"What’s in It for You? God’s Vision for Church and Your Role in It."

In 1988 Kim and I were done with churches. We had moved to Houston and visited a bunch of different ones but we just couldn’t find one that didn’t set off one of our previous bad church experience alarms. I had gone to college in a “Bapticostal” ministry school with the big idea of going into full-time pastoral ministry but I found out right away that I didn’t fit into their cookiecutter ideas of what a pastor should look like, act like, think like—and I choked on a lot of their interpretations of the Bible—all the extra stuff they attached to their theology. The more I studied, the more I realized I would not be going down that road, at least not with them.

We went to a hundred different kinds of churches. At that season of our life, everywhere we went seemed plastic and like they were missing the point. I’m sure many of them were fine churches and the problem was mostly with us but it was painful.

We never stopped believing in Jesus or reading the Bible or doing ministry—but Kim and I really struggled to find a church that we wanted to call home.

So, we made our own.

We had moved to Houston to work with a music production company and my band was playing in rock clubs every weekend. People would come up after the set and want to talk about the songs, the lyrics, all that kind of stuff. We started inviting them to our apartment on Sunday for lunch and conversation—all my songs were always about Jesus and theology, so this ever changing group of curious people became our church. After a while, there was a core group in our gathering we called The Cave of 25 to 30 people. Friends from other bands, musician wannabees, fans of the various groups. It was very informal. We ate whatever Kim made—usually spaghetti—had a Bible study and conversation and prayed together. No music, no offering. Half of them weren’t even Christians. It was pretty cool—for a while.

But I started thinking about where it was going. Was it really doing what a church is supposed to do? Was it really being everything a church is supposed to be? What if someone wants to get married? Or if someone dies? What about baptisms? Communion? And probably my biggest concern; how deliberate is the teaching—I usually just threw together whatever we were going to talk about a few minutes before people showed up. I wasn’t trying to plant a church, all my energy was going into doing something with my music. In other words, it wasn’t sustainable.

I had become friends with Kemper by that time and I knew he was one of the ministers at his church. So, one Sunday I brought all the people in our house church to Kemper’s—ChristChurch. We walked in like a parade of all blackclad, crazy haired rockers—no one at ChristChurch even blinked, no one was shocked in the slightest. Kemper and a couple of the ministers looked every bit as counter-cultural as we did—some members of the congregation, too. So far so good.

But back to my original point about how hard it was to find a church we liked…

Other than half the people looking like they just went to a Susie and The Banshees concert, It wasn’t really a great experience for us. They met in a high school cafeteria with a makeshift sound system. The “preacher” was not one of the artsy looking types, he wasn’t even one of the pastors—don’t you love when you visit a church on the day when the business manager preaches? Music was cool of course, that was all Kemper. But the worship was word for word out of the Book of Common Prayer. Very traditional. Very liturgical. On the way out, the greeter asked what I thought of the service and I said, “Well, I’m not used to all the formal liturgy—felt like a Catholic service.” He kind of sneered at me and said, “Yeah, it’s not for everyone, good luck finding a church where you feel more comfortable.” In other words, “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”

We probably would have never come back if it wasn’t for Kemper running over and saving me from that greeter. I had been a fan of Kemper before we met, and he had come to a bunch of my shows over the last year. So when he said, “Man, it’s really good to see you here” and we had a long conversation about the church and theology and music and CS Lewis…it helped.

But afterward, when we got in our blue Geo Metro to drive back to our Sharpstown apartment, I asked Kim, “Well, what’d you think?” She didn’t hesitate, “Ugh. I hated it.” I said, “Yeah, except for Kemper and the music—me too.” 

But surprisingly, we both felt like God wanted us to keep going anyway. So we did.

Eventually, after several months, we started to love it—including the liturgy. We memorized the Creeds. We used the Book of Common Prayer for our own daily prayers at home. Kim even gave me a kneeler for my birthday. Ha. People would walk into our apartment and be like, “Why do you have a kneeler?” And I would say, “Everyone needs a kneeler, even if you don’t use it, as a reminder to pray every day.”

