Liabilities of Livestreaming III: Gathering
The goal of this series is to get Christians thinking clearly and Biblically about live-streaming. Part one was about screens, part two was about lively preaching. The point is, live-streaming may be a blessing in some situations, but is not to be confused with gathering for corporate worship. This post will bring us to the heart of the matter: the interaction and fellowship which happens at a genuine gathering on the Lord's Day.
Where two or three are gathered?
First, we have to deal with the confusing way that many are using Matthew 18:20. It is often thrown out as a verse about corporate worship in our current context. “…where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” In this view, which began to grow in the 19th century in America, any Bible study or brunch with two Christians is equivalent to the assembly. Any meeting of two Christians is a church. Without office bearers or a call to worship. This view, however comforting it may seem to be, has missed the context of the passage. It also part of why 19th century America was the seedbed of cults. American protestant churches fractured into innumerable pieces.
I have no issue with a well-run Bible study that is lead by mature Christians, there are responsible ways to do that. It is quite simple: keep in touch with your elders and pastor, ask for some help and guidance at times, let them know what you are studying. Know the confessions well. Be accountable.
Matthew 18 is actually about a counseling situation where two or three witnesses have had to confront a backslider. These situations, as many faithful believers will know, are incredibly stressful and difficult to discern. There may be blowback and counter-accusations which are humbling. After all, we all stumble in many ways. (James 3:2, James 3:10) Yet the servant of the Lord must rebuke and reprove. (2 Timothy 4:2) If we love offenders or backsliders, we will pursue them. The plain meaning of the text is that the Lord reassures his two or three witnesses that he goes into such an impossible situation of confrontation with them. He even promises to answer their prayers, which I believe are prayers that would relate to that situation. (Matt. 18:18-19) Prayers for a new house, job, or snowmobile are not in view there. If they were, I suspect a few Christian couples would be much wealthier!
Matthew 18 does not make every encounter between a couple of Christians a worship service. It does comfort us with the knowledge that the Lord is especially with us while evangelizing or rebuking as a team.
The Enduring Body of Christ
Now, the above does not at all rob you of the comfort of Christ's presence. Some of the sentiment in how people use Matthew 18:20 is actually true. The reality is however, that the Lord is just as much with a widow worshipping at home alone as He is with the family of two or three next door. Christ is always with all of us. (Matthew 28:20) There is a genuine, hopeful, real worship-by-the-body-of-Christ that exists when church members are in their own homes, or pray for each other on the way to work. Or get together with a couple beloved friends. Those times are indeed special, because the Lord does work through them and is truly with us.
As much of what is written below is focused on our current situation, I do not want to lose sight of that grand reality. In union with Christ our head, we never cease to be His united body. (Ephesians 4:15-16) If you are in jail alone, a wheelchair or a bed, Christ is with you, and we are with you. If you are COVID concerned, Christ is with you, and we are with you. We will not leave you. Most of all, He will never leave you nor forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:8) You are never alone, not for a moment. But this is still not the same as the assembly. And you know this if you are in hard circumstances, because you miss the assembly for real reasons. Remember, one day, you will never have to leave! (Revelation 21:3-4)
The Assembly
There are good reasons that Reformed churches have always seen corporate worship as something that is not identical to a counseling situation, or to that unbroken unity which we have in Christ. I would like to dig deep into the meaning and usages of church, or "ekklesia" in Greek. We are the "out-called" ones. I'd like to show how that relates to our gatherings with a long Biblical and theological argument, but my posts are apparently long enough.
So we will fast-forward to the crux of the matter. Hebrews 10 is the key passage that calls us to assembly. The entire book of Hebrews is actually a call to worship. It calls us through a beautiful, lengthy, argument to come to the throne of grace by way of our perfect High Priest the Lord Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 4:15-16) It is Hebrews 10 that comes towards the end of that argument, and that reveals to us that those that have come to Christ will by necessity come to assembly:
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. - Hebrews 10:23-25
The concept of assembly here is simple. It has always been, and will always be, the gathering of people in a certain time and at a certain place. That was true in ancient Israel, Greece, and Rome. It is true everywhere in the world today. Even the Canadian Charter of Rights and American Constitution gives assembly that simple definition. I suspect "assembly," along with a host of other terms in our day, will be quite happily be redefined soon. In some ways, it already has been by some. That fits right in with the disintegration of marriage, family, and sexuality. If we redefine assembly, we will destroy the church. It will cease to exist.
In the life of the church, there is also more to this assembly than merely moving towards one another. Many people seem to know about not “forsaking” the assembly, but they seem less aware of the context of the phrase. The context is “let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works” and “exhorting one another.” Those phrases are like bookends. The ultimate purpose of assembly, from the broader context, is to come to the Lord by way of Jesus Christ. But the call is also very communal.
