The Church
Scripture Reading: Matthew 16:13-28
The Church
Recently I read an article that suggested that churches need to focus on being online content providers and less “brick and mortar.” The article suggested churches need to follow the model of the retail giants like Amazon. To be clear, I do think it is a mistake to equate the church with a building. At the same time, the local church is a visible, gathered body. While it is true the church still exists and functions as it is scattered throughout a community, it is primarily known by its visible assembled body. That assembly is going to happen somewhere. Whether that is in a church building, a house, a rented school gymnasium, or under a tree is less important than the fact that the church is an assembly, a gathering together of Christ’s people in a local community. My first issue, then, is not about online vs. brick and mortar, but about assembled vs. non-assembled.
My second issue is this is a reductionist view of the church. Beyond the question of can it be a church if it doesn’t gather, is the question of what is the purpose of the assembly? The idea of primarily focusing on being an online content provider implies content dissemination is the sole function of the church and it can be done more efficiently online. There’s no point in having people drive or walk or take a bus to a specific location to receive content they could be receiving online.
If the church is simply a content provider and its sole purpose is to disseminate information, then this idea makes sense. But if attending an assembly of Christians is supposed to be about more than gaining information, and I contend it is, then this idea is flawed.
I am not arguing against churches using social media, YouTube, or websites as a means of spreading the gospel or teaching the Scriptures. I listen to sermons online and subscribe to several podcasts from various ministries and I am helped by them. I’m not opposed to it, but it is not a church nor a replacement for a church.
The Reformation rightly moved the Word of God to the central place in church life. Church architecture reflected that. The pulpit was placed in the center of most churches. That was not a pragmatic, but a theological move. The authority in the church was moved away from priests and popes to the Word of God. The Word became the guide for faith and practice. The sermon became how that authority was heard. This was good.
As with all good things, dangers lurked. While the Word of God is central to the life of the church and preaching is the primary means by which the word is heard, that does not by itself define all that a church is or does. But there is strong evidence that many have come to see the church as only the place to hear a sermon. The phenomenon of the celebrity pastor is one evidence of this. We have men who hold the title pastor, but in reality, are only public speakers. They are great orators, but they are not pastors. People fill buildings to hear them because they are good at what they do, but they aren’t functioning as New Testament pastors. It seems this is a result of seeing church just as the place to hear a sermon and why not go and hear the best sermonizer.
The early church gathered and devoted themselves to the apostles teaching (now contained in the New Testament), fellowship, the breaking of bread (I assume this means communion), and prayers (Acts 2:42). Paul exhorted the church with his “one another’s” interspersed throughout the epistles. Encourage one another, greet one another, pray for one another… Most of those one another’s cannot be done apart from face-to-face gatherings. Writing to Timothy Paul puts prayer on the front burner of the church agenda. He also tells Timothy to give attention to the public reading of Scripture. He guides Timothy for the care of widows and the appointment of elders and deacons. These are all communal activities. These are things done in assembly.
The church is an assembly. There are things done in assembling in a community of believers that cannot be done in front of a screen. The church is more than a content creator. Unfortunately, this reductionist view of the church is what prevails in many people’s minds. And if the church is only there to provide content why not get it in the most efficient, entertaining way possible? Because that’s not the church.