Be careful before you answer the question above!  Occasionally, one may be heard saying something like, "I am so tired of the congregation where I worship.  I want to find someplace else to go!"  It's not that there is anything wrong with the local church from a doctrinal standpoint, or that there is any great disunity--one just becomes bored or weary.  How can we resolve this situation?

First, remember that life is usually as good or ill, happy or unhappy as we make it.  The same holds true with one's marriage!  One says, "I'm tired of this life," or, "I'm tired of my husband."  Such expressions may indicate that we fail to understand that life, our job, and our marriage take a lot of work, a lot of maintenance.  Some think you get a job and just go to work and one day own the company, or that you get married and the marriage just kind of grows and takes care of itself on its own.  Of course, that's why people are bored in life, with work, and at home.  Anything worth doing or having is worth maintaining with all diligence.  This is no less true in the local congregation.

A person or family places membership with a local church.  At first, everyone and everything is new, exciting, and challenging.  The various programs of work are different than they have experienced before, they get to meet new people and start developing new friendships, and the preacher and his preaching style are different from what we have had in the past.  Then, reality sets in after a while.  One begins to learn that people in the congregation are not perfect; and, we may not get along with one of two, or some problem may arise in the church.  The programs begin to look old and we get tired of looking at and hearing the same preacher every Sunday.  In other words, the honeymoon is over.  What do we do?

Some start looking for another congregation to attend.  Some just quit.  If that happened in one's marriage, and one simply decided to seek another marriage partner or just quit the marriage, as some do, what a tragic thing that would be!  Others recognize the need for loyalty and steadfastness where they are.  They roll up their sleeves and work more diligently.  They begin working harder to apply the sermons and Bible class lessons to their lives.  They become more actively involved in the work of the church.  They start spending more time learning more of the Bible and developing their talents to be used in the programs of work in the congregation they now attend.  They "stretch" themselves and grow spiritually.

Brethren, we owe the local church our loyalty, our faithful attendance at all services (Sunday and Wednesday), our active involvement, and participation in the various works of the congregation, and our full expression of love in our giving.  We owe it our gratitude, our words of encouragement, and our efforts to strengthen and "talk up" the church everywhere we go, a positive attitude toward evangelism,  and our wholehearted worship in spirit and in truth.  We owe the local church our cooperation, participation, enthusiasm, and support in every way that is Scriptural!  And, if we aren't giving it our full and first priority (Mt 6:24,33), then we have little right to complain, or start looking for "greener pastures."

The answer does not lie in some unscriptural "gimmick" to keep us happy, contented, and attending! . . . IT LIES WITHIN OURSELVES!  It's a matter of getting our thinking and priorities in line with what God requires of us.

We need to talk plainly and think seriously about attendance at our worship services. It is out of love for your soul that these comments are made. The difference between how many are present for our Sunday morning Bible classes and worship, and the number present at our Sunday evening worship services has started to grow. I fully understand (and everyone else should, too) that some of our brethren are not physically able to attend all of our services. We believe that God takes such limitations into account (2 Cor. 8:12). At the same time, if physical ailment is not keeping you from attending our worship services, then what is? As far as I know, our Sunday night assembly (and for that matter, our Wednesday night meeting) is a scheduled part of this church's work, and as such is not an optional consideration.

1. It is our RESPONSIBILITY to assemble to worship God. God seeks true worshippers who will worship Him in spirit and truth (Jn. 4:23-24). The true worshipper overcomes obstacles that would keep him from worshipping his God. What obstacle stands in your way from assembling to worship with your brethren at the regularly scheduled meetings? Distance? Time? Work? Exhaustion? Recreation? We must work hard to not allow hindrances to become stumbling blocks to our obedience. Sacrifice is needed to be a disciple of Jesus (Lk. 9:23). That may mean a few extra miles of travel, or getting up an hour earlier, Or going to bed an hour earlier the night before, Or changing our work schedule. Remember, we must seek God's kingdom and His righteousness first (Matt. 6:33). Shouldn't that include assembling with the saints to worship God? After all, when we can always be present and on time for our jobs and social events, shouldn't we be doing the same for the Lord?

2. It is our PRIVILEGE to assemble to worship God. Sadly, some Christians view attendance at worship services as a burden, rather than a joy. This is not an expression of loving God, but rather one of drudgery, compromise and complaint (1 Jn. 5:3). David said, "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go unto the house of Jehovah" (Ps. 122:1). What a privilege to worship our Creator and Redeemer! When we forget the honor attached to worshipping God, we have turned our worship into cold formalism that will not be accepted by God (cf. Matt. 15:8-9). We must constantly assess our attitude toward worship in order to help us avoid forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. It is not done to be seen of men or to be held in honor by men, but to give honor to God who saves us and gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ! (Matt. 6:1; Jn. 12:42-43)

3. It is a BLESSING to assemble to worship God. If you consider yourself blessed by attending one worship service a week, would not attending all of them be an even greater blessing? Every worship service offered to God "in spirit and truth" will bless those who faithfully participate in them (Jn. 4:24). By such we are encouraged to "continue steadfastly" (Acts 2:42) while being "provoked unto love and good works" (Heb. 10:24). Thus, God blesses us whenever we worship Him (Jn. 4:23), and, by your presence at all of our assemblies, your influence is blessing someone else (Matt. 5:16)! So, by not forsaking our assembling together we not only receive a blessing, we are also a blessing to others! No blessing is being received or given when we are absent.

