My friend Bob Moss, pastor of Salem Church of God in Clayton, Ohio, takes a humorous, yet revealing, approach to the excuses people use for not attending church.
I've been a pastor nearly all of my adult life, and through the years I've heard a lot of excuses from people about why they find it difficult to attend church services. It occurs to me that it might sound pretty funny to use those same excuses for not attending a sporting event. 
What if someone said, "I no longer attend sporting events because... Every time I go, they ask for money.
The people sitting near me didn't seem too friendly. The seats were uncomfortable.
The coach never learned my name.
The referee made a decision that I didn't agree with.
Some people were hypocrites. They texted on their phone the entire time and didn't watch the game.
Some games went into overtime, and I was late getting home.
The band played music I didn't know.
The games are scheduled at inconvenient times.
My parents took me to too many games when I was growing up.
I read a book on sports and know more about it than the coaches anyhow.
I don't want to take my children because I want them to choose for themselves what sport they like best."
Pretty revealing, isn’t it? Truth: you can’t have Christ without His church. He established the church for our benefit. If our attendance in the house of God was as regular as our attendance at sports and recreational events, we would get the full benefits of what Christ designed the church to be. As it is, many people sample worship and Christian fellowship. They pick and choose only what they want. The issue is not what I want, but what does God require?
Come see us Sunday. We will be talking about that.
Pastor Jeff
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