In this time of pandemic and social distancing, most churches have moved to online worship services. As with any such change, this move is not without controversy. Should churches be streaming their services? In order to think through this issue carefully, which we should, we need to understand what a local church is and what it isn’t. For example, I saw one comment stating the church is not a building, so this is a good thing our services are canceled. While it’s true the church isn’t a building, the church certainly isn’t a Facebook Live video either. Nonetheless, should churches do online services?
I believe churches should, but we need to be clear—there is no such thing as “online church.” Riverview has offered our messages online for a long time, but this is not meant to replace the gathering of our church. Instead, it is both a supplement to the main course (Sunday Morning corporate worship) and a help to those who cannot be with us on any given Sunday. Online messages/services can never replace the physical gathering of a local church.
It is here the epistles of the New Testament help us. Paul wrote these letters to local churches because he couldn’t personally be with them. Because he did write, they and we have been blessed with more books in Scripture. Nonetheless, Paul preferred to be in person when teaching. His letters did not replace the physical gathering of a church, rather the letters were read when the local church gathered. In the absence of gathering together, Paul used the technology of his day to help shepherd and encourage the flock. Today, we are doing the same thing.
Perhaps the best example of this is Peter’s first epistle. He opens with these words:
“To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.”
Like then, we are now dispersed and separated from one another, but this time it is because of a viral pandemic. Our dispersion does not dissolve our unity as a local church or the unity of the universal church, but it is a real hindrance to the Christian walk. Until we can gather together again, the leaders of local churches must leverage modern technology to encourage, equip, and shepherd their flocks. Shepherding cannot stop just because we cannot gather together.
How then should we think and talk about our online services? Here are two suggestions.
First, a church is not a building, but it is a physical gathering. The word used for church in the New Testament means a congregation or a called-out assembly. At the very core of a local church is the act of gathering together in the name of Jesus Christ. Long before this pandemic, many churches went away from this biblical prerequisite as they weekly beamed in preachers from different locations. Moreover, they met at many campuses separated by miles and some even promoted “going to online church” as a replacement for real church. It’s not, and never can be. Such a way of doing “church” is just a fast-food variety of Christianity, and it is making us sick and weak. Our spiritual health is linked to living in community with other Christians.
When the apostles wrote to these local churches, they longed to be with them, but couldn’t be. So they took up a pen and paper. Likewise, we broadcast our service right now because we long to be with our congregation, but can’t. The digital service helps, but it can never replace the real deal.
Anyone separated from a loved by a long-distance knows that while letters and online communication help to mitigate the pain of separation, they cannot replace actually being with a loved one. The same is true for the church—we cannot replace the local church with glowing screens. And when we try, we short-circuit God’s good design for the church. Can we use technology to fill the gap when we can’t meet? Of course. But this is never a replacement for physically gathering with the saints.
Second, church is more than singing songs and hearing a message. Of course, corporate singing and listening to a sermon are vital to a faithful worship service, but they are not the totality of it. Because the local church is a physical gathering, there is nourishment, empowerment, encouragement, and accountability that come from gathering together. No man is an island, and there are no lone ranger Christians. We must never forsake gathering together (Heb. 10:25) because each local church is a body of believers who need one another (1 Cor. 12). The different parts of the body need each other. To an extent, we can encourage and help one another over a distance, but we cannot do this fully if we never see each other, commune with one another, and praise God together. The Christian life is meant to be lived in community, and a digital substitute can never that.
We should be very thankful for the technology that we have. It is a tremendous blessing to be able to have limited, digital communion during this isolation. This helps us not lose sight of the world beyond our own four walls and the God who is there. Nonetheless, we must not let this extreme become the new normal. Instead, our limited communion must grow our desire to be with one another yet again. Let us look forward to the day when we will gather back together, realizing the joy of that day is a faint echo of the reunion of the universal church when Christ returns. Then we will live in perfect community with the eternal church and her bridegroom, Jesus Christ. Maranatha!