People are creatures of habit. Wake up. Brush teeth. Shower. Get dressed. Go to school. Go to work. Go to church? When COVID-19 spread across the globe in the spring of 2020 people everywhere changed their habits. Schools closed. Businesses closed. Travel ceased and hospitals went from "elective procedures" to COVID only. We applauded the efforts of our students, teachers, business owners and health professionals to "pivot their practices" so quickly. Rightly so. In class became online. Dine in became curb side and carry out. The amazing human ability to change, accept that change, and adapt a new "normal" is a true gift from God in his infinite design of mankind.
There have been consequences to these changes. Students and their education are being affected negatively. (a) Business are closing. (b) And hospitals are facing some of the most difficult financial times in their history, resulting in job loss and set backs in care. (c) But what of the church? How has the COVID crisis affected the institution and individuals of the body of Christ?
We know that God is ever present and able to commune individually, but he has shown himself time and time again to be a God who is interested in gathering his people together for community and worship. We also know that throughout the generations, since the first century church, there have been times of persecution, plague, and other external or internal reasons that meeting in large groups was not permitted.
Today we have social researchers to help us realize the impact of this suspension of in person services. Barna Group have been tracking the impact of COVID on church practices and individual behaviors. As many churches switched from in person to online worship, pastors became producers, worship leaders became audio directors, and children ministry leaders became writers and performers of online material. This has been a testament to the creative spirit of the church, but the bad news is that hardly anyone is engaging. Barna reports that half of churched adults have not streamed a church service in the past four weeks. (d) This may not be too surprising, considering people will find any excuse to not go to church, regardless of the format. The surprising result Barna found is that one in three practicing Christians are not participating in church at all. (e)
The danger of the COVID pandemic for the church is the weakening of the body of Christ. With the physical, emotional, and economical impact of the virus on our world, the church is needed more than ever, yet we are failing to connect, maintain spiritual health, and thus we are in danger of failing our duty: being salt and light. Add a national racial and social justice cultural war to the already challenging viral pandemic, and the result is a society being torn from within. We can see the calls for prayer, calls for action, and calls for support for various just causes, but where is the church? Sure, there are online experiences. Yes, there are social media groups, prayer groups, and community groups within and connected to the church addressing these issues. But they are fragmented. Weak. The Bible calls for Jesus followers to be one - united. (f) While it is possible for us to "gather" in the digital world, it is the in person, eye-to-eye, heart-to-heart experience that binds us, encourages us, and builds us up to the head of the Body - that is Jesus Christ.
A few verses to help us think about the in person church experience from a biblical perspective:
Ecclesiastes 4:12 "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."
Ephesians 4:11-13 "And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as we mature to the full measure of the stature of Christ."
Hebrews 10:25 "not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
We hear the cries for caution! There is wisdom in heeding the warnings of medical and scientific practitioners, but there is wisdom in also realizing there are consequences to not meeting as a physical church. Each person, each local body must make the decision in how to balance those two truths. Yet one thing is clear: If we give up the unity of Christ then we surrender the power of that unity. The world needs us, the church, more than ever! We would be wise to heed the warning of 1 Peter 5:8 - "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." Pray for vision to properly see your surroundings (alert). Pray for clarity of mind to navigate these days (sober minded). Pray for awareness of the presence of falsehood (lies, the language of the devil). Pray for protection that you will not be consumed with the negative of the day (devoured).
The danger of a weak church will be a weak world. One that is not ripe with a spiritual harvest, but one ripe with easy prey for the devil to devour.
(a) https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2020/05/27/the-impact-of-covid-19-on-student-achievement-and-what-it-may-mean-for-educators/. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-sector/our-insights/covid-19-and-student-learning-in-the-united-states-the-hurt-could-last-a-lifetime#.
(f) see John 17; Acts 2; Romans 12; Ephesians 4
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