If the church is not a building...

If the church is not a building, then why are pastors and worship teams so determined to go to the church building to lead worship? Do not get me wrong, I am so excited for live streams. On Easter Sunday I had the privilege to watch 8 Easter services. I started early with a friend’s church in England and ended with a friend’s church in College Station, Texas. Of the 8 services only 2 were done within the concept of social distancing, lowering the number of people in contact, and stay at home orders- the first one and the last one I watched. Some of the churches only had three people while other churches had up to ten people at the church building. 

Can a pastor or a worship team truly say they understand what the church congregation is going through when they themselves are still getting dressed and going to the building? Yes, they are doing their best in leading the church. For sure, it is strange to lead a congregation that is not even in the sanctuary. For a worship team or a pastor their audience should never be the congregation but God alone. I am so thankful for the worship teams and pastors working hard to learn to live stream.

However, I would rather a blurry pixilated live stream than the one of a church still putting on a show.  I would rather see the pastor in his home showing a solidarity with the congregation of saying I am going through the same deep waters you are going through. The imperfectness of a pastor preaching from home unsure of how to use technology and a worship team either making a collaborative video or just one leading worship with a guitar would speak volumes to me. It says that they’re in this with me, not that they’re exempt from the orders. We are in a new stage, a new way of worship, a new way of being a church, but when I turn on a live stream that looks no different from a Sunday without Covid-19. I feel a disregard for my living within the rules. Many churches feel the need to still dress up those “on Camera”, Pastors have to be polished not vulnerable, and it still takes a team of 3-6 people in one place to lead worship though I sit at home alone.  Instead of empathy for where I am in struggling with Covid 19,  many churches look the same while so much of my life does not.

The senior minister at my home church is planning on stepping back to associate at the end of this year. I am saddened by this for many reasons. One right now in particular is that during this Covid-19 he and his wife made the decision four weeks ago to prerecord or do their message so they would not be in the building with more than just the one recording the message. Through their action I have felt a comradery to them and respect as they respected how others were stationed at home during this time. I want a pastor that has trudged along with me in the loneliness, isolation, and uncertainty of this time. One who can look at me and truly say, me too. 

If the church is not a building, why do we still need the building to lead worship when social distancing and stay at home orders are in place? 

Entertainers and music artist have found creative ways to reach the world still. People still tune in to watch them. Can the church be creative too? Perhaps on Easter a sermon could have been preached from a cemetery or in these 40 days on a beach with fish roasting on the fire. Church are we saying people will not tune in unless it is done at a building with a special audio system and fancy cameras?

How can we sing the church is not a building, the church is not a steeple, the church is the people when so clearly the building is still being the central focus place for worship? Show the people. Have members send in snippets of videos to say hi. Be creative. Use this time to do the unexpected rather than the norm.

I know some will say I am naïve in thinking this way. Not everyone sees multiple people at a church building; leading, acting as if everything is normal, seems disheartening like I do. For some, seeing the normalcy of a church service in a building calms and encourages them. With that in mind, I need to be grateful for churches still putting on the show of normalcy.