By John BJ Hall

Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. Acts 2:46-47 (NASB)

1. Attending –

“Attending” church is pretty much what it sounds like. Most churches will allow you to attend church services even if you are not a member. In fact, they’ll be delighted to have you, at whatever level of commitment you wish to make, for as long as you like. In many cases, you’ll be asked, maybe even gently pushed, to make a deeper commitment, but you can generally attend church indefinitely without “joining” or “belonging” to a church.

Judas attended every event in the ministry of Christ, but he never belonged.

John Mark, Barnabas’ nephew, went on Paul & Barnabas’ first mission trip he attended, he couldn’t take the pressure and abandoned the mission. This caused a rift between Paul and Barnabas. Paul insisted that John Mark not go on the next journey.

After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let's return and visit the brothers and sisters in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” Barnabas wanted to take John, called Mark, along with them also. But Paul was of the opinion that they should not take along with them this man who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. Now it turned into such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas, and left after being entrusted by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. And he was traveling through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. Acts 15:36-41 (NASB)

If someone is just attending, it can be easy for them to be offended.

2. Belonging –

Belonging involves Covenant, Service, and Relationship
 

Covenant – Remember John Mark? Something really changed within Mark. One day he committed to belonging. As a result, in Paul’s later writing, he spoke about how valuable John Mark was to his ministry.

Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers. Philemon 23-24 (NASB)

Service – Those who really belong get involved. They are willing to serve both inside and outside the church. They want the church to be a clean, welcoming place.

Only Luke is with me. Take along Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.
2 Timothy 4:11 (NASB)

Relationship – Those who really belong develop relationships with others who belong. They are not just friendly, they are friends, they are family. They genuinely care when a brother or sister is hurting.

The song Family of God contains lyrics that say, “When one has a heartache, we all share the tears, and rejoice in each victory in this family so dear.”

Acting as a part of the body of Christ

3. What’s the difference –

You can still feel like an outsider, even when attending every service. Just like Judas.

But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, the one who intended to betray Him, *said, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the proceeds given to poor people?” Now he said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he kept the money box, he used to steal from what was put into it. John 12:4-6 (NASB)

Finding deep, meaningful community, Family. Just like John Mark

4. Commitment –

It takes commitment. The church is designed for belonging, not just attending.