One of the most oft quoted contemporary commentaries on Christianity comes from the early twentieth century evangelist, Billy Sunday. Perhaps you’ve heard it… (a million times?!): “Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you an automobile.”
In principle, I agree with this. However, it is usually delivered in defense of not going to church while remaining a Christian, in the same way that a vegetarian would defend his aversion to meat while at the same time eating a juicy filet mignon with some fava beans and a nice chianti.
It’s incongruent.
You can quote nutritional philosophers, dieticians, or the Grand Poobah of PETA… if you eat meat, you can’t call yourself a vegetarian with a straight face.
Can you be a Christian and not go to church? Absolutely! But the Lord doesn’t call us to be Christians! Nowhere in the bible will you find a call toward Christianity. In fact, the word “Christian” only appears three times in Scripture (Acts 11:26, 26:28, 1 Peter 4:16), but only as a group designation, without any individual responsibilities such as going to church, or for confessing the triune God for that matter.
The bible calls us to be disciples, not Christians. “Disciple” is found 273 times in the New Testament, along with the definition that a disciple 1) deny himself, 2) take up his cross and 3) follow Jesus (Matthew 16:24).
Quick question: As a disciple, would you deny yourself, pick up your cross, and follow Jesus to theater to worship? Or the fishing pond? Ballgame? Pillow?
The English word “disciple” is kith and kin to the word “discipline”- “the rigor or training effect of experience, adversity, etc “ (Webster). The Greek word “disciple” is “mathetai”, which is where we get our root word “mathematics”. The discipline of mathematics is gained by repetition, rigor, and training… much like the life of a disciple.
Yes, you can be a Christian and not go to church, but can you be a disciple without the rigors of a disciplined life and the repetition of worship (Remember the Sabbath day…)?
To that end, I would submit that my dog Skeeter is more of a Christian than many Christians who would submit their garage logic. How? Simply in the fact that my dog recognizes Sunday mornings more distinctly than many of his human counterparts.
Skeeter sleeps right outside of our bedroom door. He’s done this for years. He’ll sleep all night long expectantly waiting for Kristen or I to open the door. Nothing else moves him. When the door finally opens, Skeeter does one of three things, he will either 1) excitedly greet the door opener, 2) run inside our room and lie down, or 3) run down the stairs to be let outside. For 10 years, this has been our routine. Every morning, every year.
Except for Sundays.
On Sunday mornings, Skeeter doesn’t move when I open the door. At best, he will wag his tail when I say hello, without as much as lifting his head. But he doesn’t greet me, doesn’t follow me down the stairs, and doesn’t try to move into the bedroom. It’s Sunday, and it’s just me leaving the house very early in the morning, while the rest of the family sleeps for a few more hours.
This past Sunday, July 4, this weekly rhythm was most unusually interrupted. With only one service at 10am, I didn’t open the bedroom door until 7:15am. It was already bright in the house. It could have been any day of any week… and when I opened the door, I was almost startled to see Skeeter rise to his feet (uhm… paws). He never does that. It must have been the light? "He doesn't know what day it is?", I said to myself. But before I could even close the door, he was squatting back into his sleeping position, curling up into a big ball of Sunday morning fur.
Somehow, some way, Skeeter the dog recognized that it was- indeed- Sunday morning.
As I pulled out of the driveway with the family and dog still sound asleep, it dawned on me that I wish we were as intuitive and disciplined!
Skeeter doesn’t go to church, makes no excuses for his behavior, quotes no 130-year-old evangelists to support his sleep habits, but one thing he does.... he clearly recognizes Sunday mornings.
Perhaps this makes Skeeter the dog more of a Christian than him who was given much more (Lk 12:48).
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