A Church Isn't a Building, but It's Not a Dismembered Body Either
Our Founder’s Thoughts About COVID-19
I can’t tell you how happy I was to see that fellow Christians in the U.S. might become more empowered as a result of COVID-19. I saw evidence all over social media in those first days of March regarding the fact that local churches may close their doors, but no one can shut down God’s people. I saw posts about going back to the fundamentals of our faith by meeting in small groups in our homes, much like they did in the earliest days of the history of the church. I saw the claim, “a building isn’t a church; WE are the church” repeated again and again. These words made me smile and find peace in a seemingly turbulent time.
In the beginning of COVID-19, most churches and Christian institutions believed that shutting our doors was the loving, Christ-like thing to do in the face of a virus that we knew little about. We were told that keeping our doors open meant we would end up killing people unintentionally. No true follower of God wants to bring harm upon another human being. In fact, harming ourselves and/or others is the stem of sin. I thought that the church— the people who make up the Body of Christ here on earth— were being selfless by giving up something precious to them to keep hospitals from becoming over-crowded and unmanageable. I thought Christians were going to have time at home to grow close to God and empowered to love people more deeply. 40 days later, I can’t help but wonder, though, if we’re becoming more self-focused the longer we isolate ourselves from each other, and I can’t help but wonder if the church has arrived at a single decision that will have unintended consequences beyond our lifetime and our imaginations.
The church was never intended to be a group of people functioning on their own without each other. How do I know this? Because Scripture says the Body of Christ is like a human body. What is the purpose of an arm or leg without the rest of the body?
Scripture states, “where two or three gather together in my name, there I am with them.” (Matthew 18:20) Scripture states, “confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” (James 5:16) Scripture states, “Don’t stop meeting together with other believers.” (Hewbrews 10:25) God states, “you shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 23) Gods doesn’t just mean Zeus or Dionysus or a golden calf. It means anything in life that you place more value in than God.
Let me tell you story: I became a Christian at the age of 21, and at that time, I was certain that I didn’t need to belong to a church. I found my on-campus ministry to be, well, quite frankly, goofy. I didn’t see how I fit into such a group. I didn’t see why I needed to do my walk with God with anyone other than God. I was committed to talking to God every day and listening to worship music on my own and studying the Bible on my own. I didn’t fit in with “Christians” or my stereotype of them.
In a matter of a year, my opinion about this completely changed.
God showed me in his Word that He did not create me to “do spirituality” on my own. He made it abundantly clear to me in Scripture and in my conscience that I needed other people to become who He created me to be and to serve His people effectively. So, what did I do? I listened. I moved into a house with a group of Christian girls that was located beside a church and I volunteered in that church almost every day of the week after working at my job. I helped lead youth group. I became part of a small group. I studied the bible in fellowship, instead of just alone. I became the director of the Easter Cantada. I danced in the Christmas play. I went on missions trips. I integrated fellow believers into my everyday life, and I used whatever gifts and talents I had to serve in any way that I could. AND WHAT WAS THE RESULT? Complete transformation of my life. Why did being a functioning part of a church change my life? Because I was made, as were you, to be a part of God’s church here on earth. I was made to be the Church. Church is not a group of pastors putting on a show on Sunday morning. It’s not a group of programs that help people. We don’t need God’s Church to do charity work. It is the contributions of every single member of the body of Christ for our own fulfillment and for the Glory of God. God’s church will not fulfill it’s purpose unless this is so. Until we are all treated as essential.
The bottom line is this: when I was in fellowship with other believers, I found the importance of studying, wrestling with, and knowing God’s Word. I found clarity. I found resolve to make difficult choices that lead to a better quality of life. I found the ability to listen to God and to put other people before myself because I was so secure in God’s love for me, I didn’t have to put myself first. I was so fulfilled, I didn’t have to use illegitimate things to fill my legitimate voids. I found purpose and motivation to keep going by serving others with the gifts and talents I have.
God can and will work out what was intended for evil to be something good, but it doesn’t mean, “don’t worry about standing up against things that may be trying to lead you astray.” No where in Scripture does it support following the ways of the world. Yes, Scripture is clear that we are called to be responsible stewards and responsible citizens, but it doesn’t suggest blinding following the ways of a corrupt world. Moses stood up to the Egyptian government; Noah stood against the culture of the world and looked like a joke; Rahab misled the King to protect God’s people; John the Baptist gave up his life for not bowing down to the government’s rules; Paul lost his physical life for not following the world; Peter lost his, and John was exiled and not allowed to be part of society for his commitment to following God. These are just a few. Blind obedience to the world’s institutions isn’t always a virtue in God’s eyes.
Currently, in our world, there are Christians living in around 30 countries where meeting in God’s name is restricted and punishable by harm. These believers defy their government’s rules to meet and worship in God’s name because they believe that meeting together IS Life. They believe man does not live on bread alone but on the every word that flows from the mouth of God. They believe God meant what he said when he say that we have to be willing to lay down our life to gain life. They believe that they should fear no one and nothing because man can only take your body, but not your life. (I bet they believe if they are sick, they should stay home from gatherings because they don’t want to make other people sick, but I bet they aren’t demanding that other people stop meeting because they choose to not participate.) I can’t help but wonder what they think of their brothers and sisters in the U.S. who agreed with our government that church was non-essential to life and laid down meeting in God’s name while Home Depot, Walmart, and liquor stores stayed open.
The result of sin is harming people; the ROOT of sin is not trusting God, even when things appear like maybe we should go our own way. The root of sin is believing that we ought to follow our own limited understanding while also trying to follow God. (Genesis) Even if we are attempting to avoid harming people, we will end up doing so when we don’t trust God.
Church is the body of Christ. Believers are the body of Christ. We can’t function without each other. Your spiritual gifts are given to you for the benefit of others. So, we will have to be in fellowship with other people to fulfill our purpose.
Why am I bothering to write all this? Because I want to see the very Body of Christ here on earth acting as if Christ is the head of the body and as if all the parts of the body are connected. Because excellence and courage honors God. Because it’s time to rise up and be worthy of the name we follow. The name that holds more power than anything the world may try to offer us. The name above all names. Even the name of “safety.” In case we’ve forgotten: God is the Great Physician and we can’t find safety in anything except making our dwelling place in the shelter of the Most High.
I recently watched a sermon by Steven Furtick at Elevation Church in North Carolina and he claimed Christians need to be good at pivoting. He illustrated this idea beautifully. I wonder if the church is ready for the greatest pivot of our time? I pray we are all listening for God’s cue to pivot in whatever specific ways we, individually and corporately, need to pivot. Abram taught us it’s not about our timing. It’s about God’s. Abram became Abraham, and praise God that He created each and every one of us to pivot, change, and grow too.