Once A Month Church?

Comment by: skikid

I am typically in Church twice a week (depending on what’s going on although not usually on the weekends). I really like being around the people… so I think that I would miss them the most. I don’t really think that going to Church makes me a ‘better person’ per se. It is usually more along the lines of food for thought, things to think about and consider. I would really miss the community and connectedness.

Comment by: Lisa W.

It wouldn’t work well for me and my daughter.
It would actually require MORE work to stay connected with people. Once a month is not enough for the youth either, imo.

There is an elderly gentleman who stops by our community of faith every Sunday just to drink coffee and visit. He doesn’t stay for the teaching part or music, he just drinks coffee for 20 minutes. He says it’s the best coffee around but,I think he also comes for the steady routine of comradery. If we met only monthly we probably would never see him.

Comment by: NCxian

Comment by: NCxian

That seems to have worked.

As I was saying, before my post disappeared into the etherworld . . .
I agree with Lisa that it would be a lot of work to have to try to maintain connections with once a month church. If you happened to be out of town, too, on that Sunday, it would be two months before you reconnected.

My church of choice is something of a compromise between my spouse and me. It suits me in very many ways, but it is not very liturgical. If I were part of a community with a more ritualized Sunday morning communion, I would like that very much and would prefer that every Sunday. Eugene Peterson says that that kind of thing establishes a “frame” for the rest of the week, and I think he is right. In the best circumstances, you start your week by stepping outside yourself for a few moments.

Oh, and of course, Helen, there is also the kids problem. I think God just has to cut us some slack while we have small kids. Kids in church are not very conducive to . . . anything useful!

Comment by: ricklintx

“Going to church” doesn’t cut it for me. Connecting with God as I understand him nourishes my whole self. Giving focused attention to words that I consider God’s own, along with other people, helps me to sharpen my focus in my life. Receiving forgiveness tangibly in bread and wine makes a huge difference in my day to day functioning. Worshiping through songs and spoken words said/sung together with others plays a huge role. All this happens each week. So for me, OAMC isn’t attractive. I need these things weekly. If that strikes anyone as revealing of a weakness in my character, I can accept that. OAMC sounds about as attractive to me as a spouse suggesting OAMS.

Comment by: Mike C

I’m currently really partial to what’s call a cell-celebration model of church. It’s not real common here in the States, but it’s pretty prevalent all over the rest of the world.

Basically people in the church community attend a “cell group” (a small group that meets in a home for study, worship and fellowship) every week. The larger church would consist of a network of multiple cells. Then, once a month, all of the cells would come together for a larger celebration service (like a regular church service).

The advantages of this model is that the cells allow for really intimate community building and in depth discussion without requiring the church to put so much effort into pulling off a full blown worship service every week. And yet there are still times when everyone comes together as a larger body to stay connected and celebrate God as one church.

In essence this is like Jim’s OAMC idea, except that during the off weeks the people are still gathering, just in smaller groups.

The downside of this model, at least here in the States, is that we live in a culture that expects weekly church services, and most people have a hard time accepting the idea that just meeting in someone’s home for small group community is just as much “church” as gathering for a Sunday morning sermon and sing-a-long is. At least, that’s the challenge we’re facing here with our church plant. We’d love to do the cell-celebration model, but everyone is telling us that it can’t work because here in the Chicago suburbs people expect church to look and feel a certain way, and expect it to be every week on a certain day and time.

Comment by: Bob

Jim,

Couldn’t agree more with the statements you make above. I haven’t gone to Sunday morning services for about 2 years now. I “miss” the community but everytime I think about heading back I realize what kind of “community” I’d be experiencing.

Right now I have an informal group of about 20 Christians that I meet with as the occasion dictates. Our gatherings are largely informal and aren’t centered around one place or one person. Different subgroups of the community meet in different contexts all throughout the week. We share our lives with those that “make sense”. By that I mean, if I’m having trouble with my kids I talk to other guys with kids. If I’m struggling with making my theology “real” I talk with a mature Christian. If I feel alone, I invite everyone over. Other times I’m invited to their place.

It’s very different and my gotta-go-to-church-on-Sunday-to-be-a-good-Christian mind fights it all the time but when I review the past 2 years I see I’ve grown more as a person, a friend, and a follower of Christ than I had in 10 years of event Christianity.

