Joshua Harris' book, Stop Dating the Church: Fall in Love with the Family of God, is a must read. We see so many people, often ourselves included, committing an hour or two on Sundays to church and then walking away the rest of the week. We're also hearing more and more people saying, "I don't really need to go to church, I worship at home with my family."

The church is not an option for Christians. The church is central to God's plan to evangelize the world and to build up people in the faith. Harris clearly lays out that plan. In this book, Harris says our relationship with the church is like a dating relationship. We shop around for a church that meets our lifestyle needs, but we don't want any real commitment or real obligation. We want to go to church and then get on with our lives. Commitment is the key. We must commit to a long-term relationship - with the church, the local body of believers.

He goes on to say that if we fail in our commitment to the church, we cheat ourselves, the church community, and the world. God has designed us to build our lives around the church, meaning that we cannot be uninvolved or "pew warmers." Rather, our lives must truly revolve around the church and our church family. We need a community church, a commitment to our church family. We need to understand why we must join a church. We must understand Christ's love for the church, and we must understand our role in the church and the church's role in our lives. In Harris' book, all of this is spelled out in a clear and straight-forward manner.

I highly recommend Joshua Harris' book, Stop Dating the Church.