At the end of September, I had the honor of attending Midwestern Seminary's annual For the Church conference in Kansas City, Missouri. It was a wonderful event that encouraged and challenged me in so many different ways pastorally and personally, and I am already looking forward to next year's gathering. Prior to one of the plenary sessions, a video was played talking about the church, and one idea stood out to me and has been simmering in my mind ever since. Unfortunately, I did not notice who uttered this statement, and I am not totally sure I am even quoting it perfectly, but he said something like...
"While the gospel can be declared through virtual church, the gospel can only be displayed through the gathered church."
In the early spring of 2020, whenever the Covid-19 pandemic began in the United States, churches around the country were faced with unprecedented challenges regarding how to safely conduct church services and activities. For many churches, the solution, at least in the short term, was to move their services to an online format only and to cancel all in-person activities for a specific period of time. I am sure that the pastors and church leaders making those initial decisions did not anticipate that we would be sitting here towards the end of 2021 still dealing with this virus, but nevertheless, here we are, and similar challenges persist. While churches have, for the most part, returned to regular in-person services, many churches are still trying to handle the fallout of numerous members and faithful attenders opting to continue worshipping exclusively online, if they decide to attend anywhere at all. It is the exception to the rule, unfortunately, to find churches that have seen attendance return to pre-pandemic levels ever since the fateful beginning of spring last calendar year, with most churches seeing a decline in attendance to some extent.
For nearly two years, virtual church has become more and more prevalent in the context of American Christianity, and while the gospel can indeed be declared through virtual church, as the statement above indicates, there is something inherently missing from virtual church. I acknowledge right away that virtual church served a necessary purpose in various stages of the pandemic due to the uncertainty of everything going on, and I would much rather someone attend a virtual church than to not attend church at all. However, we must not allow the pandemic to push us towards promoting virtual church more readily. While virtual church has its place and serves its purpose to certain groups of people (i.e. shut-ins, people in nursing homes, etc.), the virtual church should never replace or even be considered on an equal playing field to the gathered church.
To support such a claim, we need to start and end with what the inerrant and infallible Word of God. We are encouraged in the New Testament to "consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, all the more as you see the Day drawing near" (Hebrews 10:24-25, emphasis added). These verses highlight for us the draw we have towards meeting physically together with other brothers and sisters in Christ, for part of the benefit of the gathered church is the fellowship of the beloved. We see this example set forth by the early church as "they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship..." (Acts 2:42a, emphasis added). A prioritization of the gathered church underscores the biblical reality that the Christian life is meant to be lived in community. Nowhere in Scripture will you find Christians who lived their lives as lone wolves, but rather, they all recognized their need to be "mutually encouraged by each other's faith" (Romans 1:12).
Moreover, whenever someone professes faith in Christ, they become a part of the body of Christ, and according to the Bible, every member of the body is crucial to the overall body's health and effectiveness. By the Spirit, every genuine follower of Jesus has been given special gifts by God, and these spiritual gifts are to be used within the context of the local church. Simply, using these gifts is not possible unless you attend the gathered church, for what gifts are required to tune in to Facebook every Sunday morning and watch a virtual service? Virtual church promotes a passive form of Christianity, whereas the Bible promotes the need for our faith to be filled with activity. Paul implores us this way: "Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them..." (Romans 12:6a). Only in the church gathered can spiritual gifts be used by believers "for building up the body of Christ" (Ephesians 4:12b). Forsaking the utilization of our spiritual gifts is a trap many can and will fall into outside of the church gathered. The mutual encouragement of fellow believers towards love and good works is only possibly whenever Christ's followers recognize the need for the local church, gathered as one body under the headship of our Lord and Savior. The gospel is displayed whenever believers from all walks of life stand united in Christ in His body, and it's a beautiful display that serves as a witness for the rest of the world to see.
All in all, the biblical model of church necessitates that believers physically gather together. My intention with this post is not to condemn those who see a long-term value in virtual church, but based upon my own convictions, I see no other way of "doing church" than to gather with other brothers and sisters in Christ for the sake of the gospel. Obviously, the New Testament church did not have to contend with the advent of virtual church, but the principles of the authoritative Word of God are clear: the head of the church, Jesus, needs a body, and the body must gather in order to carry out the scriptural purpose of the church. Virtual church has had and will continue to have a place and will thrive for certain seasons, but we need to avoid the temptation to elevate this model of doing ministry to any unhealthy level. Covid may have forced our hand, in a sense, but virtual church does not need to become the norm in any capacity for the sake of sound ecclesiology. Virtual church creates church audiences instead of church families, consumers rather than congregants. From the pastors to the deacons to the laymen, we need fellowship, we need exhortation, we need accountability...we need the church, and the church needs us!
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