Don't Subscribe to Church. Belong to Church.
The church is not a service we subscribe to. It’s a community we are meant to belong to.
These ideas bear repeating in our consumeristic age. Everything seems to be moving to a contractual basis with a month-by-month subscription.
Software companies are now resistant to providing actual products. Instead of selling you a word processing program, Microsoft now wants you to pay them every month to use their software. And continually to modify the software to make it more and more difficult to save your work on your own local hard drive, because their goal is to charge you monthly to store your files on their cloud server.
Even car ownership is no longer necessary. In some areas, you can subscribe to a service that provides a high-end vehicle (all features included) instead of purchasing one outright and bearing the risk yourself. In other cases, vehicles have built in features that require additional fees, sometimes on a monthly basis, to use them.
The subscription model lowers the entry cost and it also makes it easier to exit the relationship. That may be a positive for a luxury car—so that you don’t have to try to sell it at the end—but that’s not how human relationships are meant to be handled.
Churches are meant to be communities of belonging, not relationships on a weekly contract.
What Is a Church?
The term translated “church” in the New Testament is ekklesia. In some biblical usages and most extrabiblical occurrences the word is used to refer to an assembly. Often, in the Hellenistic world it ekklesia referred to the gather of citizens who made decision in a city. It was never meant to signify “those people who happened to show up” or “that building we hang out in.”
It is entirely appropriate to say that we “go to church,” because we are going to the gathering of those who testify to the goodness of God and the wonder of salvation through Christ. The meaning of “go to church” sometimes becomes synonymous with gathering in a particular building set aside for the congregation (another word that means gathering), which isn’t entirely wrong. There is value in having a space set aside for Christian worship—and the arrangement of our buildings communicates something about what we believe the church is. Yet, as the cliché goes, the church is the people not the building.
What about “Online Church”?
The embodied nature of the ekklesia is what makes regular “attendance” at “online church” impossible. First, one cannot “attend” something online. To attend something means to be present at it. Someone can participate in a zoom call. Or an individual or group can observe a livestream. But in neither case is that “attendance” at “church.” More significantly, the best quality livestream viewed in surround sound from the couch (or computer desk), cannot be called engaging in “church” because ekklesia requires assembly.
One blessing of technology is that the homebound, who in previous generations would be entirely cut off from the activities of the church, can now observe the weekly activities of the congregation from home. Those who are sick for a short period can listen in real-time to the sermon series and keep up with the announcements, which can be a huge help when an unexpected stomach illness takes someone down. The ability to watch services online is also good for those who, for various reasons, are away for a season. Additionally, having recorded videos of entire services also helps some people find a church in their area easier, because they can check out the gathering before making the trip. But we should never confuse watching a livestream with attending church. It’s ok for a short time, but significantly deficient in the long run.
What’s Wrong with “Online Church”?
“Online church” is unhealthy because it is missing many of the key elements of church. Here are three (of many possible) examples:
First, there is no gathering in “online church.” We are far enough into the digital experiment to recognize that video calls, social media, and emails are not the same as actually meeting people in person and getting to know them. The reason why many businesses are forcing employees to return to the office is because the strictly remote model isn’t as good. It’s often more convenient (for both employees and for companies who don’t have the overhead of a building), but the quality of teamwork isn’t the same.
The author of Hebrews certainly didn’t have any concept of “online church” when he admonished believers to gather together (Heb 10:25). However, the Holy Spirit did, which is why the purpose of the gathering to “encourage one another” is clarifying. In situations where there were real costs (perhaps death?) of gathering together, the purpose of the assembly was to encourage. A note, a social media comment, or an email are not enough. They can be helpful, but they aren’t the same as face-to-face encouragement.
Second, even interactive “online church” flattens humans into an avatar. Social media is curated. Obviously, there are those who post their meltdowns on social media—it’s actually a strategy to maximize (and monetize) engagement. But mainly, our internet personas are our most flattering sides, carefully presented to make ourselves look good.
The ekklesia was meant to be a gathering in the flesh for fellowship and mutual encouragement. We were meant to see each other’s faults and build each other up. We have to know people and be known by them to fulfill Paul’s commands to “admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, and help the weak” (1 Thess 5:14). That can’t happen when people are consistently watching a livestream.
Third, opportunities to serve the gathered body are limited when “church” is mainly a livestream. There is no need for nursery workers for a livestream. Online churches don’t need greeters (people haunting the video comments don’t count). Outside of formal service opportunities, there are no opportunities for hugs in “online church,” and that’s an underrated form of service in our digitally distracted world. Those who merely and intentionally “attend church online” are depriving themselves and others of their gift of service.
Online “church attendance” reduces participation to observation and, perhaps, to giving. It’s important to give, as Paul reminds us (e.g., 2 Cor 8:1–15), but that isn’t meant to be the sum of our service to the gathering of brothers and sisters in Christ. Giving is important, but if that’s the only way we serve, we have essentially reduced church to a subscription model. That is tragic.
Objections, Etc.
Watching a livestream may be the best people can do at a given time. Being immunocompromised, bedridden, or needing to care for a dependent loved one can pull us away from attending church for a season. There is room for grace in our pursuit of sanctification.
Jesus makes it clear that the Sabbath laws of the Old Testament did not require neglecting an “ox that has fallen into a well,” and so we need not judge those with legitimate reasons for not gathering with other Christians (Luke 15:5). I would, however, contend that there are fewer “ox in a well” situations than some online Christians argue for. If your ox falls into a well every Sunday, it’s time to build a fence around the well or put the ox in the barn.
And, of course, there are some who will come up with creative ways to “fellowship” or “serve” in online formats. I recognize some of them, because I work remotely and have to try to get to know people through largely digital media at a distance. However, I also know that those people whom I have had a meal with, worshipped alongside, prayed with in the flesh, and hugged are those with whom I have stronger friendships. In other words, in some cases, digital relationships can be enough to get by, but they are never as good as in person ones.
“Online church” is a temporary patch on a leaky roof. It can get someone through a rainy season, but it was never meant to last for years. We should encourage each other to participate in weekly (or more frequent) gatherings of Christians who have been called together by a common inheritance through the Holy Spirit. More significantly, we should never try to argue that watching a livestream is a worthy substitute for church attendance. To do so is to reduce the church to something we subscribe to rather than a community we belong to.
If you are looking for an Advent devotional, consider this new release by the editors of The Gospel Coalition:
“Online church” is a temporary patch on a leaky roof. It can get someone through a rainy season, but it was never meant to last for decades. We should never try to argue that watching a livestream is a worthy substitute for church attendance. To do so is to reduce the church to something we subscribe to rather than a community we belong to.