“The church isn’t the building- it’s the people.”
Amen.
“We don’t go to church, we are the Church!”
Amen.
However…let’s go back to that second statement and notice something that is very much glossed over:
“We are the Church!”
See the difference?
I am not the Church. You are not the Church. Individually, we are a part of the Church, but on our own we do not qualify as the Church.
We are the Church.
Paul puts it this way in 1 Corinthians 12:27:
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
The “you” there is plural. It’s addressed to the entire church at Corinth. It’s not written to an individual.
We are the Church. Individually we are a part of it.
Me on my own watching a church service on my time is not Church.
To “be the Church” requires “being together.” Until we assemble, until we gather, we are not the Church.
Paul compares the Church to a body in 1 Corinthians 12. No one would say the arm is the body, or the eye is the body, or the leg is the body. They are parts of the body, but the body parts don’t make up they body unless they are put together.
In the same way…without an assembly or a gathering, we are not the Church. We’re just viewing content.
Now…can a gathering be digital or remote? Sure…but I would ask the following questions:
- Are you engaging with people (i.e. through an online chat)…or are you just viewing content?
- Are you building up the body of Christ through an online format…or are you just viewing content?
- Are you walking in biblical accountability and relationships through an online format…or are you just viewing content?
A gathering can be digital…but simply viewing a service doesn’t mean you’re actually gathering. It means you’re just…viewing. You’re consuming…but you’re not actually being a part of the body.
Truthfully? You’re kind of being more of a parasite…sucking resources from the body but not actually contributing to the body itself.
Please don’t misunderstand: I am not anti-online church. I think online church can do some phenomenal things and it can reach people who would never show up in person.
However: the goal of online church should be connection. Not just distributing content. The goal of online church should be to move a person who views online to connect online for the purpose of ultimately connecting personally to the church in-person.
We’re never called to follow Jesus on our own. We’re called to connect to the body. I can’t “be the Church” by myself. It requires being with others to “be the Church.”
Here’s the bottom line: The Church is not individuals on their own. The Church is a gathering or an assembly of those individuals. Only when we’re together do we qualify as “The Church.”
The Church is not a building. It is the people. But it is the people assembled. And without assembling, we aren’t the Church.
I am not the Church. You are not the Church.
We are the Church.
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This post originally appeared on dillonschupp.com.