Stop Dating The Church by Joshua Harris

Stop Dating The Church
Fall In Love with the Family of God

Those who know me know that I love to talk about this book! I am deeply indebted to my dear friend, Jackie, for lending it to me. Through Joshua Harris' brief words my heart was forever changed towards the local church.

In Harris' first chapter: What We Miss When We Date the Church, he shares his story of realizing that even though he had stopped playing dating games with girls, he remained perfectly happy to keep playing it with the church. Harris grew in conviction that, "Every Christian is called to be passionately committed to a specific local church. Why? Because the local church is the key to spiritual health and growth for a Christian. And because as the visible 'body of Christ' in the world, the local church is central to God's plan for every generation." The local church is not meant to be treated with a critical, me-centered, non-committal, two-timer attitude. In short, we need to stop dating the church.

I enjoyed Harris' reminder in the chapter, Seeing the Church from Heaven's Perspective, that the church is Christ's bride. The strongest argument for loving the Church is that Jesus does. Harris writes, "The greatest motivation we could ever find for being passionately committed to the Church is that Jesus is passionately committed to the Church." And as Christians we are called to be imitators of God (Eph 5:1) and to be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom 8:29). Therefore we must love the Church and put that passion into action by thinking globally and loving locally.

The rest of Harris' book is super practical. In regard to living-out a commitment to the church, we begin by becoming members, making church a priority, striving to make our pastor's job a joy, finding ways to serve, giving financially, connecting with people, and sharing our passion for Jesus with others. His chapter on The Ten Things that Matter Most equips readers to wisely pick a sound, Gospel-centered church. Personally, I was most challenged when Harris addresses our failure to approach Sunday morning with the correct preparation and reverence. In How to Get More from the Best Day of the Week Harris writes:

Jesus told us, 'Therefore consider carefully how to listen' (Luke 8:18, NIV)... The real burden of responsibility on Sunday morning is not on the preacher to perform, but on the congregation to listen... I will be held accountable for what I have heard regardless of whether it moved me emotionally... God's truth is God's truth. It doesn't matter if it was delivered with pizzazz or introduced with a tearjerker illustration. If I have heard God's truth, then I am called to obey it. Period.

I joyfully agree with Harris when he says, "It's Time to Say Yes!"