Sabbathing is Non-Negotiable

Our relationship between sabbath and gathering points to a theological crisis.

What if our casual neglect of sabbath gatherings is not just a scheduling issue but a theological crisis?

Every week, our church gathers in all sorts of locations to worship, open the Scriptures, and share a meal in a large-format community. It’s pretty simple and not all that innovative. That’s by design. Wherever Christians have been able to gather without persecution, and often even in the face of it, we’ve practiced this beautiful and absolutely vital tradition.

Sabbath gatherings are an essential component of Christian living. To be the body of Christ, we need to gather as a body so that the plurality of gifts and personalities can have a context to flourish.

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Where We Lost the Plot on Gatherings

Why bring this up? Sabbath gatherings have become optional, misunderstood or entirely reframed through a mix of consumer culture in the megachurch on the one hand and deconstructionist trends in emergent or missional churches on the other.

As Christendom faded, two contrasting responses emerged: the attractional megachurch and the deconstructionist missional church. Both, in different ways, obscured the historical and theological significance of regular, embodied sabbath gatherings.

1. The Missional Church

The missional church movement was deeply engaged in questioning the role of Sabbath gatherings in church life. A great deal of ink was spilled—and still is—on how to creatively shape gatherings to attract non-religious people.

This movement deconstructed and then reconstructed a church model that tried to make sense in the aftermath of Christendom’s collapse in the West. While it yielded some helpful insight, it also resulted in aberrant theology where too much was deconstructed and left without a firm foundation to stand on. Chief among the losses was clarity on the authority of Scripture and the role of the local church. In many cases, the basics such as worship, preaching, and evangelism have been discarded.

2. The Rise of the Megachurch

Starting in the 1800s, but exploding in the 1900s and now well into the 2000s, we have the concept of the megachurch, led by skilled orators. Charles Spurgeon is often credited as leading the first megachurch in the 1860s, an idea that grew in the 1900s with professionalized worship teams. These churches normalized the idea that when someone attends a church to hear a sermon or sing songs, that is equivalent to Sabbathing with a community of believers. It’s not.

Together, the collapse of Christendom and the rise of the megachurch have led to widespread confusion about what it means to be the church—and what role Sabbath gatherings should play in the life of believers. In short, we’ve lost the vision for why Christians gather.

So What’s the Deal with Sabbath Gatherings?

1. We Sabbath Together

In recent years, sabbath has become a hot topic in evangelical circles. And I genuinely applaud the recovery of biblical rhythms that call us to slow down.

But nearly every modern conception of sabbath is deeply individualistic. We're raising a generation of believers to view sabbathing as “their” personal way of resting. This is simply not biblical.

Sabbath is about being together. Every instance of the Sabbath in Scripture, whether among the Jews or early Christians, involves gathering. You won’t find a single passage describing Sabbath as an individual retreat or as taking time for personal interests or family activities. We’ve conflated sabbath and personal rest to our detriment.

2. We Gather to Bring, Not Just to Receive

When we gather, we each bring something to the table. Yet many of us still approach the gathering primarily as a time to receive. Yes, we may receive from the Word, but even in our receiving, we are called to bring worship in response.

We must disciple and train believers to approach gatherings with the posture of, “What can I bring?” Because every person is part of the body, and every part has an important role to play.

3. We Embrace the Inconvenience of Sabbath

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy…” (Exodus 20:8–11)

The Sabbath must cost us something. If it were easy, God wouldn’t have had to command it. Sabbath is meant to be inconvenient. That’s the whole point: we’re supposed to stop. And it takes energy to stop.

On a personal level, this means every Sunday without exception, I put aside holidays, family gatherings, sports events, and house projects so I can be with my church family.

I don’t do this because I’m a pastor, I do it because I’m a Christian.

I need to be with my church family every week to be reoriented to Christ and to help orient others as well. I need them, and they need me.

I believe we must raise the standard. Weekly engagement with our local church family shouldn’t be treated as optional, but as essential. Too often, we’ve accepted attendance only when convenient or when it doesn’t conflict with worldly priorities.

The Sabbath Command Still Stands

So let’s return to the basic point: the Sabbath command remains. I can find no compelling reason to set aside the commandment to keep the Sabbath holy, any more than I can justify setting aside the command to not murder or to honour one’s parents.

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