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Regular Attendance - Internet Church versus Brick and Mortar
Often when I talk to other ministers in our local area, I am reminded by them that weekly church attendance is vital for a Christ-follower. They point out that Hebrews 10:25 teaches us not to forsake or give up physically meeting together on a regular basis. Some consider this part of the’ proof’ that someone is indeed a Christian. They do not see that a church that operates on the internet could qualify and my decision to only put out one message a month made the criticism worse. Even some in the COIC were concerned when I cut back and quit doing a message every week.
Their thoughts hinge on the verse Hebrews 10:25 so I will start this discussion with that: “You should not stay away from the church meetings, as some are doing, but you should meet together and encourage each other. Do this even more as you see the day coming.” (NVC) (The footnotes of my bible say, The day Christ will come to judge all people and take His people to live with him. We won’t go into minister accountability here but a simple reminder to all that "concerning that hour no one knows" regarding the second coming of Christ.)
This verse was written in the first century AD. Email, internet, cell phones, texting, faxing or FedEx overnight didn’t exist then. The only way these early Christians could meet together was face to face and true we can still meet together today face-to-face. The writer of Hebrews was urging Christians to stay in physical contact with the body of Christ. It is important we understand that the body of Christ referred to the people themselves not to a ‘church building’ for in those times they did not have buildings designated as ‘churches’ other than the Jewish synagogues. They were not being urged to regularly attend services in a ‘church building’ or meeting hall designated for services.
Of course, as a part of the body of Christ, the original Christians who received the book of Hebrews were, just as we are, ‘The Church’. ‘The Church’ is not something we go to like a building or meeting place to meet with others who think and believe as we do. “The Church’ is something we are. ‘The Church’ is who we are—not the places we go. We take ‘The Church’ to places we go, for we are ‘The Church’.
(The ideas that come from this one verse have so often been the ‘stick’ to beat believers with. Because of such strong teachings in certain congregations I have seen a total disregard in the area of quarantine and sickness. People feeling they cannot miss a service no matter how sick they are have passed their germs on to young children and elderly folks who are often too weak to withstand the diseases. Ministers want all their church members in services so they will give offerings and support the church building and the expenses it generates. )
As followers of Jesus Christ and His teachings we are part of the body of Christ. We are members of the universal church which defies denominational boundaries and corporate limitations. Part of our being ‘The Church’ is to share who we are with others. In addition to being members of this large spiritual association known as the family of God, we may if we wish join ourselves together in denominational entities and groups. Part of sharing ourselves can be to correspond/commune/discuss as we are doing right now with others who think and believe as we do. We can commune with others who may not share our exact beliefs but who are followers of Christ and are part of the Universal body of Christ.
We can meet together in an official place, a building that calls itself a church, or we can do this in a place that does not call itself a church, such as in this email or on our website. We can do this at a particular time each week or we can do this at any and all times of the week. We can meet with a large group or just a few. The thing is we do not need to go to a specific place with a specific group of people to share our faith and beliefs with fellow followers of Christ or with others who are not Christians. Our online church is simply a ‘church’ without walls. I think of the fact that Brick and Mortar churches often hide our light. It is the nature of Brick and Mortar churches. An online church without walls will ‘let our light shine to the world”!
How we as followers of Christ stay in contact with each other – how we meet together – is our individual decision to make. It is not a decision that any group, denomination, minister or priest can demand of us. Whether we choose to attend formal or informal gatherings or ‘do church’ in traditional or less traditional ways as long as we are receiving help, inspiration, direction and exhortation that is what matters.
Also there is nothing in Hebrews, or any place in the New Testament, that condemns us for not “going to” church a specific number of times in a given period of time. Putting the verse Hebrews 10:25 back into context, the focus of this verse is on ‘being the church’ and on being ‘free in Christ’. We are not to be chained down by religion, but we are to be free in Christ, free for Christ, and free to be ‘The Church’ or ‘Christ’s body’ in the ways that Christ calls us to do which may differ from what we have been used to in the past.
I understand that it is still very important that we do not forsake meeting together or the coming together with other believers in order to stir up one another to God’s love and the good works of the Holy Spirit and being there for each other to encourage, comfort, and restore one another. While there may be some who cannot understand how part of this can be done on the internet and through email, many of us can. Technology allows us to meet with other people from around the world but I also talk with other believers over my kitchen table or sitting in my living room or when I visit them in hospitals, nursing homes etc. We must be careful not to use Hebrews 10:25 as a big stick to abuse ourselves or other people by. We need to yield ourselves to Christ rather than to religion or the dogma of it.
Blessings, Rev. Sharra
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