As summer heats upon us, many will be vacationing all over the country and the world. As a pastor, I have noticed that church members generally don’t think much about the role the summer season has on their lives as parishioners.
I am particularly troubled by Christians who treat vacation as a break from work and Church. To some, if vacation involves a Sunday, so be it. It becomes the ideal day to travel to your favorite summer destination. After all, you are not missing work; you are only missing Church.
Hebrews does not treat this subject lightly. The author forbids the non-assembling of ourselves. The Apostle treats forsaking the assembly as a kind of mini-schism. Hebrews calls us not to forsake the gathering, which is simply a re-affirmation of the motif explored all throughout the Old Testament Scriptures.
The angels and archangels engage in heavenly worship day and night, and we are invited to join in this duty of worship each time we are gathered together on the Lord’s Day. After all, God has made us one.
Vacation is no substitute for worship. Missing the Lord’s Day gathering on vacation for any trivial reason is to mock the veil-tearing, which gave us access to the heavenly throne of grace. It belittles the work of Christ, who conquered our divisions and united us to Himself.
With that in view, here are a few things I recommend for those going on vacation this summer:
First, avoid the trap that a few good Christians gathered at a camp or a resort constitute the Church on Sunday. You may enjoy Christian fellowship and be challenged by an exhortation, but this does not constitute heavenly worship. It may be simply a Bible study, but worship is not a Bible study; it is the very entrance of God’s people into the heavenly places through the work of the Spirit in an orderly service led by duly ordained men.
Second, before going on vacation, search for churches near the area. If you cannot find a church that resembles yours, explore a bit outside your tradition. Learn to love the universal church. Find an evangelical congregation that loves the Bible. If all these have been exhausted, only as a last resort, I’d settle for live-streaming.
Third, avoid making Sunday morning plans. Let your family–especially those non-Christians traveling with you–know that Sunday worship is non-negotiable. If they are nominal Christians or unbelievers, let them know beforehand that their Sunday morning plans will not include your family. Use such opportunities to establish a firm foundation with your loved ones, which will necessarily be easier in the years to come. And if this is the first year you have submitted to that conclusion, briefly explain why you have changed your position. There is nothing wrong with changing your perspective, but there is plenty wrong in not acting on it.
There is no need to theologize about these issues with other family members or feel you have to offer a treatise on the matter (since it may lead to unnecessary arguing). If they insist, tell them this is a commitment you made as a family long ago.
Finally, when visiting other churches, teach your children (and yourself) to avoid criticizing the Church’s practices that differ from yours. Use this time to explain to the little ones the beauty of the universal church. Explain that there are legitimate differences among churches (frequency of communion, styles of music, etc.) but that the Spirit dwells among them all.
The Lord’s Day is a day of rest. It is the feast God has prepared for you. Under normal circumstances, there is no other place for you to be. Your rest during vacation is accentuated when you worship with God’s people.