And we stayed at ChristChurch for the next eleven years or so. That’s where several of us here at NewChurch met and started doing ministry together: Kemper, Chris, Joanne, Ryan—like the Grateful Dead said, “what a long, strange trip it’s been.”

Here’s the question: Why do you go to the church you go to?

Is it all about you? Should you pick a church that offers the best value? Best coffee, most comfortable seats, music you enjoy, entertaining preacher, thought provoking teaching, best children’s ministry program? You know, best bang for your tithe bucks?

What else is there? Why shouldn’t we treat church the same way we treat every other aspect of our consumeristic culture? Shop around. Find one that’s comfortable and fun. One that’s a good bargain—doesn’t cost too much or require much. Has a good Yelp review.

How much should it be about you? How much should it be about your preferences and your comfort? What role does obedience to what God is calling us to do and calling us to be play in where we go to church? 

What is the church?

We have really big plans—here at NewChurch. A really big vision of what we believe God wants us to do. It’s different than what other churches in this area are doing. We started ten years ago with the idea that we would eventually be a restaurant that’s open all week to make connections with the people of Katy by eating and drinking with them—getting to know them and their families—and then invite them to join us in the same space for worship on Sunday. It’s a pretty simple plan. That’s still the goal. It seems like a fantastic way to invite people into our space and get to know them so we can introduce them to Jesus. To be a church that does the great commission all week long: making disciples and letting people who don’t know about the love and grace of God know about the salvation that can only be found in Jesus Christ. Jesus spent most of His ministry hanging out with people, eating and drinking with sinners—I think His church should be doing the same thing. They accused Jesus of being a glutton and a wino. Maybe if we’re not being accused of the same thing we’re not really following in His footsteps. 

Too many churches think their job is to hunker down in the church basement and hide from the world. That’s not it. And too many Christians hop from church to church looking for the most comfortable basement. That’s not it, either.

The church has marching orders. God gave us a mission. Jesus said, “I will build my church and the gates of hell will not stand against it.” The church is an army on the offense. Not defense. Our tactics might need to be a little offensive.

Sometimes I get discouraged. We started NewChurch ten years ago. I really thought we’d be closer to our goal by now. Everytime we get a little momentum something happens. Three steps forward and three steps back. A hurricane, a flood, a pandemic, a key family moves away, another key family moves away, and another just stops coming—plus, the culture keeps getting weirder. It gets harder to invite people to church all the time. A lot of people think Christians are the bad guys these days. And with how isolated we all are, most of us hardly have opportunities to connect with new people. So how are we supposed to do what Jesus said to do? Make disciples, invite people to join us.

The main way people are going to come to our church is if we invite them. Us. You and me. That’s well over how 90% of people show up for the first time to a church—someone invited them. How can we find ways to invite people? Personally?

So, this is where we’ve been for a while now. Between 100 and 140 people. We need to grow before we can afford to build the restaurant to be able to reach people so we can grow into the church God is calling us to be. We have to grow before we can grow. Sometimes I feel a little stuck. It’s more than a little frustrating.

But at the same time, I’m very thankful. God has been very kind and very faithful to us. We have this really cool space, this is the best version of NewChurch so far. I’m very thankful for all of you who show up here excited about what God is doing. Who give faithfully to keep us moving forward. Who give your time and talent to make this happen week by week. Thank you. Thanks be to God! I’m also counting on you guys to fill this room up so we can finally move forward. So we can storm those gates of hell that have our community locked up in a cultural prison of unbelief and darkness. 

This is not the time to retreat and chill out. This is the time to step up. I mean, full court press step up. Swing for the fences. Maximum effort! 

We all need to make a categorical commitment to be here. If we’re in town, we’re in church.

Like, with our entire family—so, when one of the rest of us actually gets someone to show up, they walk into a full house filled with energy! They see a room full of people who are happy to be here—happy to welcome them. We need to make a commitment to give faithfully so we have enough resources to do the ministry God has called us to do—so we can add to what we’re doing for YoungOnes and youth ministry—young adult ministry. We need to make a commitment to be involved in the life of the church—beyond Sunday morning worship. Like showing up and being part of our events—meals after worship, concerts, men’s discipleship, women’s discipleship, mid-week bible studies—I mean, I don’t expect everyone to do everything but come on… do something!

