Acts 2: 44 - 47 NKJV
Since the Coronavirus scare began, I've seen the organized church fall into a few stages of dealing with the pandemic. First was outrage many felt that government lockdown orders would include our houses of worship. There are, in fact, still a few lawsuits out there challenging the authority of government to stifle religious gatherings. Oregon governor lockdown Kate Brown has now limited indoor gatherings in hopes of, so she claims, of reducing the virus. However, she has not imposed such restrictions upon the nightly violent protests which the city of Portland has endured for the past two months. whatever your views on how we are dealing with the virus situation, as a Christian you may be concerned that your beliefs are being trodden upon by a ever intrusive government. I would disagree in part, and here's why. When we look into the scriptures of Acts 2, we see a church community that was flourishing not with ceremonies and services in temples, but with meetings among the followers of Jesus within the community. We do not see the local temple mentioned, only that these early followers of Jesus were content to congregate in one another's homes in their worship of the Lord. Now, I've seen a few examples of this in my local churches, and I love what they are doing. However, what I've also seen is that more than a few churches have gone the route of online video services. Here, members of the congregation can sit at their computers each Sunday morning and watch the same old song and dance Sunday service. This is fine for the church leaders, as they are fulfilling a need while still drawing a paycheck. However, what of the hungry Christians out there who desire the fellowship and personal contact which a in person church service brings? It is these people who may just seek to fulfill those needs elsewhere.
"God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshipped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things."
Acts 17: 24 - 25 NKJV
Those who have encountered restrictions from the pandemic have certainly found other ways to satisfy their need for in person Christian fellowship. I know of friends who have now taken to scheduling weekly golf outings, barbecues and outdoor activities as a replacement for the weekly fellowship we've lost due to the pandemic. This isn't something new, as people have been socializing for thousands of years. I call it more of a adapting church. Adapting to the restrictions being placed upon it. Whatever you call it, there can be no doubt that the Father has His hands in all which is happening around us. God hasn't changed. What has changed is our own perceptions of church. With in person meetings curtailed, we've found other ways to fulfill our church needs. Along the way we've also discovered that maybe the church isn't the be all end all we thought it was. This is good news for the hungry believer, but bad news for church pastors and leaders. For what is a pastor to do when the congregation he once led has suddenly found others ways to look upon and see the Lord? My own perspective on the virus situation is unique because I've found that the God I believe in does not dwell only in stone churches and temples. The Lord I follow dwells in me. That's right, Jesus lives through me. I don't need a Sunday morning service to be close to Christ, I already have that, and I'm good. The apostle Paul assures those who believe in Jesus that they have Jesus in them as well {Galatians 2:20}. In fact, the pandemic might just be a opportunity for more followers of Jesus to come to the realization that it is He, and not the church, that is important. It is He who gives us all things.
~Scott~
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