Let us all renew our commitment to fully participate in our worship services by being present for all of them. We cannot please God while neglecting to obey Hebrews 10:24-25. May we take to heart the responsibility, privilege and blessing of assembling together to worship our God.

Once the pioneer preachers of the Restoration Movement, such as Stone and the Campbell's, had formulated the basic principles of the Movement, they began to preach with a vigor that stimulated the church to a period of phenomenal growth. Estimates among the disciples themselves placed their numbers at 100,000 in 1836 and at 200,000 or even 300,000 in 1850. According to the census of 1850 the disciples constituted the fourth largest religious body in the nation. The census of 1870 placed it at fifth place. The zealous labors of the pioneer preachers, as well as the freedom from denominational shackles offered by the Restoration to liberty-loving Americans, powered this period of rapid progress. However, disruptive influences lay on the horizon, and they threatened to hamper, or even undo, all of this progress.

The Civil War was greatly disruptive to the American religious scene, and churches of Christ did not remain unscathed. Some churches were divided and others were so discouraged that they ceased to meet. The whole nation, including many brethren, were so caught up with war fever that little room was left in their hearts for spiritual concerns (I Tim. 2:1,2). Young men of the church went off to join the ranks of the Blue and the Gray, and not a few of them died in battle. Some preachers deplored brethren taking up arms against one another, while others, forgetting their calling and disclaiming their brethren in the opposing section, themselves unsheathed the sword. One preacher and college president by the name of James A. Garfield became noted for his valor, was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general, and eventually became the twentieth president of the United States.

Two questions were brought to the attention of Christians by the Civil War or its issues. One was the slavery question. Could a Christian Scripturally own slaves? If so, how was he required to treat them? Though there were extremists on both sides of the question, it seems that most preachers were neutral and encouraged Christians in the North and South not to allow this to become a divisive issue. As a result, the church of Christ was one of the few churches in the nation that did not divide over this issue. The prevailing view among brethren seemed to be that slavery was a political, rather than moral, question. The Bible did not expressly forbid slavery but rather regulated it (Lev. 25:39-46; I Cor. 7:17-24; Eph. 6:5-9; Philemon). Most brethren, while wishing to avert religious division and war over this matter, probably hoped that slavery would eventually be brought to a peaceable and legal end.

The other question to attract Christian's concerns was the Christian's participation in carnal warfare. Again, the most devout and influential preachers were opposed to brethren's involvement in warfare and pled with brethren not to become involved, though their pleas seem to have fallen on deaf ears for the most part.

Since most denominational congregations during the Restoration Movement formed themselves into inter-congregational associations of some sort, the question of "cooperation" was soon raised among the brethren. While those in Stone’s following looked with suspicion at such organizing efforts, those of Campbell's following seemed to think that some sort of extra-congregational cooperation or organization was well-nigh essential to the progress of the cause. Consequently, brethren at first began to meet in informal, district gatherings. However, as time went by these "cooperation meetings" increased in formality and scale. District meetings became state meetings, and state meetings became national meetings. At first, such meetings were defended on the basis that they were only intended to encourage, inform, and unify brethren, and promote evangelism. Alexander Campbell wrote extensively in defense of greater organization among local churches. Brethren finally met in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1849 and formed the American Christian Missionary Society. Alexander Campbell was elected its first president. As soon as the Society was formed opposition to it began to mount. Interrupted temporarily by the Civil War, this opposition continued to increase until conflict over the Society gradually issued in an open breech of fellowship between the advocates and the adversaries in the latter half of the Nineteenth Century. The bases of objections to the missionary society have varied, but the most notable ones may be summarized as follows: (1) there is no Scriptural authority for it, (2) it is not needed, for the church is sufficient to do the spiritual work that needs to be done, (3) it supplants the church, and (4) it infringes upon the independence and autonomy of the local churches.

About the time that the American Christian Missionary Society got underway the question of instrumental music in the worship of the churches arose. Not long before the Civil War the church at Midway, Kentucky became the first church on record to introduce instrumental music into worship (supposedly to aid their deplorable singing). Practically every church and preacher of influence, including Campbell himself, stood united in their opposition to instrumental music in worship. However, following the Civil War churches began to use the instrument more and more and the battle over it was joined with increasing fury. The objections to instrumental music in worship have substantially been: (1) that it is an unauthorized addition to the singing directed by the New Testament (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16), (2) that it is not instructive to the intelligence (I Cor. 14:15), and (3) that it is contrary to the spiritual character of the church's worship. The contentions over the missionary society and the instrument, as well as lesser ones, finally escalated into a division among the churches that was formally recognized by the Religious Census in 1906.

Food For Thought