Hacking Church: How to attend service 52 weeks in a row

Tom says on February 21st, 2007 at 9:36 am

“I think it’s safe to say that many people have the desire to attend church more consistently and improve their spiritual life.”

Sitting in a building, listening to superstition and questionable moral codes is productive how?

/removing lifehack.org RSS feed from Bloglines. Keep lifehacker though.

Markus says on February 21st, 2007 at 10:10 am

But why go to church in the first place?

Nick says on February 21st, 2007 at 10:25 am

There is no god. If I want to learn a lesson from a fable I’ll read Aesop.

Try this lifehack: for the next 52 weeks, take 2 hours on Sunday morning and walk across the street to your elderly neighbor and see if they need a hand with something – grocery shopping, changing a lightbulb, or just someone to talk to. Then you can feel good about yourself, perform a community service, meet someone new, and do something good, all at the same time.

Shane says on February 21st, 2007 at 10:25 am

“Getting involved with some facet of your church (whether volunteering, ushering, reading, or joining a committee) will increase your accountability for attendance”

This is so true and so effective. Not only do you help out an organization supported mainly by volunteers, you get much more in return by way of fulfillment, life lessons, and a sense of community.

Jen says on February 21st, 2007 at 10:42 am

Hey guys -

I’m no church-goer but I feel the need to defend this article a bit.

I don’t think it is claiming that everyone SHOULD go to church, or would want to go. But it’s aimed at the folks who may want to but have trouble in the motivation arena. Just like the parenting articles may not apply to everyone, neither would this.

Sam says on February 21st, 2007 at 10:43 am

Wow, It really is amazing how offended people can be just by bringing up the topic of Church/God.

Still, for the rest of us, its a good lifehack

Ernie Oporto says on February 21st, 2007 at 11:06 am

Kyle,
I guess I’m so used to the anti-God attitude that most bloggers project these days, as evident in some of these comments, that I was very surprised to see this post. Thanks!

Amazing hostility in these people. They wonder why the world is so terrible when all they do is pump cynicism into everything, making it that way. Nick’s post is an example of a very Christian and human thing to do – I don’t see the conflict between helping your neighbor and being a Christian. In fact, I hear someone important from the New Testament recommended that sort of thing. My beef is with those who *only* think that being Christian is sitting in the building and hearing a sermon, and not doing the sort of thing Nick recommends.

Micah Choquette says on February 21st, 2007 at 11:16 am

Rock on, bro. I think that this article will remove any excuse for those that want to go to church but don’t for one reason or another.

You might add that many churches, my own included (Church On The Move in Tulsa, OK http://www.churchonthemove.com) are beginning to add Sat evening services. If you’ve got a love for sleeping in on the weekends as I do, this is a major bonus.

Again, glad you wrote this. Maybe soon you could write something on Hacking the Bible or Hacking Prayer. Oh wait, maybe I should write that instead… :)

Noone says on February 21st, 2007 at 11:24 am

Don’t be silly, you can’t go to church on a Saturday and expect to be blest. The Word clearly says that God rested on the seventh day, and that the correct day to meet together is the first day of the week. Look it up if you don’t believe me.

Therac-25 says on February 21st, 2007 at 11:57 am

I thought the first day of the week is Monday?

If the last day of the week (the “restful” day) was Saturday, why was everything in commonwealth countries closed on Sunday (until a decade and a half ago, at least in Canada)?

Shouldn’t it have been Saturday?

Ah well, after wrestling with ISO-8601 for half a year, the first day of the week is always going to be Monday for me from now on….

Kent says on February 21st, 2007 at 12:06 pm

As a part-time pastor of a small church I really appreciate this post. The folks who attend our service are very busy people trying to make sense of an ever changing world. Getting to know the people that you are attending services with is solid gold. To develop relationships you absolutely must have time that you spend with your church going friends outside the walls of the building. Many churches have small groups or even just shared meals that can help to facilitate this type of “furthering friendships”. As far as the comments regarding “fables”. I can only speak to my own relationship with God, and it is as real as the keyboard on which I am typing this, not a fable.

