Can I Stay Spiritual Without the Church?
By Susanne Kirlew
This is a question that can be answered with the short and to the point answer - yes. But the question to follow is; to what extent can I stay spiritual without going to church and how easy is it to do this? I spoke to some people who are Christians but don't attend church and these are the reasons they give for not attending:
'As long as I pray that's enough, going to church is not really necessary.'
'As long as you have God in your heart, that's all that matters.'
'As long as you're a good person, that's all that matters. I help my neighbours, I donate to charity, I recycle to help the environment and I'm vegetarian; that makes me spiritual.
'A lot of church people are hypocrites so I don't want to mix with them.'
'Going to church doesn't fit in with my lifestyle.'
'I find that going to church dictates your lifestyle too much.'
'I don't believe in organised religions.'
'Going to church is too restricting.'
I think that not going to church and still trying to maintain a level of spirituality in your life is like the difference between doing a degree at university or doing a course at home via correspondence (distance learning). It is achievable, but not the easiest way to do it and has some pros and cons.
Correspondence courses have a high rate of drop-outs. A high percentage (sometimes as high as 80%) of people who begin these types of courses never complete them. Before looking at the cause for this problem and reviewing the possible remedies, it's worth getting the whole thing in perspective.
First, before the whole not-going-to-church option is tarred with the same brush, it must be made clear that many people who choose not to go to church are sincere Christians in their own right and do a lot for the community and can have a strong relationship with God.
Second, it is clear that people who attend church regularly also have a drop-out problem. For example, for every 1,000 people baptised into the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the UK, around 200 people leave the church. (Please note these figures quoted are approximate.)
All forms of distance learning have suffered similarly, from the days of the first correspondence course. How many of you, if you were to look in your loft or cellar, would find an unopened course book, or something similar? You can sometimes wonder why they bother developing anything beyond lesson 1, because a significant number of people never get that far! (Relatively speaking.) The situation is not that much different with adult education courses. A survey of 3,000 evening course students in 1987 found a 21% drop-out by the end of the first term, followed by a massive 58% failing to re-enrol subsequently.1 You also have to wonder how great the drop-out would be for conventional classroom training, if it became socially acceptable to get up and walk out when the subject matter was no longer holding your attention. The fact is, however good our intentions, many of us lack the motivation to see a course through to the end.
It is the same with trying to be spiritual without going to church. My question would be 'how do you keep focused in this option that seems very isolated?'. Also 'How much fun is it when there are no obvious people to speak to and to share your Christian trials and triumphs with?'
In conclusion, I would say this: You can stay spiritual without the church because ultimately the most important part is your relationship with God. However, for me, over time, I have benefited greatly from attending church. I love the whole community of the church family. I love the camp meetings, concerts, AYS, Youth Days, Days of Fellowship and all of the social events as well. These are not the core of my Christian experience, but they certainly are a major contribution.
Susanne Kirlew
http://www.theanimatedgospelchoir.com
This policy is valid from 1st February
This blog is my personal blog and was written and edited by me.
This blog does not accept any cash for advertising or sponsorship. However, if U buy something from my blog I will get paid, not much.
The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or post made in this blog.
I always give my honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.
