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[The following is excerpted from the book, Gather: Getting to the Heart of Going to Church, Copyright © 2021 by M. Hopson Boutot. Click here to download the entire book for free.]  

Years ago, I was putting my oldest son to bed when he said something to me in a sheepish voice "Daddy... will you cuddle with me for a minute?"

I sighed ever so slightly. At six years old, my son was a master at delaying bedtime. It'd been a long day. We had company downstairs. But I had learned a long time ago the value of saying "yes" to my kids as often as I could. I took a deep breath and answered. "Yes."

As I lay there, half-heartedly cuddling with my son, an amazing thing happened. In that same sheepish voice he whispered, "Daddy... I hope you fall asleep and sleep with me all night."

I laughed. "You're silly, buddy!" I said.

This time he sighed, but it wasn't like my sigh. His was the kind of sigh you make when you think about that memorable vacation, your favorite meal at that special restaurant, or Christmas morning with the entire family happy and together. And then he said something incredible as he started to drift off to sleep. "That would be awesome."

Now I'm kind of slow, so the beauty of what had just happened escaped me until the next morning. But then it hit me: I didn't deserve that. 

I certainly try to be a good dad, but this wasn’t a good week. When my son said that, it was during one of the busiest weeks I'd ever had as pastor. The day before was a sixteen-hour day from start to finish. That day I was supposed to take off, but two important meetings crept into our schedule, turning the day into a longer day than most normal days at the office. To top things off, I was about to leave town for three days for a conference. It was just one of those weeks

That's when the scandalous beauty of my son’s words hit me. He wanted to spend time with me, not because I had done a great job investing in our relationship, but simply because he loved me. Not because I had been a great dad, but because I was his dad.

And he wasn't wishing for much. He didn't want me to play Legos with him or shoot his BB gun. He wanted me to sleep beside him. To snore and slobber and sleep. Not me at my best, certainly. But I would be there. Beside him. Doing nothing else but being there. He just wanted to rest in the presence of his father.

Feeling Rightly About Gathering

Thinking rightly about church attendance is important. But it’s not enough. Engaging the heart requires us to feel rightly about gathering with God’s people. It’s not enough to dutifully attend with cold dry feelings. God calls us to gather with joy. He wants us to feel rightly about gathering. Psalm 149:1-2 puts it this way, “Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the godly! Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!” God’s people are called not merely to assemble, but to do so with gladness and rejoicing as they praise their Maker.

But why should we feel this way about gathering? Isn’t God present with us wherever we are? What is it about physically gathering with God’s people that should propel us to want to be there? My aim this chapter is to show you that when God’s people gather to hear His Word preached, God Himself is there in a special way. When we show up God shows up. We should feel rightly about gathering because when we do, we’re resting in the presence of the Father. Come back next week to learn how it all works.