On Friday, March 13, 2020, we called an emergency meeting for the elders at the church. The world was told to close down, to stay home, and not to meet together. Looking back, this was a very difficult time for pastors worldwide. What should the church do? How important is it for the church to gather together? Is the gathering of the church essential? Those six months taught me, like never before in my life, that the answer to that question is, “Yes!” This chapter is not about calling out every church for closing or pointing out how they should have handled COVID-19 differently. This chapter is about how important it is that the saints gather together.

I love the church, and I love gathering with the church. Most Wednesday nights, I greet people at the front door. This throws people off because I am the pastor, and they think I shouldn’t be the door holder. This, in turn, throws me off because I am the pastor; why wouldn't I be the door holder? I do this because I love seeing families come into the church.

During the last few years, Hebrews 10:24-25 has become one of my favorite passages: "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 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." There is a notion out there that because people are called the church (not the physical building), gathering together is not as important. They may think, “All I need is my Bible, prayer time, some videos online, or a live stream, and I'm good.” I love the verse in Hebrews because it makes that sentiment a bunch of hot garbage built upon lies.

The writer of Hebrews says, "Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some..." But why? At that time (and still today), some people thought that meeting together with the church was not a big deal, and the Hebrews writer calls this out. Albert Mohler, Jr. says it strongly, “We cannot have confidence and full assurance of faith apart from the church. We cannot endure in isolation. Each Christian desperately needs the body of believers for encouragement.”

Let us dive into the specifics of what gathering together looks like, according to this passage.

Let Us Consider

When I started out in ministry almost twenty-five years ago, I was the Middle School Intern, and I worked in student ministry for the next seventeen years. It was a wonderful time in my life. I had no aspirations of being the Senior Pastor one day. I loved student ministry, and I felt like I was right where the Lord wanted me to be.

To my surprise, and maybe even more so to my wife, the Lord called me to be the Lead Pastor at the Waterford location of The River Church. Shortly after I moved into this position, my son went into middle school. It was now his time in student ministry, and I was excited about all the fun he was going to have. However, it did not go as planned. He did not like student ministry. He did not even want to go. I thought, “What do you mean you don't want to go? This is student ministry. This is the best! Summer camp is the most wonderful time of the year! It is better than Christmas.” He did not see it that way. He did not even want to go to camp. He was not excited to go to small groups. Now, you may be thinking, maybe he is just a “normal,” rebellious pastor kid; truly, that is not what this was. He loves the Lord, and it is a joy to witness as a parent. It was a struggle for me that he had no excitement when it came to the student ministry, which had excited me so greatly.

I vividly remember when he would come home from student group week after week, and I would repeatedly ask him the same question, “Did you have fun tonight?” I remember him responding with a shrug and saying it was fine. One day, I read this verse and had a great conviction come over me. I was convicted of my question to my son, “Did you have fun?” I was convicted because I knew, and he knew, that the number one goal of the gathering of the church was not just for “fun.” I was pushing him to think that the student ministry’s value was found in fun. Do I enjoy being with the people of God? Yes! Do we smile and laugh? Certainly! But if gathering with saints focuses solely on FUN, we will never last. We will never be the church God has called us to be. Sadly, this has become the goal for too many people in the church, and even some leaders.

With this conviction in mind, my wife and I changed the question. Now, when my son comes home from student group, my wife and I ask the question, “Did you consider? Son, you know the Lord, and when you gathered with other students, did you consider them? Was your first thought not fun, but how can I think about them? Maybe some of the other students are nervous, scared, sad, or feeling alone. Son, have a heart to consider them.”

Church, this is the question we should ask ourselves as we gather. Too often, we go to a service and think, “How is everyone here going to serve me?” Frankly, that is just wrong. At The River Church, we stopped calling Sunday morning a “service.” We now call it a “gathering.” If you know the Lord, it is time to change the question. "So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith" (Galatians 6:10). Let us seize the opportunity.

Hebrews goes on to say, "Let us consider how to stir up one another..."

Let Us Stir

I am a visual person. As a pastor, I like to use props to help illustrate a truth or make a point in many of my sermons. It is very helpful for me to be able to see it. As I read this passage, I think of a coffee stir-stick. Yes, it is one of those little red sticks that helps make coffee not taste so disgusting after adding the cream and sugar. Once I add those things, the stir-stick helps bring it all together. God's Word tells us to be a stir-stick! I am called to consider, to think about others, and think how I can stir them up "to love and good works."

