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Since we are surrounded by so many examples of faith, we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially sin that distracts us. We must run the race that lies ahead of us and never give up. We must focus on Jesus, the source and goal of our faith. He saw the joy ahead of him, so he endured death on the cross and ignored the disgrace it brought him. Then he received the highest position in heaven, the one next to the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-3, God’s Word)

Hebrews chapter 11 is known as the “Faith Hall of Fame”. It provides a cast of characters that walked by faith and endured incredible challenges and disappointments, despite never receiving the full measure of reward they were expecting.

How did they do it? How did they overcome?

They kept their eyes on the prize. Their faith was empowered by an unwavering hope.

These first three verses of Hebrews 12 continue that theme. For Christians, keeping the faith in tough times happens by focusing on Jesus. He is the “source and goal of our faith”—he modeled the very same focus in His life. When going through the agony of His death, “he saw the joy ahead of him, so he endured.”

In addition to a call to focus in these verses, there is also the command to get rid of the distractions that take our attention from what matters most. We live in a culture that is filled with distractions. Many of us have lost sight of what really matters chasing after things that are meaningless at best and destructive at worst.

What a great paradigm for walking in faith. But the twin commands to get rid of distractions and stay focused on what matters are great for almost every area of life, from business success in tough times to family unity when there are areas of disagreement.

What is slowing you down? What do you need to get rid of? What do you need to focus on? It will make all the difference in your life, no matter what you are enduring right now.

Not only does church attendance in America continue to decline – now less than 17% on a given Sunday – but the trajectory is even worse when you consider population growth. The attendance line is going south while the population line is inching north.

I’ve heard all the reasons for not going to church – I can experience God anywhere, too much hypocrisy, it’s boring, it’s not relevant, it hasn’t kept up with social patterns, etc. – and I’ve probably uttered more than a few variations of the above comments myself.

But even if all the above reasons to not to go to church are true in varying degrees, don’t you suspect, in light of human nature, some of the objections are simple rationalizations based on people having different interests and priorities? It sounds better to say I don’t attend church because it isn’t what it’s supposed to be rather than I want to go to the lake or get to the game in time for tail-gating.

Interestingly, a lot of religious thinkers are the ones that speak most negatively about the church as problematic, including the charge that church is just too religious. (Okay. I know I’m more spiritual if I say Christianity is a relationship not a religion, but … just saying.) I’m not sure that persona of honest transparency and sophisticated thought does anything to fix real and perceived problems or attract new attenders – and the self-flagellation is possibly more effective at pushing even more once-regular attenders away. If it’s that bad, why go?

One local church in my metropolitan advertises on the radio that they are the church for people that don’t like church because they don’t like church either. (My paraphrase, but fairly close.) My guess is if you attend there it will actually feel a lot like … uh, church. I asked someone that attends and they confirmed there is a sermon, some singing, an offering, encouragement to join a small group, and other things that sound an awful lot like every church I’ve ever attended, despite the promise of this being something entirely different. The person I asked was quick to point out they are very friendly. I’ve gone to lots of very friendly churches. Maybe you can drink coffee and wear shorts in the sanctuary but I forgot to ask. But what I find interesting is that in order to invite new people to come to their church, a church would use a marketing premise that basically says many other churches aren’t very good places to be. Arrogant? Irresponsible?

By the way, I know some preachers preach better and some worship leaders lead music better. Some teachers teach better if you go to a Bible class. Some facilities are much better too. But without throwing a guilt trip out there, shouldn’t some of the appeal to attend church be based on what you bring to the table? (Literally.) Oh, and, shouldn’t we regularly show up at a place that emphasizes the importance of God even if some humans facilitate a more conducive setting to experiencing God than others?

On the subject of guilt, I probably shouldn’t bring up what a casual to negligent attitude toward attending church says to the kids.

My point is that some of the most dismissive critics of the church take for granted their own church upbringing. They have a base of understanding and nurture where they don’t have to attend a Bible study or hear a sermon to know quite a lot about God and Jesus Christ and the Bible, but they sure aren’t encouraging someone with no (or limited) religious framework to experience corporate Christian fellowship sufficiently to make up their own minds. At least give someone an opportunity to reject Christ and Christians without warning them off before they show up.

I understand your church experience may have been crummy. I’m sure there’s been abuse, hypocrisy, irrelevance, and so forth. But where else are you going to go?

I’m not trying to be holier-than-thou. I confess I’ve gone to church many times with less than stellar motives and attitudes. But sometimes something special has happened for me despite myself.

I think the writer of Hebrews – who was alarmed that the church of his day was losing its faith – has something powerful to say those of us who have spiritually evolved enough to claim church attendance as an optional activity:

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10:24-24, NIV