Growing Between Thorns - Issue 1

Ahh...the great walk down the aisle to let the world (well, at least everyone who was at church that day) know that you're going to give your life to Jesus Christ.  Folks all clapping and smiling at you; praising God and stuff.  You're getting all those tight, sincere-feeling hugs.  Even the pastor that did that sermon just for you gives a firm hand shake and prays for your immediate success in life.  Who wouldn't join a church after all that fanfare?  Why not get involved in every ministry you can that the church offers?  It is the blessed thing to do.  Until you find out that those people who were congratulating you weeks earlier actually aren't heavens' angels; they actually are human beings.  And they too are the kind who are jealous, who lie, and who are manipulative.  It ain't that blessed now, huh?  The 'I love God but I can't deal with church folk' starts to make perfect sense...aaaannnnd it's time to exit stage left.

Along with misunderstood or false promises, people are leaving Christianity under the guise of leaving church.  To their point, with several falsehoods in today's organized church that's obvious to the occasional church goer, it's more than tempting to not even get involved in the first place.  And a corporate American feel has somewhat crept into our houses of worship.  So to not want to grapple with the treachery usually reserved for the office, that showed up at church, is understandable.  But unfortunately, this can kill an ever-developing relationship with God.  Described well in Mark 4:18-19, Jesus likens it to powerful seed planted around thorns.  The seed will begin to come into its form, but because of the thorns, what Jesus calls "the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things", that plants' growth is stunted and doesn't produce anything.  For us, it's as if the other examples Jesus points out in Mark 4 don't apply; because it's thorns all over the place.

So yeah, this is a corny plea to get you to go back to church, strategically posted right before the weekend, so let's just get to it.

• Biblical - Hebrews 10:24-25 says And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.  In the right church, you can encourage others towards Christ by being an encouragement in Christ, because this is all shuttin' down soon.  Proverbs 18:1 also gives good insight.  
• Social - Several studies, such as the American Sociological Review in December 2010 suggest that church goers (not necessarily Christians) are generally more happy than non-church goers.
• Financial - Money Magazine wrote in their April 2006 issue from a study by MIT economist Jonathan Gruber that doubling church attendance raises income by 10%.  Also, see Deuteronomy 8:18.

Plus, consider the' intangibles' of going to a church, especially one with...uh....social challenges.  Ones like learning how to deal with difficult people, selflessness, and submissiveness as a man.  Creative and cooperative thinking, teamwork, the list continues.

But still...
don't just go anywhere...

Peace