25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
I can’t imagine a time when more “Christians” are choosing to not go to church. As I talk with so many people who claim the name of Jesus, they so often tell me that they are not actively involved in a local congregation. But not being connected to a local body seems so foreign to me. I have to admit that there are times when we have struggled to find a good local body, one where we could minister and be ministered to. But we have not given up the search, and God has honored our efforts. We all want the perfect church, with activities for the kids, all age-appropriate, and of course the praise team that produces its own CDs for retail consumption. And the preacher has to be the quality of our favorite we watch by streaming video, carefully edited and scripted. And there are no uncomfortable moments in front of our LCD screens, like the altar call or a disruptive teenager. When it gets personal, we just Click! and we avoid the work of the Holy Spirit. There is no accountability with a media church, no rubbing of shoulders, no unpleasant tears or other embarrassing elements. No disheveled individuals, no piercings or tattoos, or the lack of them to turn us off. We pick and choose. The buffet is complete, we take what we like and reject the rest. But meeting together allows our own rough edges to contact other’s rough edges resulting in friction and a polishing of both of us. We need to connect to each other even more these days. Our culture has encouraged isolation and isolation is unhealthy. When people are put in isolation in a hospital, we know there is something very wrong with them. When I see a Jesus-follower who is isolated, I get concerned for their spiritual health. If you are isolating yourself, I want to encourage you to step out and find a local body of believers and stay put. Yes, they won’t have all their theology perfect like you want it. There will be some things that bother you about just about every church, but you need to be attached in order to stay alive spiritually. Every church is imperfect because we human beings attend, and we are not perfect yet.
The Arnold Journey 