Dave J. says on February 21st, 2007 at 12:26 pm

Kyle–

Here are two more hacks to this:
Put a sticker on the calendar to reward yourself every time you go…my wife does this with workouts.

Plan an activity afterwards…like lunch out. If you’ve got kids, they’ll get you to church if McD’s comes after!

Don says on February 21st, 2007 at 12:44 pm

Well…I thought it was a good post Kyle. I wish you another happy 52 weeks of going to church and a few Wednesday Bible studies to grow on.

BillOGoods says on February 21st, 2007 at 1:55 pm

It’s somewhat humorous that a criticism of those that believe in God is that we ignore science and exult fantasy. Yet, these same critics universally believe in the “Big Bang” Theory, which is fine. But unless you believe that “a god” was the cause of the Big Bang, then you must believe in the spontaneous generation of matter—the spec of matter from which the Big Bang came. Whose the mystic now?

Anyway, I find that traveling to another parish where the priest’s sermons are, more often, geared toward adults and discuss “hard questions” forthrightly, becomes incentive to return. My local parish doesn’t offer sermons at that desired level.

huh says on February 21st, 2007 at 1:55 pm

Noone – I don’t want to distract from this helpful post by getting into a theological argument, but why are you saying you blessed if you don’t go on Sunday? “Look it up” where? There is no legalistic mention of Sunday as the meeting time. I suggest you check out the book “New Testament Church Organization” or actually read the Bible for yourself.

xremyx says on February 21st, 2007 at 2:14 pm

here are some caveats that I have with some of the content of the article being a person who has perfect attendance. all this being said: go to church, get involved, follow God.

the church is not an organization – Although recently church life has become more organized, programmized and boringized (yeah I’m making that word up) it’s clear, through study of the scriptures and personal experience, that the church is a living thing, a body. It’s not like the rotary club, it’s not like a book club. It is a group of people, who hopefully have been transformed by the God of the church and gather together to love, worship and serve him corporately.

the church does not need you – yes there are programs and events that some want to put on, and financial needs to keep the lights and heat on etc., but really when the church is at it’s best is when there are a few faithful people who follow the God of the church. This is much better than a church that has 100’s of people but can’t get the people they need to commit to any responsibility. And when I say that people should be faithful, I mean *FAITHFUL*.

church does not make you a good person – Attending church does not make you any better of a person no matter how many times you go. What makes you a better person is the relationship with the God of the church and with his people who consider themselves followers of him.

come to church to give, not to get – In a commoditized culture in which we look at everything as consumers it’s hard to think differently about church. Sometimes we think that the church is supposed to provide a service to us and if that service does not meet our expectations, we’ll go receive that service somewhere else. Well, the church is not your dry cleaners, it’s not your social club, it’s not your restaurant. It’s a place to identify corporately with others who believe and serve the God of the church.

Craig says on February 21st, 2007 at 2:23 pm

What’s wrong with going to church on Saturday. I am SDA and it’s our Sabbath. Nice article though. It makes me feel good.

Pelly says on February 21st, 2007 at 2:54 pm

A daring post : Combining religion and productivity.
Despite what some others say : I liked it.

Psyberduck says on February 21st, 2007 at 4:09 pm

“Don’t be silly, you can’t go to church on a Saturday and expect to be blest. The Word clearly says that God rested on the seventh day, and that the correct day to meet together is the first day of the week. Look it up if you don’t believe me.”

So why do Jews (who have been doing the whole Sabbath thing a bit longer than us Christians) go to Synagogue on Saturday (the original 7th day of creation)? Shoot, in Acts 2:46, they were going to Temple everyday. I just don’t think God’s picky about that one. : )

Dave says on February 21st, 2007 at 4:40 pm

Attending church should not be the legalized processional that we often think that it needs to be. We attend church to fellowship with other believers and those who are still on their spiritual journey and most importantly to receive refreshment for our soul through the hearing of God’s Word, worshipping our Lord and Savior through prayer, giving, and music.