Comment by: Marty

“All I would like is for us to admit that there is nothing more innately spiritual about meeting every week over meeting once a month” I buy that.

“and that it is largely the social function (which we call community) that we admit we would miss if it were gone” - I don’t buy that - and my guess is our difference may be that for many years I have not felt that I was more spiritual if I went weekly - or even at all. I go only if and when I want to - and at this point in life - that has been mostly weekly - not only for the social element (actually I am no doubt not nearly as social as you - or most of the people I know) - but for more than that. What I know is that when my wife and I leave any of the churches we go to attend - by and large we feel lifted up, closer to one another and we feel a peace and goodness at that time.

Comment by: Ir

Do you think God would mind getting 1/4 as much worship if church cut back to once a month?

Would Christians be worse off spiritually if they/we cut back our corporate worship to once a month? Would that hinder spiritual growth?

Would Christians be worse off spiritually if they only heard 1/4 as many sermons?

I’m really curious about this because I’d like to know how much Christians consider they benefit from these aspects of church services.

Plus I’d like to know if anyone considers it a matter of obedience to God to be in church every week. After all, it says something about my priorities (maybe), whether I am willing to put church first, no matter what, and get myself there every week. It MIGHT say that God is a higher priority in my life than that of someone who doesn’t go as often. Or maybe not.

What do you church goers think?

And I still want to hear from those who don’t go to church and aren’t Christians - do you attend weekly or monthly groups/what frequency works best/how do they help you?

Comment by: Ir

Thanks for your comment, TX.

I had a hard time not going every week when I was a church attender because I would feel like I was (or might be) missing things. I went every week I could until I was right on the point of quitting anyway.

I guess my inability to go every other week and be ok with that was my issue ;)

Comment by: Julei Marie

when I was going to church, I liked going weekly. It wasn’t so much for the “community” because my church was so large the only community was found in small groups, and I hadn’t been in one for about a year. It was for the preaching. Inerrant or no, my former pastor was gifted in the way he could make biblical concepts relevant to our times. I volunteered at the nursery because we used it and I didn’t think it was fair to take and not give. That was an obligation, not a fulfilling expreience, but I felt good about doing my share.

Now I am suprised at how happy I am without Sunday services. I don’t know how long before I start to yearn again for church - last time I walked away it took about a year for me to start aching.

I do look at my son and worry about my responsiblity to him, for his spiritual development. But he is so young yet, I can still read him Bible stories I find appropriate, and teach him what I want him to know at this stage.

I think one thing Christians have done is narrowed the definition of worship to mean musical expression. Growing up, when my family would go to the mountains every fall and hike the blue ridge during leaf peeping time, that was worship. Riding the waves in the ocean - that was worship too. And helping your fellow man - that can also be an act of worship.

Weekly church going as obediance to God? I thought that as a catholic but not as an evangelical. Tithing was how I showed my obediance as an evangelical. Sacrificial giving was how I showed my devotion. The way I demonstrated my priority for God was to give him my first tenth. Off the gross.

Comment by: KSG

Okay, now it’s my turn to weight in.

First let me start by saying that OAWC (once a week church) sounds slim to my experience. OAWC would sound like skipping church to the leaders (and most members) at my church, and OAMC would sound like you didn’t really even have a relationship with God. Unfortunately most church-attending people would see it that way because they equate their amount of church attendance with their faithfulness to their relationship with God (2 distinct and potentially unrelated issues IMO).

IMO…
Aspects of church life that are needed for a fulfilling Xian life (and missing from many churches IMO) are: regular (weekly) meaningful corporate worship, fellowship (’community’), training (Bible study -not being preached to or at), and service (worshipping God by serving others within and without your community).
Aspects of the ‘Jesus’ life that are needed for a fulfilling Xian life (and missing from many Xians lives IMO) are regular (almost daily) worship, fellowship (with God through prayer & Bible meditation) and service (of non-church community through ‘ordinary attempts’).

But all of this is by choice not due to a sense of obligation or duty.