In Greek, the word “stir” is quite interesting. Usually, it has a negative connotation. It means “to provoke around.” It carries the idea of prodding people and is connected to the word “splinter.” Here, the thought is to poke them. Do you consider yourself to be a stir-stick for love and good works?

I am so thankful for these stir-sticks in the church, the people who reach out and say, “Pastor, I am praying for you.” This week, I was physically sick. I got a text from someone in the church saying that they are praying that I will recover quickly. I thought, “How do they even know I'm sick?!” Not only was I physically sick, but this week in ministry has been particularly heavy. I have had three funerals: a baby, a 40-year-old man, and a 70-year-old faithful member of the church. What is so amazing is that each of these families has come to me in amazement at how wonderful the church has been in their time of need. We are far from a perfect church, but we do have people who strive to "stir up one another to love and good works." They work to love each other. This is the gathering of the church. We prod one another to know the love of Christ.

The Apostle Paul reminds us in Philippians 2:1-5, "So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus."

I love what Peter says about stirring one another up, "I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder" (2 Peter 1:13). He later adds, "This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder" (2 Peter 3:1). Believers must actively and verbally stir up one another to love and to do good works. An unhealthy church fails to do this.

Let Us Not Neglect To Meet Together

The book of Hebrews was written to a church of Jewish believers whose world was falling apart. Kent Hughes says, “Their Christianity had not been a worldly advantage. Rather, it set them up for persecution and the loss of property and privilege, and now could possibly even cost them their lives. Some had even withdrawn from the worshiping community altogether.” Gathering together came at great cost to them. God's Holy Word tells us we do not stop meeting together, even if it costs us.

What have we allowed to stand in the way of us meeting together? If you want to know how important gathering together with the church is, ask your kids how important they think it is to you. I am not here telling you to become “religious” and have a legalistic set of rules that call you to meet every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. Then, if you miss a service, you are a pagan sinner. That is NOT what I am saying here. What I am saying is that it is important. Do you make the gathering with the saints to "stir up one another to love and good works" an important part of your life? Has the church become more of a mechanical learning experience that you just come to and leave? I often get questions like, “What time do your gatherings (services) start?” “How long do gatherings normally last?” I always want to respond with, “What time are you going to get here, and what time are you planning on leaving?” Around 10:30 a.m., our worship pastor will start to lead us in corporate worship, and then the pastor will preach, but the gathering starts and ends with you.

One thing I call out regularly is being a “church ninja.” Let me tell you, some people are so good at being a church ninja! These people come in right before I begin to preach, they sneak in during the opening prayer, and slide into a seat. Before the prayer, there was no sign of them, and after, they were waiting, ready to go. When I finish the sermon and close in prayer, they leave as quickly as they came. We, the church, cannot be church ninjas if we are going to be the church that Christ calls us to be.

Let Us Encourage

Those of us who have been a part of the church for a while know that it is not always pretty. It is not always smiles and hugs. It is messy. People get hurt. Arguments happen, and division takes place. Stirring one another up is not always easy. The word “encourage” here in Greek can be defined as “to urge one to pursue some course of conduct” (Dr. Jerry Vines). That conduct is not always welcome. In the letter to the Philippian church, Paul points out their conflict: "I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life" (Philippians 4:2-3). These two “famous” ladies in the Bible (I say that with much sarcasm) had some type of disagreement. Can you imagine this letter being read to the church? If someone had ignored the first half of Paul's letter to the church, you can bet they were all ears now! There was a problem with unity in the church, and Paul called for the church to "help these women" who served together, to find agreement and peace.

In another letter, Paul exhorts the Galatians, "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ"(Galatians 6:1-2). Stirring each other up is not always easy, but if we are to be the church God calls us to be, we must stir one another up to love and good works, even in difficult situations. This takes discernment and wisdom. Which is why the passage says, "You who are spiritual."

The importance of gathering at the church has never been more important to me than it is now. It is essential. Let us daily consider how to stir up other believers to know how wonderful and good the love of the Lord is. Let us stir one another up to live a life that is pleasing to Him. Let us not take the gathering of the church lightly, but let us speak encouragement to one another.

Questions for personal study or group discussion: