Church: Physical Presence in a Digital Age

 

“On the most elementary level, you do not have to go to church to be a Christian. 

You do not have to go home to be married either. But in both cases, if you do not, 

you will have a very poor relationship.” Kent Hughes 

  Jane and I will have been married thirty-nine years this coming July. In nearly forty years, I’ve never once forgotten our anniversary (I came close one year but fortunately my grey matter kicked in the day before). And since we began dating back in 1981, I’ve never forgotten Jane’s birthday. Since we’ve been married Jane and I have been together for every one of our birthdays and all of our anniversaries. It would take a lot for either of us to miss those important days. The list could go on and on. 

  When something is important, we remember. When something is important to us, we’re there. Let me get ahead of what some are probably thinking. “You don’t have to go to church to be a Christian.” While that’s true, if you study the New Testament I believe that you will have to conclude that you can’t be a growing or an obedient Christian without making church attendance a high priority.

  Groups of people are powerful, not just for what happens when they gather, but what that group becomes by gathering. The individuals in that group can become a movement. A force. The beginning of a change in the world. The whole is more than the sum of its parts.

  What makes gatherings so powerful? The fact that you are physically there. Since this is Packerland, which is more powerful, watching the game at home on your big screen or joining thousands of other fans even if it’s subzero at Lambeau Field? 

  Gathering identifies your priorities to others. When your neighbors and family members know you’re attending church, it identifies what “team” you’re on. If you stay home and watch online, for all they know you’re still in bed or you’re watching reruns of NCIS. If you’re gone every weekend camping or at the cabin, it sends a message of what’s important to you.

  Gathering together helps identify your priorities. For example, when you see a news notification that hundreds gathered at City Hall for a rally, you think, “Wow! That must be a big deal.” Gathering together tells the world that we are Christ-followers and citizens of heaven.

  Gathering shapes us. Like a political protest, the church gathered shapes a people. It moves us from individuality and shapes us together into a culture, a force, and a movement. A gathering of a church is profoundly spiritual. Yet, gatherings are spiritual, they’re also physical.

  When we are in heaven we will have bodies like Jesus had after His resurrection. God created Adam and Eve with physical bodies and walked with them in the Garden. At His incarnation, the Lord Jesus took on a physical body. The One who was God and was with God, put on human flesh so that He could walk with us. But it doesn’t stop there. Our Lord promised to build His church, a word that translated literally means “assembly” (Matthew 16:18). Personal connection is powerful!

  I love talking to my son Aaron via Facebook live in Taiwan, but I miss him terribly. Technology can’t begin to match the powerful impact of sitting across from Aaron and Jiayu, face-to-face, and talking with them as we look into their eyes and see the facial expressions that you can’t see via the Internet. In the same way, there’s a powerful connection made between brothers and sisters sitting near each other, singing, praying, and listening to God’s Word together. 

  There’s a powerful personal connection between a shepherd and his flock when he preaches God’s Word to those he loves and has been thinking about and praying for as he prepared the message. The Holy Spirit uniquely uses eye contact, facial expressions, and body language in both the preacher and his hearers to create a powerful connection during a sermon. A pastor feeds off the visible reaction of his hearers. A congregation is moved by the pastor’s burden over their souls conveyed in the sermon.

  I know that I speak for pastors across the globe when I say that I hated preaching to a camera during the Covid shutdowns. I missed you because I love you. Seeing the Lord work in your hearts as shown on your faces moves me to be more faithful in sharing His Word.

  The church is not a building, it’s a family of believers. While the Bible is clear that the church is not a building, neither is it nothing. It’s not just a building, but neither is it an individual believer. If the gathering of believers—committed to one another, accountable to one another, equipped by elders and pastors, following Jesus together, translated as “church” in the English Bible—wasn’t a vital part of God’s cosmic plan then…Ephesians 1 wouldn’t say that it’s the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 2 wouldn’t say that it’s the temple of God. Ephesians 3 wouldn’t say that through it the manifold wisdom of God would be made known to the world. Ephesians 5 wouldn’t call it the bride of Christ. And Hebrews 10 wouldn’t command us not to neglect gathering with other believers.

  One of my favorite stories is of a little girl whose family was temporarily living in a hotel because her Dad had been transferred to a job in a new city. The little girl often played in the hotel lobby and endeared herself to the hotel staff. One day a staff member said to this little girl, “Honey, it’s too bad that your family doesn’t have a home to live in.” And the little girl replied, “Oh, we have a home. We just need a house to put it in.” You and I are the church. We just need a building to put Grace Church in. 

  A shepherd misses missing sheep. There are many titles for the office of a pastor in the New Testament; elder, preacher, evangelist, etc. My favorite is pastor (not that anyone needs to call me “Pastor Carson”). The term “pastor” is literally “shepherd.” A shepherd is one who cares for the flock. He knows when one is missing. It’s his responsibility to care for, guard, protect, lead and feed the sheep. One of my great privileges at Grace is praying for you and when you miss, I notice because I miss you.

  If you’ve been at Grace very long, you know that if you miss a few weeks, we look for you. We want to make sure that you’re okay. It’s what the Great Shepherd has called us to and modeled for us (Luke 15:3-7). Another reason not to miss gathering together is that you’re greatly missed!

  The better we understand the significance of the church’s gathering, the sweeter and deeper our corporate worship will be. God delights to pour out His presence among His people. The Father blesses His gathered people!

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.