A commitment to not make it all about ourselves. Not with the attitude of, “What’s in it for me?” We have to get out of this consumer-minded, “all about me” way of thinking—we have to do these things for other people. For each other. Not just for ourselves, for the church.

Which brings me back to this: what is the church?

In English the church is the building, the people in the building, and what we do when we get together to worship. The church goes to the church to have church.

But the word for “church” in the Bible comes from the word “ecclesia.” It’s a Greek word that means a gathering. A crowd. It’s used throughout the Bible—old and new testament—for “congregation,” an assembly of people who come together for the purpose of worshiping God. 

So, what is the church? The church is what happens when the people of God get together in the name of Jesus. When a local congregation comes together to hear His promises—that we are saved by grace through faith because of the cross and resurrection. When Christians show up to be challenged by the word of God, to listen to His wisdom about how to live our lives, how to treat each other, how to control our emotions—everything Jesus has commanded us to do. The church is what happens when believers assemble to worship. To respond to God’s love and mercy by coming together. 

We all have a role to play when we gather as the church. We’re supposed to show up every week to encourage each other. Your job is to encourage the other people in the church and their job is to encourage you. 

What does that mean?

Hebrews 10:24-25 says,

“Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another.” 

In other words, church isn’t just about you.

In the early church there was so much talk of grace and freedom from the Law that a lot of the Christians were like, “Cool! We don’t have to go to the temple on the Sabbath anymore, we don’t have to do anything anymore! I’m free to be a lazy self-centered “just me and Jesus” isolated non contributing zero in the church.” Hebrews 10:24 says, “not so much.” Church isn’t just about you. You don’t just go to church for you. You go to church to stir one another toward love and good works—God saved you to do something, He has a purpose for you, and part of that purpose is getting together with other believers and helping each other figure it out. Encouraging each other. We have to show up to do that.

You know what not showing up does? Discourages each other.

There’s going to be more times than not that we don’t “feel” like going to church. Everything in the world, the flesh on your bones, and all the devils of hell are going to try and get you to skip it. No one is going to make coming to worship a priority for you and your family if you don’t. Everything in your life will try to keep you from it—and will succeed if you let it. 

If you don’t set boundaries around going to church, no one is going to set those boundaries for you.

Sports are not going to make taking your family to church a priority. Your work is not going to make going to worship a priority. If anyone in your life ever has to ask you if you’re planning on going to church this week, you might want to think about what message you’ve been sending.

I know, I’m being so heavy handed. “We’re not saved by going to church, Frank!”

Of course not. We’re saved so we can be the church—so we can be the people of God in Christ. 

People think going to church is optional. Unimportant. That’s foolish.

Jesus saved you to bring you into His family. A member of His body. A living stone in His living temple. None of these things are solitary ideas. There are no Christians who are not part of the church. 

And when we isolate ourselves from the church, we miss out on God’s design for who we’re supposed to be. How He strengthens and deploys His people. His army. We rob the church of what we’re supposed to bring to the table. We miss out on family time. We’re like a teen who shuts themselves in their room while the rest of the family eats together.

The local church is the hope of the world. Imagine if the early church would have had the attitude that so many Christians have these days. The church in the Book of Acts met together every day, praising God, eating together, praying together. That’s how the church grew, that’s how the Gospel spread all over the world—if they hadn’t been faithful in doing that, we wouldn’t be here. The local church is the hope of the world. It’s how God spread the message of how He saved the world. It's still the way He’s saving the world.

We are the church. Our job is to invite people to join us. Our job is to point people to Jesus. To give people Jesus. Every sermon, every prayer, every song, every sacrament is giving people Jesus. Everytime you welcome someone or invite someone to NewChurch you’re pointing them to Jesus. Everytime you go against our selfish demonic culture and fight all the powers of the world and the flesh and you actually make it here—you’re pointing your whole life to Jesus. 

Going to church doesn’t save you, Jesus saves you, but He saved you to be part of His church. 

It says in Ephesians 2 that we are saved by grace and not by works, not by anything we do—including going to church. But it goes on to say that

“we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

God doesn’t need us to go to church. We don’t do it for Him.

