicly;
they have to meet in small secret groups, often sharing one Bible. We have many
brothers and sisters who do not have the privileges we do in the Western World,
but many of them have a stronger faith then us. They also have more of God’s
Word written in their hearts then we do. So you see—God is the One who keeps
us, whether we go to church 3 times a week or not. Amen!
Footnote
on last week’s blog…This post came up in my Facebook feed on Monday, “I've decided to abandon the new Bible
reading method, the one where you read the same book 20 times in a row. I
realized I was kind of dreading reading the Bible and bored with it, and that's
no way to feel about God's Word! I also kept losing my place.”
Nest Week's blog: The Bondages of Christendom (Part 7…What Kind of Music Do You
Listen To?)
Until next week...
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