Counting Sheep

A recent news report on a big metropolitan church in Ohio mentioned that the church’s Sun­day attendance is over 500, with membership over 2,000.

Look at those numbers again. See anything amiss?

Are that church’s leaders bothered that on any given Sunday at least three-fourths of the members are not there? I don’t know. I do know that even among God’s people there is definitely room for improvement when it comes to attending worship.

Knowing this, many congregations make some effort to keep track of members’ attendance at the assemblies. This always makes some folks mad (namely, the chronic absentees), but it’s a healthy habit. At one place where I visited recently, a table in the lobby held a stack of attendance cards and a sign that read, “We count sheep, because sheep count.” I like that thought. It’s a good sign when the people in a church pay attention to whether or not their brethren are with them for worship.

The writer of Hebrews said, “…let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Note the contrast in this passage: “forsaking our own assembling together” is opposed to “stimulating one another” and “encouraging one another.” God doesn’t ask us to meet together out of mindless habit or ritual performance; He shows us that it’s a vital means of building each other up.

Other passages make the same point about worship. “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs…” (Colossians 3:16). “Let all things [in worship] be done for building up” (1 Corinthians 14:26). If I choose not to gather with my spiritual family for worship, I rob them of the strength they would draw from my presence, and I rob myself of the strength they would impart to me.

Of course, the focus of worship is God. The writer of Hebrews also enjoins us to “continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name” (Hebrews 13:15). The New Testament shows that God wants Christians not only to praise Him in individual, daily life, but also to worship Him together with one another. If I choose not to do so, I rob God of some of the praise that is rightly His.

These reasons alone ought to answer the question, “What’s the big deal about worship attendance, any­way?” God commands it, it glorifies Him, and it strengthens us. It follows, then, that my brethren have every right to expect me to assemble with them for worship.

Furthermore, my brethren have every right to be deeply concerned if I am in the habit of missing those assemblies. Churches that monitor worship attendance do so because they know it’s a good “barometer” of spiritual interest. They know that when a Christian starts going to worship less often, or stops going at all, it is just an indicator of deeper troubles in his life.

And it’s just here that we often fail each other: we try to treat a symptom (poor attendance) instead of the disease (spiritual weakness). If brother Smith is missing most of the assemblies, we try to encourage him to be there more. And we should. But brother Smith’s absence from worship is probably due to a deep-seated spiritual problem, and that problem is not addressed by merely telling him he should be at church more often.

A Christian’s attendance at worship may suffer for all sorts of reasons. He may be just plain worldly and not really very committed to the Lord. (Personally, I suspect this is most often the culprit.) But there may be other reasons. A brother might be de­pressed over some tragedy or difficulty in his life. He might be fighting a losing battle with temptation and feel unworthy to worship in God’s presence (hence the common explanation, “When I get my life straightened out, I’ll come back.”) He may be caught up in the deceitfulness of sin and want to avoid his fellow Christians, knowing that they may try to get him to change.

Now, these may not be good reasons for someone to miss worship assemblies, but they are reasons nonetheless. And while we definitely need to encourage such a person to be present with us, that alone may not be enough. We need to try to help him overcome whatever it is that has taken away his desire to be there.

Of course, whenever this subject is raised, someone objects that perfect attendance doesn’t always mean spiritual maturity. True, some disciples who occupy their pew every time the doors are open are still weak and worldly. But does anyone seriously think that persistent absence from the assemblies is a sign of spiritual strength?

Paul instructs us to “admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak…” (1 Thessalonians 5:14). All three of those conditions may cause a brother or sister to miss worship frequently. When a disciple starts disappearing from the assemblies of God’s people, we need to take notice. We need to recognize that he has a problem. We need to find out why he is absent and respond accordingly. Is he apathetic or negligent (“disorderly”)? Then we need to admonish (warn) him. Is he discouraged or struggling (“fainthearted”)? Then we need to encourage him. Is he weak or immature? Then we need to patiently help him grow. Anything less is putting the proverbial band-aid on a bullet wound.

When a congregation keeps track of who is missing from worship services, it is not to exert control over people or to single someone out for embarrassment. It is because brethren care about one another’s souls. We count sheep because sheep count.