You are not reaching your full potential if you are not in church!

You are not reaching your full potential if you are not in church.  Stick with me! I know that is a bold and controversial statement!

Let me make two points very clear before I continue. 1) I LOVE the Body of Christ! I love how He set it up to operate.  I love how, when it operates as He intended, there is nothing more powerful, more loving, or more genuine, than the Body of Christ!  2) I have been hurt deeply by the "church".  More than once, I have pleaded with God to show me a way other than having to find a new "church" to be part of His Body.  Joining a new church felt a little like leading myself to the guillotine at times! And maybe a third point 3) I don't define "church" as a building.  I believe any group of people who meet for the purpose of worship, teaching, encouraging and equipping followers of Christ are a "church" and a Body of Christ.

We had been attending and prayerfully seeking God's direction for us in a Body since moving.  But recently, felt God asking us to move to a new body for several reasons.  So we set out to find where God wanted us to be.  We didn't miss a single week of church.  My awesome husband even took our 8 plus two extra teens on a week that I was out of town for work.  But can I tell you that in those four weeks that we were "homeless", I was reminded that I will never reach my full potential if I am not in fellowship regularly with other believers.

I understand.  That pastor betrayed your trust, your respect.  That church leader was completely insensitive and maybe even inappropriate in the way they handled your life crisis.  There are probably very few church issues that bring pain that you could throw my way that John and I haven't walked through ourselves at some point. But we understand these leaders, pastors, teachers, other church members are human...just like us! I have hurt people's feelings....people in my church.  I have had to go apologize and ask forgiveness for hurting feelings.  The bottom line is, there is no perfect church because it is made up of humans like me.

But, there is a perfect church for my family....and for you and your family!  God never intended for us to do life alone! Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 both talk of how we are just part of a body. "For the body does not consist of one member but of many" You alone, are NOT the Body of Christ! And if you are not in a Body of Christ, that Body is missing a part..a toe, an arm, a head even maybe! Do you realize without you, some Body of Christ that you are called to is quite possibly having to operate without a vital part?

And without that Body  in your life, you are not all you can be! I don't care how mature you think you are.  I don't care how much tv church you watch.  Without a Body of believers that you know and who know you, you are not able to do all you can do.  I know there are circumstances with health where you can't get out of the house, and for those I am so thankful for technology that can bring church to a home!  But for those who just use that as the checklist for church or to ease your mind about going to church, it's not the same! Look at Jesus himself! He met regularly with his 12, then even more intimately with three.  And he met often with a crowd!  If Jesus needed a Body to reach His potential, what makes us think we are different? If He didn't have the maturity to do it alone, how can we even begin to think we can?

God couldn't have made it any clearer, "do not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching." Hebrews 10:25.  During those four weeks, I was trying to do my individual study with God every morning.  I was using online worship services during the week to keep myself encouraged.  But even still, the depression started setting in.  You see just like a big cat after its prey, when the enemy can isolate us from the herd, we are so much easier to take down! As we sat in a different church each week where we felt like strangers, because we were, I realized that I would never reach my full potential if we did not find a body where I could plug in.  Be a part of what God was doing in a Body of believers.  Being part of something bigger than ourselves keeps us encouraged and moving forward! It keeps the focus off of us! One of the biggest weapons the enemy has it to get me focused on me! When I am not part of a church, it is so much easier to become focused inward!

So let me encourage you to allow God to heal the wounds you may have from "church people".  No pastor is infallible!  But God is! Don't trust a church, trust God! Trust that He can bring healing from your past hurts and any future hurts.  Then ask Him to show you where He wants you! He has a place He needs you to plug in because He has called and gifted you to be a part of a body! And that body needs you...and you need that body!