Ekklesia: The Assembly of Christ Followers
What If They Don’t Come Back To Church?
Is the modern church even viable in the 21st Century?
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COVID-19 has completely changed our church experience forever. But what will happen when the powers that be allow us to return to our gilded Christian castles? Will our church experience return to the pre-COVID state? I don’t think so. But that could be a good thing.
For months churches have worked hard to bring a worship experience into people’s homes via Facebook Live and other online avenues. At first, it was exciting going to church in your PJs, but as the weeks (and months) have labored on, interest has waned, and people are more likely to sleep in than switch on the broadcast. This unique predicament has revealed some uniquely troubling problems for the modern church. Before you get too concerned, there is good news also.
The Format is outdated
The following statements might be hard for some of you to hear, but we must open our minds to the truths the church faces today. The days of pulpits, pews & bulletins are ancient history. But not just that. The huge churches with satellite campuses, gourmet coffee, and professional musical production are equally out of touch with reality.
These models are not producing deeply devoted disciples, but politically influenced zealots and biblically illiterate feelers. Paul would call them “little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit.” (Ephesians 4:14)
The time has come to put away outdated traditions and return to a more ancient form of church that takes us deep and prepares us for the hardships and persecution that is to come.
One of the strangest things I saw during the quarantine was pastors preaching online from the pulpit of their empty buildings. Why? What compelled them to do that?
Does that pulpit hold some mystical power? Does the empty building bring some kind of comfort to the people watching at home? I think we all know the answer to those questions. Emphatically, No.
