“Christianity is a relationship, not a religion.”

This statement is true. Christianity has many relationships at its core: the relationship between God and His creation, the relationship between God and His church, the relationship between Jesus and the believer. In the Gospel of John, we are told that Jesus came to give “those who believed in his name…the right to become children of God”. There is nothing more relational than being considered a child of God, which is what Christians are to be.

That said, I have found this statement is used in a problematic context. Oftentimes, when I hear Christians talking about their faith as a “relationship, not a religion”, this is used as a justification to participate less in the communal, active parts of their faith, i.e. the “religious” aspects.

And, when we look at statistics, participation by Christians is decreasing. In 2014, over 70 percent of Americans professed to be Christians. Yet, according to the Hartford Institute of Religion Research, more than 40 percent of people say they go to church every week, but fewer than 20 percent actually attend. Christians talk a lot about the rising number of non-Christians in America but do not seem to talk much about the commitment of Christians to their own faith.

Now, a disclaimer: I do not think being a good Christian means just going to church. After all, the Apostle Paul writes in Ephesians, "for it is by grace you have been saved, through faith...not by works, so that no one can boast." We are saved by the grace of God through faith, not by any physical work. We cannot earn our salvation.

That said, being a Christian does not mean that once you are saved you have no responsibility. Our Savior Himself says in the Gospel of John that we are to "bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples". The joy of our salvation should bubble out of us and reveal itself in our outer actions, in the "bearing of fruit". James, the brother of Jesus, writes in his letter that "faith without deeds is dead". We are not saved by our actions, but our actions reveal our salvation.

So, that is why it is troubling to me when I see that so few professing Christians go to church. That is why it is troubling to me when they say their faith is a "relationship, not a religion". Because it seems like they are trying to get out of the hard parts of being a Christian: engaging in community with one another and engaging with the greater world.

Now, I find it telling that the Christians who usually call their faith "a relationship, not a religion" are millennials, like me. And, I understand the impulse to distance ourselves from the word "religion". When we say the word "religion" it often conjures up images of dusty, old pews, old ladies dressed in lace, or, perhaps, it conjures up the darker sins Christian religion has committed: the abuse of children by clergymen, the outrageous money-grubbing of televangelists, or the marginalization of minorities by church-goers.

I know that the church and organized religion has hurt so many people but, religion is important. The rituals that bind the church together are important. Jesus lived as a practicing Jew, who observed feasts, purity rituals, religious singing, and Scripture reading. So many Christians seem too willing to throw out these important parts of our faith in favor of a "personal relationship" with God and Christ. Christians do have a personal relationship with God, but the New Testament continually tells us that faith is to be a corporate endeavor, one that is acted out as a body.

The church allows God's kingdom to be "on earth as it is in heaven" as Jesus Himself says in the Lord's Prayer.

That is why churches exist. That is why we meet regularly on Sundays, Wednesdays, Saturdays or whenever. That is why we have these beautiful traditions, hymns, and liturgies. They remind us whose people we are and focus our attentions on God.

When we participate in church and sing an old hymn or read those ancient Scriptures, we are linking ourselves to millennia of Christians before us who have walked the journey of faith already. The tradition and institution of church ties us to this greater body of believers, past, present, and future, throughout the world. The Apostle John calls this body the "great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language" in heaven that is continually praising God. The writer of Hebrews calls this body "a great cloud of witnesses" that is continually surrounding us and urging us on to victory from sin.

Isn't that a beautiful image?

You can feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and care for the sick outside of church; this is true. And, if you are able to do that, then great! God's work has always been accomplished just as much, if not more when it is outside the four walls of a church building. But, more often than not, I find that Christians who do not attend church do not do these things. A church offers an apparatus and community that motives and enables you and I to accomplish the hard task of caring for the oppressed, downtrodden, and lost that exist both inside and outside the church walls. Participating, attending, and engaging with a faith community is a powerful spiritual exercise that all Christians should feel responsible to undertake.

Church is important spiritually and as a believer's responsibility. But, also, church attendance is good for you physically. The New York Times writes that "religious attendance...boosts the immune system and decreases blood pressure. It may add as much as two to three years to your life." This makes sense. The Lord Himself in Genesis says, "It is not good for the man to be alone." Being in community is good for you, spiritually and physically. Being in a community surrounded by men and women who are committed to their faith both internally and externally is especially good for you. We are hardwired to crave connections with other humans.

So, find a church that works for you. Whether it be the massive Baptist megachurch down the street, the modest Methodist chapel on a country road, the gorgeous Catholic cathedral downtown, or a small gathering of believers in your home, find one that enables you to more fully move into the life Christ has called us to live as His followers. Christians are called to be part of something greater than themselves. We have a personal relationship with our Savior, but this personal relationship motivates us to create a community of relationships, a community built on the relationship with Christ that we all crave. If we refuse to involve ourselves with this community, we do ourselves a disservice and fail to fully engage with not only our fellow brothers and sisters but also Jesus Himself.

Brothers and sisters, let's go to church.