Mike Edmisten Follower of Jesus. Husband of Nicki. Father of Ryan & Brock. Communicator of the Word.

Excuse #1 – I don't need the church.

If I had a dime for every time I heard that…I would have a lot of dimes.

Ditching institutional religion is hip right now. (Heard of Anne Rice?)  There is a popular belief that you can still dig Jesus even though you leave the church.

The only problem with that is that it's not Biblical.

John Stott wrote, "I am assuming that we are all committed to the church. We are not only Christian people; we are also church people. We are not only committed to Christ, we are also committed to the body of Christ. At least I hope so. I trust that none of my readers is that grotesque anomaly, an unchurched Christian. The New Testament knows nothing of such a person."

Nowhere…and I mean NOWHERE…can you find a churchless Christian in the Bible.  Go ahead and look.  I'll wait.

Find it?

Didn't think so.

If you think you need Jesus but not the church, think about this…

If the church is not important, why did Jesus die for her? Seriously, if the church is unimportant or optional, then Jesus really isn't that bright because that would mean that He gave His life for something that is trivial or insignificant. That's pretty stupid, isn't it?

If the church is not important, why does the Bible call her the bride of Christ? Saying, "I like Jesus but I hate the church," is like telling your buddy, "I like you, but I can't stand your wife." You really want to do that? Only if you like the taste of your own blood, because you're probably getting ready to lose a few teeth.

If the church is not important, then why is much of the New Testament comprised of letters written to various churches? God really wasted a lot of time and energy writing to some antiquated, out-of-touch institution like the church.  He should have written to organizations like Habitat for Humanity. He should have written to people like Bono instead of young CHURCH leaders like Timothy.

Look…I know that the church isn't perfect. She needs to change…A LOT. Much of what the church has done and is currently doing is sickening.  It makes a mockery of our mission, which is taking the gospel to a lost and dying world.

BUT…that doesn't mean that we don't need the church. We can't let what's wrong with the church keep us from being a part of God's redemptive plan for mankind.

God is calling all people to return to Him, by the blood of His Son, through His church.

For the record, I'm not down on organizations like Habitat. I think what they do is awesome.

I don't dislike Bono. I'm glad he uses his platform to promote good.

But nothing can replace the church.  Nothing.

One more thing that we have to understand…someone who claims that they don't need the church has probably been burned by the church.  I get that.  I'm a pastor…which means I've been burned by the church more than you have. The church is filled with very imperfect people who can do very stupid and hurtful things.

But it's also filled with people who love Jesus. Who really do want to learn to love others like He did. Who have a heart that is breaking for people who don't know God. Who want to join together to be a force for love and good and, most importantly, the gospel in a dark and broken world.

That's the church. Beautiful and ugly. Sparkling and stained.

But it's the church that Jesus died for.  It's the church that Jesus is coming back for.  And you need to be part of it.