Church

The typical routine in a white American evangelical church includes a group gathering mid –morning on a Sunday in a heavily mortgaged building.  There is a welcoming committee, three hymns, prayer and bible reading, a sermon, collection during another hymn, benediction, maybe some coffee, then classes before everyone makes a break for lunch, nap and football.  Wednesdays may include a kids program and maybe more prayer.

These rituals are considered to define church life and as such are sacrosanct.  But are they?  Does scripture demand these activities, or are they cultural?

The covid pandemic has rattled churches because without the ability to gather in person, their purpose seems to be in jeopardy.  Some church leaders have resorted to leaning on a political cry of “freedom and rights” as a basis to keep meeting.  Some have taught that the disease is not serious and can be ignored.  Others have claimed that God will protect them.  Still others have been appealing to lawmakers for exemptions (and getting them).  Many used electronic media for a while, but returned to gathering in person, some with masks and some without.  The catch is that those people who have declined to attend in person have become disconnected and neglected, if not actively ostracized.

Simultaneously, political division has invaded the buildings with biblical wisdom being replaced by party rhetoric, leading to deep division and loss of love. Much of this dissention is built on listening to and believing messaging from cultural and political sources, and the tools used for gathering news and opinion filter out contrary opinions. 

Where is truth?  In the Bible.  Therefore, let us go back to scripture and re-examine what church should be about, and how it can be achieved in 2020. 

What is the church?  It is the body of Christ’s people, his bride, a planet-wide assemblage of diverse people, periodically meeting.  We are clearly instructed to gather together – but for what purpose?  To:

• Worship the almighty God because He deserves it, and therein is satisfaction and joy
• Administer the sacraments (baptism and communion) as instructed by God
• Preach, teach, and read scripture to remind each other about who God is and how we can live holy lives
• Pray together in corporate submission to God
• Fellowship together and encourage one another because that is how we give and get love
• Discipline those who are drifting off the path of truth in order to restore them
• Communicate the gospel to non-believers, because this truth is for all mankind

Do we have to gather in large groups to do all of this?  Maybe not.  Maybe God is using the pandemic to shake up our complacency. 

It is obviously impossible for the whole worldwide church to gather in one place and time due to constraints of distance, time zones and accommodation.  Therefore, it seems reasonable for us to gather in smaller, local, groups.  But how small?

Economics and the temptation to follow the models of the culture encourage US churches to be very large.  Media encourage us to be greedy, covetous, self-promoting, popular, and powerful.  Numbers matter and the biggest, loudest and strongest win.  It is hard not to drag these anti-scriptural norms into our churches.  Bigger buildings, better music programs, slick media tools all seem to point to “successful” churches.  What is intriguing is the number of Pastors who built large churches, initially starting with solid doctrine and seemingly good motivations, but ended up crashing and burning when the power and fame went to their heads.  Is bigger really better?

Remember that a core task of the church is to grow deep and loving relationships.  This is impossible in large groups, not least because people are reluctant to be honest in a crowd, irrespective of the quality of the sermon or the music.  It is all too easy to slide into the back row of a large church, and slide out again without talking to anyone, even if you are desperate for fellowship.  Larger churches try to solve that by setting up smaller groups that are intimate and loving, with varying degrees of success.  The failure is often that the programs become the focus of attention rather than the people within them.  Systems and processes supersede relationships and individual’s needs.

At the other extreme, there is a minimum size, because how many people does it take to provide the resources to support a full time Pastor?  Many churches in small towns are learning these limits as the towns shrink and people die or move away.

What about electronic tools?  Webmeetings, emails, and texting have certainly facilitated our being able to shelter at home and continue to interact, and as such they have been fantastic.  But, are they enough?  Not really.  Everyone I speak to, including the introverts, are “zoomed out” and very keen to get back to some sort of direct contact.  But is that wise?

With all of this background, let us return to the fundamental question – how do we worship, fellowship, learn and evangelize as a body in a time when a bug makes it potentially dangerous to gather in groups?  When and how should a larger body gather and to what end?  The structure described in the first paragraph may not be bad, but it may not be right for the planet earth in 2020.  But, what is the right model?

I don’t know.  My purpose is to challenge you to put aside politics, prejudices and habits and think about these questions from first principles.  What does the Bible actually say about church?  Are we doing it right?  Can we use our imaginations to make our churches into places where God is obeyed and people’s needs are met without risking our lives?  How do we change to make church a place of shelter and celebration instead of bickering.

Following is a selection of verses to help think about this.

1 Timothy 4:13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.

Hebrews 10: 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Hebrews 13:2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

Acts 4: 32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.

Luke 4: 16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

Acts 17 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

Mark 2: 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them.

Acts 20:7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight.

Acts 20:28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

James 5:14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

Revelation 21:9 Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”