Because of the resurrection, the church should be working in one accord with joy.   #theloriclineshow   Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org!   ~~~   What is the number one most attended church day of the year? Easter Sunday!  Did you go to church on Easter? According to research MANY of you probably did.  If you have little ones, you may still have decorated eggs in your fridge, but for the most part the flurry of Easter is behind us. The worship services, brunches, new dresses, ham and potato salad lunches, family photos and all things Easter have been checked off and sadly for many they won’t darken the doors of the church or think much about it until next Easter. According to Gallup, a conservative estimate is that thousands of U.S. churches are closing each year. Back in 1937 when they first measured U.S. church membership, 73% of the U.S. were members of a house of worship. Today, that number is below 50%! While the world around us is changing, the great commission hasn’t changed.  Following Pentecost, as the early church was exploding in Acts 2, the functions of the church established then haven’t changed. What’s changed? What about church beyond Easter Sunday?  Many believers have left the building or have even left the faith. Just look around or have an honest conversation with someone about church. You’ll quickly discover a vast array of reasons why people choose to not gather with the body of Christ.  Some have what I call the quickly spreading ‘itching ears’ virus as described in 2 Timothy 4:3. People will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead they gather around those saying what their ears itch to hear.  People eject because sound doctrine usually leads me to conviction over the sin in my life. Conviction and repentance don’t seem to be a popular topic.  A few other reasons we’ve seen from the long list of why people eject from gathering together are church wounds, a fallen leader, this virus, complacency, consumerism, religious, political and social division and simply not being able to reconcile the suffering and brokenness of this world.  I hear you. I get it. I’ve seen it and experienced it. It gets messy. So why does it matter that we are connected to the body, I’m not talking about a building, I’m talking about an ekklesia, beyond Easter Sunday? We need each another. The body needs every part. See 1 Corinthians 12. The body can’t function FULLY without each member strengthening the other and working together as one. Over and over we see the importance of digging into relationships, pursuing unity in the body, not ejecting, speaking the truth in love and working together for the mission we are all called to fulfill. God’s people coming together become His hands and feet carrying out His plan to show this broken and messy world God’s way, God’s love, God’s grace, God’s mercy and the truth of His coming kingdom.  Hebrews 10:23-25 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. The early church of Acts beyond resurrection day and beyond Jesus ascending to the heavens was FULL of joy! Jesus was ALIVE! There were over 500 eye witnesses! The early church leaders were there! They saw it with their own eyes! This changed EVERYTHING! So why NOW church are we so stale? Why have we lost our JOY? Why are we being tossed about by every wind of doctrine?  Ekklesia, it’s time to speak the truth. It’s time to quit playing church and be the church. It’s time to grow up in maturity and we can’t do that alone. It’s time to gather. It’s time to move as one. We are here for such a time as this.  Jesus is STILL alive and our mission remains the same. That’s the truth.    Will you gather beyond Easter Sunday? It’s not about dressing up. It’s not about checking off your church attendance box. It’s not about a building, it’s about being connected to the living, breathing body of Christ, doing your part that only you can do, so together we can be a city on a hill shining bright to a very dark world around us and beyond.    I’m Lori Cline.