Just Churching

Just churching with the family.

A church leader posted a photo of his family in church. Usually, he’d be on the stage, and his family would sit without him. I knew the context of his message, but it prompted me to think: What does churching mean?

Yes, I know it’s not typically a verb, but maybe it should be. Instead of going to church or attending church, what does it mean to church? If you say, “I’m churching today,” what does it mean?

To some, churching doesn’t feel right unless they are serving. Others need a complete focus on God for that hour or so of a worship service. To a few, churching isn’t about a worship service as much as it doing life as a community. As I thought about these and other perspectives of what churching might mean to people, I realized it is often focused on how we define it or how we want it.

But churching isn’t about us. If we’re passionate about serving, do we serve because God wants us to serve, we feel an obligation, we’re avoiding something, or it’s simply our habit? If we’re accustomed to sitting in a seat, is it because it’s our habit and it’s comfortable or because we’re healing and need to concentrate on focusing in God’s presence? No matter what our habits look like, we can be motivated by selfishness, not wanting to set ourselves aside for that time, or it can be the opposite.

It’s a process. For those who want a pure, authentic faith and healthy relationship with God, we think we know the right answer, but it’s not about the right answer. It’s about a process, a relationship. It’s about an awareness of where we are and how we can take the next step. What do you want churching to become?