We\u2019ve all seen those warnings on drug commercials and medications. Communicated in small print and rapid recitation is the fact that prolonged use can produce long-term adverse side effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While I wholeheartedly applaud the Church\u2019s current creativity in utilizing an online presence amidst this crisis, I am concerned about the long-term adverse side effects. So, even as we minister now, we must keep the long-term in mind, and shepherd the flock that the Holy Spirit has made us overseers accordingly (Acts 20:28).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What most are doing now, gathering around our computers isolated in our homes, is not church, and we must communicate that.\u00a0 It is the best available alternative, and the Church is not a building but a people. Yet, we must be aware that this new paradigm may be very appealing to some and quite unappealing to others, and accurately assess why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First, we, as a people, tend to be lazy and, like the students that I witness daily at my daughter\u2019s school bypassing the paved sidewalk to carve a barren path in the grass, will take the path of least resistance. This new temporary stopgap measure of online worship and small groups may appeal to many, given its ease and relative anonymity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And advancing technologies will continue to provide new possibilities; however, just because we CAN doesn\u2019t mean we SHOULD utilize them. Our standard for accountability is sola scriptura<\/em>, and our motivation is the full spiritual maturity of our people in Christ (Col. 1:28).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Second, there may be a large group of church attendees who find this current scenario woefully unappealing\u2026for all the wrong reasons.\u00a0 Drawn in by large, emotional worship experiences, quality production values, and state of the art facilities, some find themselves longing for a quick end to quarantine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Truthfully, many of them are unsaved. Sadly, the church today is full of unconverted people, often drawn by false teachers, tickling their ears with false gospels, cheap grace, and self-help talks disguised as sermons, bereft of sound doctrine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And while it is certainly an occasion for joy when an unsaved person chooses to observe a worship service of believers, it is also important to remember the primary purpose for worship.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n