{"id":31367,"date":"2012-08-13T15:45:38","date_gmt":"2012-08-13T20:45:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/?p=31367"},"modified":"2012-08-13T15:45:38","modified_gmt":"2012-08-13T20:45:38","slug":"non-religious-reasons-for-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2012\/08\/13\/non-religious-reasons-for-church\/","title":{"rendered":"Non-Religious Reasons for Church"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Nick Shell<\/strong><\/a> (HT: JR):<\/p>\n

Therefore, I am attempting to explain why going to church is a good idea for you and your kids, not from a\u00a0religious perspective<\/a>, but from more of a scientific one.<\/p>\n

1. Friends.<\/strong>\u00a0For you as well as your kids. Most of my\u00a0friends<\/a>\u00a0and my wife\u2019s friends are somehow traced back to our church. In fact, we met each other through a mutual friend that I met through a group of friends I knew through my church.<\/p>\n

2. Community.<\/strong>\u00a0Similarly, you find yourself among other people who are bound to have things in common with you and your children; even if it\u2019s just the fact you are parents with kids around the same age at the same place.<\/p>\n

3. Activities and events.<\/strong>\u00a0There is always something happening on the church calendar and much of it involves free food. Not to mention, most of the\u00a0activities<\/a>\u00a0themselves don\u2019t cost anything to participate. Basically, it\u2019s free entertainment with families you have stuff in common with.<\/p>\n

4. Child care.<\/strong>\u00a0Free\u00a0child care<\/a>. While you are in the main worship service, as well as Sunday School, your kids are being supervised and taught in their own age appropriate Sunday School and worship service where they make you\u00a0crafts<\/a>\u00a0out of construction paper and popsicle sticks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

5. Family values.<\/strong>\u00a0Church is a great place to get moral reinforcement. It\u2019s no secret that pop culture, everyday life, and even just our own negativity can be a drag on our ideal personal standards.<\/p>\n

6. Motivation.<\/strong>\u00a0Imagine the hope that comes out of the belief that the creator of this universe not only loves you but has a plan for your life. When you go to and belong to a church, you are exposed to a way of thinking that ultimately affects how you see the world, yourself, and others.<\/p>\n

7. Opportunities to help others.<\/strong>\u00a0You\u2019d be amazed at some of the unique ways\u00a0you can help others<\/a>and your community through your church. It is likely you will find a venue to serve others in a way that is framed around your talents and abilities.<\/p>\n

8. Routine.<\/strong>\u00a0When you expose yourself and your kids to all this positivity every week, after a while you\u2019re bound to see a noticeable difference in the way your family interacts.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nick Shell (HT: JR): Therefore, I am attempting to explain why going to church is a good idea for you and your kids, not from a\u00a0religious perspective, but from more of a scientific one. 1. Friends.\u00a0For you as well as your kids. Most of my\u00a0friends\u00a0and my wife\u2019s friends are somehow traced back to our church. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nNon-Religious Reasons for Church<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Nick Shell (HT: JR): Therefore, I am attempting to explain why going to church is a good idea for you and your kids, not from a\u00a0religious perspective, but\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2012\/08\/13\/non-religious-reasons-for-church\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Non-Religious Reasons for Church\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Nick Shell (HT: JR): Therefore, I am attempting to explain why going to church is a good idea for you and your kids, not from a\u00a0religious perspective, but\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2012\/08\/13\/non-religious-reasons-for-church\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-08-13T20:45:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2012\/08\/13\/non-religious-reasons-for-church\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2012\/08\/13\/non-religious-reasons-for-church\/\",\"name\":\"Non-Religious Reasons for Church\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-08-13T20:45:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-08-13T20:45:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252\"},\"description\":\"Nick Shell (HT: JR): Therefore, I am attempting to explain why going to church is a good idea for you and your kids, not from a\u00a0religious perspective, but\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2012\/08\/13\/non-religious-reasons-for-church\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2012\/08\/13\/non-religious-reasons-for-church\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2012\/08\/13\/non-religious-reasons-for-church\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Non-Religious Reasons for Church\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/\",\"name\":\"Jesus Creed\",\"description\":\"Scot McKnight on Jesus and orthodox faith in the 21st century\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252\",\"name\":\"Scot McKnight\",\"description\":\"Scot McKnight is a recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. 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