Church-House Vs. Church-Building or Both?

REVISITING HOW CHURCH IS FUNCTIONING TO CONTINUE ITS MANDATE IN THE GOOD, BAD, AND UGLY TIMES

We live and serve the Lord in a world overloaded with hatred, crime, poverty, corrupt governments, and persecution. Now a new threat has emerged to mankind—coronavirus—that has driven many, and some in our churches, to fear and panic. The COVID-19 pandemic we are currently facing has caused the deaths of about 3,000.000 people worldwide as it continues its grim journey around the world. New variants are emerging, making it even more difficult to contain the pandemic. 

This moment in time presents a huge challenge for even the wealthy industrialized countries, where no one dreamed such a situation would bring them to their collective knees. Yet, financial systems are plummeting, global markets have all but shut down, and unemployment has skyrocketed to depression-like figures. It is too early to have a firm idea of what all the consequences are going to be. Here in the United States, Congress has passed what is the largest bailout package in history—more than two trillion dollars—in the hope of keeping the financial system from crumbling, with other government aid promised. 

The world is in a state of panic because of an invisible enemy, and the wounds from its assault will be evident for a long time. Already, organized crime in Italy is preying on the jobless, offering immediate help in order to bring innocent victims into bondage when they cannot repay loans. Unemployment is driving many to bankruptcy. Government institutions we normally take for granted are being stretched to the breaking point. And the virus will still be present after this first wave has passed, leaving scientists and governments with the task of keeping it under control as time goes by.

With what we consider everyday life completely upended, what will the “new normal” look like? Right now, none of us knows. But one thing is clear: No matter what happens, I am convinced our Creator God is still on His throne. 

Amos, the prophet, records that God asked one question followed immediately by another stating the prophet’s response: “The lion has roared—who will not fear? The Sovereign LORD has spoken—who can but prophesy?” (Amos 3:8). The Lord has allowed this plague, yet this is a time for the church not to fear but to prophesy and turn the world’s eyes to the Creator-Savior-Redeemer-King. He will yet have mercy on us, for “His love endures forever” (Psalm 136). 

My heart is heavy with a burden, and I want to share it with you. For the world to hear this critical message from the Lord about Jesus and His love, the church must be able to speak—especially now. But the church, as many think of it today—a building where worshippers meet—is being challenged. In fact, in light of all the restrictions imposed to try to limit human contact and thus diminish Covid-19’s capacity to infect and kill, most parishioners are not allowed to meet at all. As a result, many of these church gatherings are in the same panic mode as the world, shaken to the core with all kinds of concerns from religious to sanitary, social, political, and financial. In order to cope, churches with the proper technology turn to live-streaming of services or conference calling. 

As this crisis developed, becoming worse every moment, it became apparent to me that a real possibility of not being able to have our regular services was looming. But, after the church leadership discussed that possibility and what to do if it happened, the restrictions on meeting were finally announced by the government and our church meetings had to be cancelled, and I began to ponder the situation. Meeting every Sunday in our church building had been a crucial component of my Christian experience, yet something didn’t seem quite right about it. This in turn led me to ask myself several questions concerning the way the early Christians congregated. Where did they meet? Why? What is a church? Has that definition changed? Why? Has the change affected our beliefs and convictions? What is the purpose for our coming together? Does this crisis mean we cannot carry out our mandate to assemble together to encourage one another to love and good deeds and to carry the good news of the love of Jesus to the world? So I looked to Scripture to find some answers, which I will be sharing with you in the next post. In the meantime, please share your thoughts with me, as I would like to learn from you as well. 

Mesack Dieudonne

Co-founder and President of LTSG Ministry

Pastor of Emmanuel Evangelical Baptist Church