church attendance

I was just thinking about what different people say about going to church. Specifically, how people tell others they should go to church, and how criticize others for going to church just as a social event.

In relation to going to church, I've thought for a while that it's not necessary like some people think it is. The bible doesn't even tell us to go to church, it just tells us to make sure to get together with other believers. That's not to say that going to church is bad, because it's good a lot of the time, but it's not necessary, and especially not necessary for salvation.

But thinking of that tonight (and I'm not even sure why I thought of it) brought to mind the social aspect. It seems clear to me in the bible that getting together with other believers is about fellowship, a very social thing. We're supposed to dine together with these other christians, remembering Christ's dinner, sharing what God has been doing in our lives recently. The whole thing about teaching and preaching is just part of it. Of course, if you say you're a christian and go to church just for the social aspect, not trying to walk the way all the time, you're probably a hypocrite.