So, if we don’t go to church for God and we don’t need to go to church to be saved, why do we go to church?

Because it’s the work of the people. It’s a good work.

God doesn’t need our good works but our neighbor does.

I need you to be here when we gather as the church or I will be very discouraged in my faith and ministry. That’s undeniably true. Otherwise I’m like Father McKinsey writing a sermon that no one will hear. But not just me. When you show up, you need each other, too. You don’t want to be like Eleanor Rigby who died alone in the church and was buried along with her name—and nobody came. That’s a sad story. My favorite Beatles song, though.

It doesn’t take much to kill a church. Just don’t show up. That’ll do it. 

It’s pretty easy to kill a church. Last year over 5,000 churches shut their doors for good in the US alone. Church closures outpaced new church starts 3 to 1. Over 5,000 churches closed and about 3,000 new churches were started. 3 to 1. Almost all of them were small churches, too.

There’s a reason for that.

Most churches that grow, only grow by grabbing members from other churches.

Big churches eat little churches. It’s just a sad fact.

NewChurch wants to reach people who are not going to church anywhere else. That’s not going to happen if our church—our people—you and me—if we’re not inviting people to join us, and showing up to support each other.

I’ve been talking about how going to church isn’t so much for ourselves. That you don’t go to church for you. But now I’m going to flip that and say the opposite—because it’s also true.

When we gather as the people of God in Christ, to respond to what Jesus has done for you by His death and resurrection—in other words, to worship—Jesus promises to meet you here. Even though you might have only come to church out of obedience. Even though you didn’t really feel like it, and then you got frustrated on the way here, and someone made you late, and someone else said something that made you mad, and you didn’t even like the music today, and your patience is wearing thin on this stupid sermon about going to church and you’re ready to go to lunch. Even though all that. God still has something amazing for you today.

Jesus promises to show up in a special way when you gather as the church. In Matthew 18:20 he says,

“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

And that’s in the context of when we have a problem with someone—so if you’re mad at someone at church, that’s all the more reason to go.

This is the place where forgiveness and mercy are handed out like parade candy. Because of Jesus, God forgives our bad attitudes. He forgives you for the times you blow off showing up. He offers you grace and mercy and kindness and patience—because He loves you. You might be like, “Whatever, I already knew that. I didn’t need to come here to have you tell me again.”

I think you did. I think you needed to hear it again. I know I did. I need to hear it over and over. We need to receive God’s mercy every day because we’re tempted to forget it every day. I need to be reminded of Romans 8:1 every time I turn around,

“There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” 

Have you skipped church a lot? No condemnation.

God wants you to be here, He has things for you to do. You don’t always do them. 

But hear His words, “No condemnation.” 

Turn back to Jesus and try again. Don’t give up. Don’t be weary of trying to do the right thing.

But when you don’t quite pull it off—again: No condemnation. 

Just try again next week.

I want this room to be filled with people who are so excited about what God has done for them—so excited about what He’s doing in your life and in your church that it’s contagious. That our little church will just glow with radioactive joy—that we won’t be able to contain how thankful we are for what God is doing here through us and for us and beyond us.

Back in 1988, Kim and I were done with churches. We were frustrated, hurt, and completely burned out. But God wasn’t done with us. He was pursuing us. Through all those awkward visits, failed attempts, and even our own little spaghetti-fueled house church experiment, He was showing us what church is and why it matters.

He brought us to a place where we could learn, grow, and be part of something bigger than ourselves. It wasn’t perfect, but we stayed. Over time, we started to love it—not because it gave us what we thought we wanted, but because it gave us what we truly needed.

Here’s the thing: God didn’t just call us to find a church back then. He called us to be the church. That’s what He’s calling all of us to do—to show up, to encourage each other, to worship, to grow, and to invite others to join us. He’s still building His church, and He wants to do it through us.

If you’ve ever been frustrated or burned out on church like we were, let me encourage you: don’t give up. God is not done with you, either. Show up. Keep going. Let Him use you to build something amazing right here, right now. Together, we are His church. 

Amen.