When I give a link, if WordPress gives me accurate statistics, far less than half of my readers click on it. If you regularly attend church, and don’t miss for anything that wouldn’t, for example, keep you away from work, you probably don’t need to click on this one.
If you aren’t quite so faithful, or if you lack discipline in your life, maybe you need to click through to read this one. That’s especially true if you want your neighbours to think the Lord is actually important to you, if you want your children to learn as they grow that He is the first priority in your life, if you want to worship and serve the Lord but find you are not actually there to serve and encourage and challenge His people when they meet. If you want to put the Lord first even when it isn’t so easy, and lead your family in doing so, I hope you’ll read this one. I would suggest that it applies even if, like our imperfect church, your church has flaws, too ;).
Mind Renewers 
Good article. What can become a danger, with being “there every time the doors are open” is when the schedule is ARRANGED to occupy nearly every day of the week. So that “church” takes over peoples lives and leaves them no time for their families or anything else. Jesus prayed that the Father would NOT take us OUT of the World, but that He would keep us from the Evil.We have to spend some time IN the World (but not OF the World) to fulfill our commision. Church should enrichen our lives and help us to be profitable Servants, it should be place to refresh from the Battle, but prepare us to go back and Engage in the battle. That doesn’t happen when the majority of our week gets consumed with “services” on a regular basis. As in all things, there is balance. There are special times of “extra services”, but I am afraid we too often confuse busyness with faithfulness and spirituality. There is a distinction between God and the Church. The Church should be a VERY important Part of our life, GOD IS our LIFE!
Thanks for the comment, Patrick. I think a lot of ministers who don’t have a regular work week don’t understand the life of those who do.
What I liked about this article was that it was not focused on “every time the doors open”, but on the importance of real commitment backed by strong self-discipline. That is a quality that will bring many blessings if we develop it. It is a servant’s attitude that says, “I will be there not because I feel like it or it is convenient to me, but because I serve the Lord first, and His people as well. To this I commit because it pleases Him.”
I do agree that “church” can take the place of God in ruling our life, though I think it is more of an issue in the schedules of some American churches than it is in most British churches. The Bible doesn’t tell us how often the door of the church is supposed to open, nor whether everyone is supposed to be there every time it does. Maybe I need another “Ten things I haven’t found in the Bible” post. 🙂 It does stress commitment, treating your church as family, love and service, etc, etc.
Amen