Dead church?
Fox News published an opinion article entitled “Church as we know it is over. Here's what's next” (blog post photo credit via the link is Shawn Fortune) with the premise stated at the beginning:
Church, as we’ve known it for the past few generations, is over.
Every church you’ve ever attended, or that you drive by on your way to a Sunday sporting event, was built on a physical attendance model that is location-centric.
As a result, church leaders and pastors have spent time every week encouraging, inviting and pleading with people to come to a specific place at a specific time on Sundays. This approach has created church staffing models, systems and ministry strategies focused on improving attendance. It’s also why there is an annual Top 100 list of America’s most-attended churches.
But that way of doing church is dead.
Respectfully, no. Maybe the only thing that is dead are those that misconstrue God’s words and world for their own ends by their own means.
What church?
The concept of digital church as a pendulum swing from a ‘physical’ or brick and mortar church is a false premise. There’s a difference between what should be and what is. Just because something happened in the past or currently does not mean it was ever the rightful conclusion of what should be. There certainly has been a systemic focus of churches in the past that drew people into a physical structure (‘church’) with an organized process, programs, and pastors. They have made the campus, location, or physical structure the issue for people to come and countless meetings happen over finances and governance.
What seemingly is a difference now with churches tending and trending to ‘digital church’ is the same issue at the core, which is attracting and keeping people around in the name of ‘church.’ Though the physical and digital are difference in concept, they truly are the same at the core. What centers (telos) their hearts to lead people then aims (telos) and aligns (telos) their decision-making. Therefore, the telos of people’s lives must change, especially that of ‘church leaders.’
Church is actually people that trust God and affected by the gospel of Jesus the Christ to make life, disciples, and churches all about him. The local gathering of Christians is also known as church. The concept derives from the Old Testament with the ‘congregation of Israel.’ Would an Israelite shepherd tending to his sheep not be considered Israelite or part of the congregation of Israel until he physically comes to the Tabernacle or Temple (later on)? No. He was always considered both. It meant that from God’s point of view, he was using a particular group of people on earth to bring about the Christ or Messiah for the world to look upon and trust for salvation.
Therefore, when the Bible’s New Testament times came about when Jesus came to the earth, the Greek word ‘church’ (ecclesia) referred to a people (not structure, location, etc.) that would gather together or congregate for the sole purpose of God and God alone. From God’s point of view, he sees his people transformed to live in and love a world separated from him in which he’s calling to repent.
So, when church ‘leaders’ (pastors, elders, etc.) focus people’s attention on themselves, others, attendance, physical things, digital concepts, worship songs, lighting, seat comfort, etc., then they train people to be misguided and misinformed about God, the Bible, history, and how to live for him — including gathering together on a particular day of the week. They then would actually be repeating a lot of mistakes in history, misguiding people, and proving that the same failure (‘death’) they are pointing out about the physical church will also be the same demise of the ‘digital’ church.
From God’s point, the church are his people for non-Christians to see in real life (not merely in a church service) and recognizing God’s work in them to make the gospel of Christ known and for them as a ‘neighbor’ to repent likewise and follow him — not a church, themselves, pastors, or personalities.
Christian Church?
Thus, any ‘attracting’ of people was because God transformed people to be loving in real life, related and engaging people for his purposes (not budgetary, programatic, superficial, marketing, or religious excuses). Why would God ever love anyone? Because of who he is, and not because of us. Therefore, why we people ever love their neighbor? Because God loved us, which is transformative and motivational to love others. People are not objects or numbers for church boards or volunteer programs to ‘organize’ and ‘help.’ Rather, people become and live as Christians in real life engaging with those that would never had come to a ‘church service’ or ‘church building’ or ‘church location’ in the first place.
Therefore, the church was never a ‘physical’ church to begin with nor are we to be led to think that the ‘digital’ church is the answer to the problem of people never ‘attending’ a church service in a physical location. Rather, God literally and spiritually turns the false premise on it’s head and straightens it out with sound instruction and transformation for Christian people and pastors to be inspired by truth and love to make life, disciples, and churches all about Jesus — and not about themselves or anyone else.
Truth and love are not centralized or conditioned to a location, whether to a physical map location or a camera and computer server. Rather, truth and love are centralized and conditioned by God himself. Church is not our telos, he is. Therefore, we learn and follow him — not a marketing strategy.
Can cameras, computers, websites, buildings, and other resources be helpful? Yes. Can the digital or TV help those physically encumbered or suffering through a disease or disability? Yes. But that’s all it is — a resource. A resource is not a must but a possible help as an extension of love — not defined by or defining love. Therefore, when we are loved by God through the gospel and people transformed by him, we learn and follow. We become a related and engaging people in the world for his purposes and glory — not ours or others.
What would people learn?
God.
