Do We Have To Go To Church?

     Question to O. A.:  My husband and I travel, so we miss a lot of church.  Do we have to go to church every Sunday?  What happens if we don’t?  G. P. in Louisiana.

     Dear G. P.:  The answers to your questions are complicated, since “church” and “Sunday” didn’t exist in original Christianity.  Jesus and His disciples never heard the words “church” and “Sunday,” and they never saw a “church” building or called a day “Sunday.”  So we need some background before we can answer your questions.

     Originally, Christians met in informal small groups in their homes, and their meetings were guided by the Holy Spirit.  They worshiped on the first day of the week, which they called “The Lord’s Day.”  And their small groups generated such amazing Spirituality that they turned the whole world upside down Spiritually in only 70 years.  They continued to worship that way for the first three centuries of Christian history (about the first eight generations of Christians).  So, if we lived back then, we wouldn’t even be asking questions about “church” and “Sunday,” because neither one existed.

     However, in the Fourth Century, a non-Christian emperor of Rome named Constantine came to power and founded institutional Christianity.  He was the high priest of the sun god religion, and he’s the person in history who invented the words “church” and “Sunday.”  He’s also the person who started the habit of Christians worshiping in large groups in large buildings by sitting and watching large services.

     Constantine and his descendants outlawed Christian small groups.  They built the first Christian buildings and named them “churches.”  They created the first “clergy” to run the “church” buildings.  And they named the day “Sunday” and made it the legal day for worship.  The result of all this is that today’s denominations are descended from Constantine’s Fourth Century institution, and almost everything we that call “Christian” today came from Constantine – not from Jesus and the Early Christians.

     This means that you and your husband could worship the way the original Christians did:  In a Spirit-guided small group, on any day of the week, at any time of day or night, as often as you want.  And of course, if you feel a need to attend a denominational worship service when and where possible, you can do that too.

     To summarize, your options are:  Form a small group (a small groups can be as small as two people) and worship the way the early Christians did – by singing, praying, and enjoying the power of the Holy Spirit.  Or attend a denominational service when and where you can.  Or do a combination of both.

     Just remember that it’s not good to do nothing.  God wants us to worship Him as often as possible, and not worshiping Him makes us unspiritual.  So let us know what plan you and your husband decide on for worshiping during your travel schedule.