In the Whirled: Why Christianity needs a church

It’s easy to do a job that we’re good at. When serving in a church, we are called on to serve in areas where we may not have strength. Just ask a non-musician who was called on to lead the ward choir — or a disorganized person who was called on to serve as secretary of the Relief Society.

When we abandon church — and by that I mean the physical structure, and the act of worshipping weekly — we give up a portion of what it means to be schooled in a Christian setting. Eugene England, in his landmark essay “Why the Church is as True as the Gospel” states this most eloquently:

“It is precisely in the struggle to be obedient while maintaining integrity, to have faith while being true to reason and evidence, to serve and love in the face of imperfections and even offenses, that we can gain the humility we need to allow divine power to enter our lives in transforming ways.”

On Sunday morning, I watch the garage doors rise in the homes around me. The families — Lutheran, Catholic, Episcopalian and Mormon — head to church.

None of us are as good as we should be, but we are all trying to live a Christian life, a life that reflects the teachings of Jesus Christ. I see that in how the parents raise their children and how the kids interact with one another on the basketball court.

We have Jesus in our heart. But we are also a church-going people. My hope is that the rising generation sees the two as mutually inclusive.

Tiffany Gee Lewis lives in St. Paul, Minn., and is the mother of four boys. She blogs at thetiffanywindow.wordpress.com. Her email is tiffanyelewis@gmail.com.