Corporate Discipleship: How Going to Church Changes Parenting

Going to church with my five little kids can sometimes feel like wrangling monkeys –very dear little monkeys –but little monkeys that have been known to spill the coffee all over the pew in front of us and then shriek in terror at the act. (Nothing to see here, people. Normal Sunday.)

Matt Merker in his book Corporate Worship argues, “A church service is one of the primary settings in which believers speak the truth to one another. When we recite a creed or read a scripture aloud together, or sing a song or vocalize amen after a prayer, we’re not just following the service leaders directions we are disciplining one another in building up the body to maturity.”

My biggest and strongest piece of advice is simply to go to church. Just go! In every season of motherhood (and every season of life) there will be conflicts with attending church. If you have little babies there is a very good chance your service will happen during naptime. If you have kids in sports it is extremely likely there will be games that conflict with your ability to attend the service. If you have family from out of town staying with you there is a reasonable chance they may pressure you to stay home from church so you have more time with them.

But, Jesus didn’t think attending church was just causally important. He considered it vital and organized the christian life around it. When we place our church attendnece first we are saying that our spiritual condition is more important than naps, sports, or family relationships. If others don’t understand that, it is a chance for us to teach them.