“To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ — their Lord and ours.” — 1 Corinthians 1:2
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The transfer portal and the rules that enabled it to develop have been revolutionary for collegiate sports. Traditional recruiting methods have quickly become outdated and were completely overhauled. Coaches are busy figuring out how to establish chemistry within a team when many, if not most, of the players are new each season. Fans try to follow along in the offseason as players swap teams at dizzying speeds.
There has been much debate about whether the transfer portal has been a net positive development for college sports. Some say it’s good that players have the freedom to move between schools in attempts to better their lives academically and athletically. Others say it’s killing the spirit of college athletics.
One thing that’s certain: Church is not meant to be treated like the transfer portal. Yet all too often in American society, it is.
People “church-hop,” or bounce from church to church and congregation to congregation without ever truly investing in any one of them. This wasn’t Christ’s vision for what church should be. Instead, Scripture shows us that Christians are to live all of life together and enjoy fellowship with one another as they seek to commune with their Heavenly Father. They are to love one another, provide for one another and even sacrifice for one another when necessary. There should be true commitment, and no music preferences or children’s program should change that.
Christ didn’t die to pay the debt of His people, and then rise again to conquer sin and death once and for all, in order for believers to simply live out the Christian life in isolation. Jesus saved us to a community of believers — that’s what we were made for. Remember: It’s not good for us to be alone.
Through grace, Christ gave His children new life in Him, each one being a member of His body, and each member belonging to the others. When someone shows up for worship sporadically or doesn’t participate outside of Sunday mornings, the whole congregation is worse off.
Of course, there are times when switching churches is the right thing to do. Someone may move across the country. The church may be teaching unorthodox theology or have a money-hungry pastor. But by and large, abundant life in Christ is found through investing more, and not less, in the local church that God has called you to.
— Kevin Mercer
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