I’ve come to see much of what I called Christian is really just religion (and my church considers itself very UNreligious). Speaking in tongues, singing & dancing [praise & worship] and ‘amen’ing the preacher can be (and often is IMO) a religious exercise and I believe the evidence that it has become religious is the lack of evidence of any significant change within the lives of both the participants (Xians) and the observers (’missing’).
For me church is no longer a place to go 1/2/3/4/5X a week, but has become a part of my daily (deliberate) Xian life. So participating in this blog is a part of “church” for me in that in challenges me in my belief in God and it encourages me to pursue God.

I think it is important to truly get the benefit of any sort of church attendance (OAWC/OAMC) is that you actually want to be there and that you participate in the church community by both giving (time, skills, money) and receiving (time, skills, money, etc.): this is what authentic community looks like. And I am convinced Xians need community (but then, so does everyone).

All that said…going as a group of people to a building once a week (or month) to sing a song and listen to someone speak is not church, it is religion.

Comment by: Tom in Sacramento

I’ve been reading and thinking about this. Interesting question. And initially I was leaning in favor of OAMC — probably burn-out from a heavy stress load lately. But today I saw something that radically changed my mind. There is a Buddhist temple a few blocks from our house and the place, that is normally desertted, was jam-packed with cars and full of some kind of whoop-dee-do. (I would have stopped to check it out if I had time.) But it got me to thinking. There are a number of religions and some expressions of still more religions that only do the occasional “church” celebration.

But my gut tells me that Jesus didn’t come to start yet another religion. ISTM it is supposed to be something different. And then I thought about OT Judaism. There were relatively few big “church” celebrations during the year. But the NT Christians get together very regularly, maybe even daily. And the NT tells us “not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as is the habit of some.”

And it got me to thinking. We always talk about “Christianity isn’t a relgion, it’s a relationship.” Yeah, well, put your money where your mouth is. If relationship is the paradigm, then community is a fair standard to measure it by. Could it be that we think OAMC would be okay simply because we have slid so far into the “Christianity as religion” paradigm (without ever recognizing it) that we now no longer even understand that the true dynamic is that God’s Spirit lives in you, and unless I am in the process of rubbing up against you, I will be out of touch with the Spirit.

I don’t know the answers. And I’m reasonably confident that the cell church is at least as effective, if not more so, than the big meeting at the brick building on First and Main. But it strikes me that what we need is more community, not less.

That said, I would heartily endorse the idea that places like OTM can, at least, augment the IRL community of believers. And my conversation IRL is liberally salted with stories of conversations I’ve had with my virtual friends here.

But the more I think of it, the surer I am that the problem isn’t too much frequency, the problem is that “church” is too often empty of the real, life-giving, life-sustaining connections of the body.

Enough for now.

Comment by: Bob

But the more I think of it, the surer I am that the problem isn’t too much frequency, the problem is that “church” is too often empty of the real, life-giving, life-sustaining connections of the body.

I agree, Tom.

I don’t go to church

No, I AM the church!

I have heard this before Peter. It resonates among those who identify with things emerging and it is valid to a point. But when you really sit with it, it makes about as much sense as “An Army of One”.

Comment by: KSG

Jim, you haven’t answered this yet,

Jim — you said

The elephant in the room is money
OAMC -would need no money and the leaders would be regular people who work day jobs.
Churches have to meet every week in order to collect money (or at least that is the what we have been taught to believe) Now that should provoke some heat:-)

Can you elaborate on this more?

I think your thinking is probably inline with my own thinking, but would like to hear what you have to say.

Comment by: KSG

Thanks Julie,
While I believe and practice the Biblical principle of tithing, I too have questions regarding where the money goes (and honestly am not really interested in “keeping the lights on” or paying someone’s ‘full time ministry’ wage). So while I haven’t (yet) moved from tithing to a building (my wife needs time to see things differently) to tithing to the body (by meeting a visible need or ‘hearing from God’ about giving), I am in the process of rethinking the process.
Sorry if I missed a post or DB topic, but what church do/did you attend?

Comment by: KSG

Ha,ha,ha.

Comment by: Julie Marie

The objective should not be to see how little you can believe and still be a “Xian” (used very loosely): IMO the objective should be to focus on your real living relationship with a living Christ and letting him lead you in your beliefs.

I’d agree with that, too, KSG

Comment by: JMORHY

Mr Ron Valencian, publisher adn Editor of the North Shore News holds a OAMC on Hawaiis NOrth Shore area.

http://www.northshorenews.com