I grew up in an AWANA club at my church. I was the over-acheiver AWANA kid. In Cubbies, I memorized a verse backwards. (It was backwards night. I won a pen.) In Sparks, I finished my book twice through most every year. In Pals and Pioneers (retro AWANA), I always made it through the missions projects. (It did take me 6 years to finish my last book though. Procrastination set in.) Yep, I was that kid.

One of the verses I learned nearly every year in my AWANA book was Hebrews 10:25, which reads:

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. (KJV)

Now naturally, I took the verse at face value as it was explained to me. It meant we needed to come to church. That’s it. No more, no less. Hebrews 10:25 meant “come to church.”

Over the last few months, I really began to reevaluate what this verse meant. It seemed like it had to hold some truth other than just “come to church.” That’s when I read the verse in its context for the very first time. Hebrews 10:23-25 say:

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, ²⁵ not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (ESV)

Do you see the difference? The command isn’t just to come to church. It’s to come and stir one another to good works. The church is not a spiritual gas station where the pastor sticks the nozzle down our throats to give us fuel for another week. It’s a community.

That’s what the writer of Hebrews was trying to convey. He wasn’t trying to condemn someone because they didn’t go to church while they were on vacation. He was admonishing us to come together not just for us, but for the community of believers. Some may think that listening to a sermon tape, watching a church service on TV, or listening to their worship playlist on their iPod is an acceptable substitute for coming to church. I say that’s ridonkulous. It’s like trying to substitute ice cream for veggies and fruit in your diet. It’s OK, and it will keep you alive, but it’s not what’s best for you. The community that we experience in coming to church is irreplaceable.

Another realization that I’ve had is that just because we’re sitting in the church building for a service doesn’t mean we’ve not forsaken the assembly. There are lots of people sitting in chairs every Sunday that have forsaken the assembly. They’ve forgotten community. I’ve realized this in attending chapel at Indiana Wesleyan. Going to chapel and listening to the sermon is great. It’s great sitting next to other believers and doing it. But it somehow seems empty unless I’m experiencing it with my friends and able to share my emotion and the message the Spirit is giving to me with them. I’m at a “church service”, yes. But I’m not in community. I’m not stirring them to love and good works. What say you?

P.S. I love AWANA. My misunderstanding of the verse isn’t their fault. Just wanted to clarify.