Anne Lamott’s 14-year-old son Sam doesn’t like going to church, so as a compromise she makes him go every other week. When she defended this parental practice in a trendy online magazine, some of her secular readers criticized her for everything from child abuse to brainwashing. But Lamott argued that we live in bewildering times and a little spiritual guidance never hurt anyone.

“It’s good to do uncomfortable things. It’s weight training for life,” she wrote. Besides, teenagers left on their own would opt out of many things they don’t enjoy, like doing homework or flossing their teeth. Lamott knows God also loves teenagers who don’t go to church, but such teens are deprived of seeing people who love God back. “Learning to love back is the hardest part of being alive,” wrote Lamott (salon.com, July 4).

At one point in my life I could have identified with Sam. Church was boring, something I had to endure. Eventually, I could make my own choice, and for several years in college I rarely went to church. Sleeping in seemed a better use of my time, especially after late nights out with friends. Still, I had to admit even then that skipping church left me with an empty feeling, like hunger pangs of the soul.

In this issue we look at what happens when Mennonites get together on Sundays—or in some settings, Saturdays (see page 23). But we could ask the larger question: why meet at all? According to one survey 44 percent of Americans adults go to church on a weekly basis. In Canada, only 34 percent claim to attend church at least once a month. Those figures are dropping each year, reflecting trends in Britain and Europe where attendance is much lower.

People are looking for a palpable sense of the presence of God, an experience of community, and a sense of purpose and call in life. They want connection with others who share their commitment to Christian discipleship. Besides, in a 24/7 culture, they need a break from endless commercial and material pursuits.

Attending church, it seems, is becoming counter-cultural, as is Sabbath keeping. But it was so from the beginning. The Hebrew people in Egyptian captivity didn’t start out with a campaign for liberation from the Pharaoh; they just wanted the freedom to take time off from work and go out into the wilderness to remember their God (Exod. 5:1). But that put a crimp on Pharaoh’s economic plan; he needed the Israelite slaves on the job seven days a week, year around.

Eventually, the Israelites remembered and hallowed the Sabbath for two reasons: to pattern their lives after their God who rested on the seventh day of creation (Exod. 20:8-11); and to remember their miraculous deliverance from the Pharaoh, who had forced them to work without time off for worship or recreation (Deut. 5:12-15).

Later, Christians too would take a day of rest from their labors and assemble to recall all that God had done for them. They met on the first day of the week in order to celebrate the resurrection of their Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.

So why do people show up when your congregation meets? (That would be a good question for your leadership groups to discuss—and not just why others attend church but why you yourselves do.) Is it to be entertained? To be informed? To be inspired? To receive comfort or be challenged? I contend that, minimally, people are looking for a palpable sense of the presence of God, an experience of community, and a sense of purpose and call in life. They want connection with others who share their commitment to Christian discipleship and who seek direction for daily living. Besides, in a 24/7 culture, they need a break from endless commercial and material pursuits.

A faithful church will not be content to just serve their own people when they assemble. It will invite and welcome others who need rest for their weary minds, bodies,s and souls and are searching for God and a people to whom they can belong. Like the Jews say, we don’t keep the Sabbath, the Sabbath keeps us—faithful to our calling as disciples of Jesus. But Christians will not want to keep Sabbath to themselves; they will want to share it with others

Richard A. Kauffman