Some of the posts regarding should we attend on Saturday or Sunday is just semantics. The church building is just that a building, it takes people and God to make it a place of worship and that place of worship can take place anytime and anywhere.

Scruffyhippo says on February 21st, 2007 at 6:46 pm

Who says it has to be any particular day? the whole thing about being blessed has nothing to do with Sunday, you can be blessed whenever or wherever you are.
Tradionally most people used to work 6 days a week so Sunday was the only sensible day to have a church service and at one time was something everyone did in the community.

Jeff @ SmartPastor.com says on February 21st, 2007 at 7:27 pm

This is a real helpful list. It is especially helpful because it does not come from a pastor!

Hope the next 52 weeks are good for you and your soul, too.

Ian says on February 22nd, 2007 at 1:21 am

It’s so disappointing to see otherwise sensible people waylaid by superstition and unreason. There is certainly not anything productive in wasting your Sundays – or any day – praising fantasy and wishful thinking.

God says on February 22nd, 2007 at 1:57 am

There is no God.

Jon Gabriel says on February 22nd, 2007 at 2:06 am

Excellent post, Kyle! I’ve had a lot of the same struggles you mention, especially in regard to finding “the perfect church.”

One key learning I had on that front is that for a church to be “perfect” for me, it should have several “imperfections” where I can lend a hand. Church isn’t about getting, but rather giving. And if a church is flawless without me, I guess I’m not needed there — I’d just mess it up.

Thanks again for the post.

Leon says on February 22nd, 2007 at 3:57 am

Jen hits the nail. And the example of parenting is excellent.

Move on to next post if this is not applicable to you. Similarly, we are not asking you to have a baby because you read a post on parenting. Discussing what I read consider off-topic is just like bashing why people having a child because you prefer not to have one.

Anyway, if you think outside the box, you can apply similar tips of the article to any meetup/workshop which require regular commitment.

@Tom: Sorry to hear you unsubscribed our RSS feed because of one post is not applicable to you. Good luck on finding a perfect feed that 100% applicable to you (similar to the point I learned in the post – Thanks Kyle).

Cameron says on February 22nd, 2007 at 4:46 am

I never fail to be amazed to the amount of criticism a post like this can bring. Christians get a bad rap for being dogmatic and closed minded, but it seems they’re not the only ones.

Of course, if Kyle were talking about a transition from whatever he uses to Mac only, I’m sure the cries would be just as loud.

Anyway, good post. I am a Christian, and I don’t have much trouble getting to church most Sunday mornings (I happen to be the preacher and I’d be looking for alternative employment if I didn’t show up ;-)). Still, this post seems to be applicable to so many other things. For example, you’re right Nick. An awful lot of what Kyle has learned over the last twelve months would be equally useful if somebody were to take up your suggested project of helping out elderly neighbours on Sunday mornings.

If you were to be serious about it, you would need to reconsider how you use Saturday night. You would probably be more likely to follow through if you also make an effort to get to know the neighbour as a person and not a project. The two hours spent won’t seem so long if compared to the amount of time watching ‘Prison Break’.

Hmm. I might have this Sunday’s sermon cooked already!

Chad says on February 22nd, 2007 at 1:47 pm

Tim Russert is my Sunday ritual. I’ve waaay exceeded 52 weeks in a row of “Meet the Press”. Thank you TiVo.

Todd Stanfield, PhD, LCSW, PIP says on February 24th, 2007 at 5:03 pm

Good article. I think your right about the points or realizing that the church, and the people in it, are not perfect. And that REALLY getting to know people is imperative. God told me a long time ago that I should stop complaining about the people and programs of a church and start being a person in the church and developing programs in the church that I thought reflected God’s love. Good post – keep up the good work!

TheCentralScrutinizer says on February 27th, 2007 at 3:50 pm

God doesn’t tell anybody anything. If you think God has told you something, you have told yourself something. Forget about God, church, Jesus, Santa Clause, and any other fairy tale. Take control of your life as a self-defined person, not as a follower of a system devised to dupe the masses.

Psyberduck says on March 5th, 2007 at 4:08 pm

Look, people, I realize that many of you who read this don’t believe in God. Maybe you’ve been burned by a church, or by Christians, or maybe not. I don’t know.

But I’m curious why you feel the need to
respond with posts telling believers that they are being duped/delusional/superstitious, etc? Do you feel compelled to rescue people from what you perceive as folly? Does the idea that people believe in a loving Being beyond themselves Who created everything and created a way for us to have a relationship with Him offend you in some way? Do you feel that believers are forcing something on you by having this discussion in a public venue?

I really would like to hear back from some folks on this. thanks

Jason says on March 7th, 2007 at 1:26 pm

Nick said: “There is no god. If I want to learn a lesson from a fable I’ll read Aesop.

Try this lifehack: for the next 52 weeks, take 2 hours on Sunday morning and walk across the street to your elderly neighbor and see if they need a hand with something… Then you can feel good about yourself, perform a community service, meet someone new, and do something good, all at the same time.”

But if there is no God and feeling good about yourself is the primary motivation then there is no moral distinction between robbing that old woman and taking her shopping, as long as either makes you feel good they are both equally valid decisions.

But Nick said that helping her is to “do something good,” we do make a moral distinction. We know there are morals. That is why I believe in God. Without God there are no morals. They only exist if he does. It isn’t proof of his existence, but it is evidence.

That is why going to church helps us as we acknowledge there is something greater than ourselves

LoraS says on March 27th, 2007 at 2:37 pm

I am a Christian. And when others who are not believers say, “How can you believe in that stuff? It’s all fairy tales”, I say, “Well, let’s make a deal. I will live my life as if it is all true. Then, if I die, and nothing happens, well, at least I lived a good life. But if I’m right, and Jesus comes in the clouds to take me home, I’ll be going to heaven and those who laughed at me will not be laughing anymore. It’s only a win-win for me! But it’s a win-big lose for you.” Why risk it?

Jennelle says on May 1st, 2007 at 12:20 am

Wonderful post [and motivating too!]

Thanks so much for posting this!

Love,

Jennelle

FekketCantenel says on May 2nd, 2007 at 3:14 pm

Excellent post! I go to a very friendly church where everybody knows everybody, and this can indeed be motivation to attend every week. The fellowship is something I look forward to all week.

Also, for those of you who have to miss a service for one reason or another, I suggest SermonAudio.com, which has tons of educational sermons that you can download as mp3s (or even videos, if you have a good connection).

Thanks again for the nice article, Mr. Pott!

Bart says on December 21st, 2007 at 2:21 am

I’m loving the article and the comments.

To those who have been rightfully criticized for not believing in God but still wasting the time to read and post here:

I’m sorry you didn’t get a cookie in your lunch box today.

Bravo, author, for having the balls to bring up something pretty unique in the current climate of self-development.

Matt says on January 9th, 2008 at 11:39 pm

“We know there are morals. That is why I believe in God. Without God there are no morals.”

Wow, pal – you might be interested in googling the phrase ‘Post hoc ergo propter hoc’ – I help old ladies because I want to live in the sort of world where old ladies pick flowers and get their gutters cleaned, not in the sort of world where they have to fear for their lunch money and spare dentures. I feel good about it because I’m helping to create something I want, and making things better for others at the same time. It’s a neat hack.

No god, no magic, and I don’t have to be all offended when the old lady says ‘Merry part!’ or ‘Ave Satanis!’ instead of ‘God bless!’ when I leave.

Have a nice day, either way.

Tiff says on February 2nd, 2009 at 6:10 pm

“noone” – The bible says the 7th day… but God’s time doesn’t flow the same as ours because his is eternal and ours here on Earth is mortal… But anyway “7th” if I remember correctly means “God’s” day… and God’s Day is everyday, So You will be blessed if you worship God everyday, not just on Sunday…

And technically, in the old Testament Saturday is the 7th day, cause the week begins with a Sunday… look at you calendar…

Just a little tid bit to think about…