Christians are called to interact with one another as they come together before the Lord. The necessity of this assembly and accountability is heightened by the next verses in Hebrews 10. They are so sobering, I decided to leave them out due to the complexities of our current context, and the reality of what it would mean if such verses were taken wrongly. No one should be pronouncing that kind of judgement on churches that preach the Word faithfully, but are currently finding themselves in a murky bind. Well-held convictions on Romans 13 have existed for centuries, even millennia, and they ought not to be derided. Providences may also separate us from the assembly. That is a time for grieving and soul-searching. My purpose is not to accuse some of forsaking the assembly at this time.
My point is to establish that there is a God-given definition and practice of assembly, and that changing that is dangerous. Even in hard circumstances, tweaking or modifying the concept of assembly is dangerous.
Ways that Christians Interact at the Assembly
Historic Reformed worship services, in their order of worship and content, require physical assembly. They are by design participatory. There are numerous passages that we could use to back that up. Consider what Ephesians 5:18-19 says about singing:
“...be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,” - Ephesians 5:18–19
As we sing, we do not only sing to the Lord. We also speak to one another. Think of Psalter 50, a rendition of Psalm 22:
Each church member speaks to one another as they sing. It is obedience to Ephesians 5:18 to sing this with others in mind. It is a great encouragement to hear the congregation sing this, first in worship to the Lord, but also as an exhortation to all of us. When I introduce a Psalm like the one above, I sometimes remind the congregation of some of the reasons we are singing that particular Psalm. One reason is to call to one another to stand and sing.
Ephesians 5:18 also teaches that congregational singing, and singing with one another, is closely linked to the work of the Holy Spirit. In singing Psalms, the entire congregation is worshipping, evangelizing, teaching one another, and fellowshipping. The Psalms really do cover all of that ground. Without error or confusion. Which is a blessing, imagine for a few precious moments a whole crowd of Christians leaving behind the confusion of our age, and evangelizing perfectly in unison. It is miraculous! It is holy. Set-apart. It is uniquely Spirit filled! It is the polar opposite of some small groups where everyone says their piece about what the passage means to them, and then confuses each other. What a privilege we have in Biblical Reformed worship, just in singing together!
This barely, if at all, happens by livestream. The thought may count for something, but much more is missing. Remember when worship was restored last spring for many of us? Did that not move many of you to tears? There was a good reason for that. You are part of a body. You were home. You were singing to the Lord, and to one another, together. The Holy Spirit was working in a unique way.
You have to go there to be there.
Singing is obvious, but there are aspects of stirring up to good works, exhortation, and fellowship that relate to every element of Reformed worship. Our basic liturgy and elements of worship, by the way, go all the way back to the ancient church and the synagogue. How we do church, plain and simple, is how church was always done. This is not a call for superficial modern ideas of "participation" in worship. The point is, when we pray, we pray for one another. The pastor may be leading the prayer, but all of the congregation is praying along.
Even when we hear the law or scriptures, it is first good to apply that to our own souls, but also good to think of a brother or sister or child that may need a certain exhortation. The sermon is not just for you to stew on privately, it ought to bring up thoughts that are worthy of speaking of. (1 Thessalonians 5:11) The offering is an opportunity to share with those that have need. (1 Corinthians 16:1-2) All of this, the singing, praying, preaching, and offering ought to bubble over into godly fellowship before and after the service. (Hebrews 10:24) A primary concern on the Lord’s day should be for others. We should be thinking, and praying, about how to "stir them up to love and good works."
We must admit that as Reformed churches we have in some cases been quite deficient in this area. It is one of the things that this pandemic is bringing out: how individualistic we have become. Perhaps some soul searching will lead to some growth in this area. Many of us western Christians have become individualistic church consumers rather than consumers who produce. In a healthy church there will be both. We consume the Word, in a sense, and that is good. It is even the picture of communion. The Saviour, in all His beautiful grace, calls us even to eat his body and drink his blood. Listening is good. But true consumption is a seed that bears fruit, and we eat so that we may glorify God another day, and work another day. We are even called to work so that others may eat as well. (Eph. 4:28) Solid, Reformed corporate worship overflows into a week of united Christian fruitfulness. A people stirred up to love and good works, and not only by the preacher.
Fellowship on the Lord's Day
In a healthy church, there will naturally be edifying conversations happening on the Lord's day. This is where we cross over from corporate worship into the less formal but related activities of the church. It is my view that the call to "not forsake the assembly" being bracketed with calls to loving interaction is a to be taken quite literally. It shows what coming to corporate worship should be like, and what leaving should be like. (Hebrews 10:23-25) You should be stirring-up, encouraging, and edifying your church family on the way in and on the way out. I mean that literally. If you are one of those people that walks in during the silent prayer and runs out to your car during the last line of the doxology, you should think about changing your habits. If you refuse, at some point, I'd ask you to read Hebrews 10:26-27. If you are capable, you must use your gifts for the sake of others. This is not optional, this is the life of the church.
Many Christians have been missing this part the most. I hope that this is for good reasons. It seems to me that smaller churches may feel this a little more. A small church is more like a family, and they cannot bear to be estranged for too long. It may be that some people in a large church have a network of friends or family, and they tend to lean on them. They may even continue to visit with that network, which gives an outlet for fellowship. There is a certain trust there, blood is thicker than water, especially in times like these. The clan has become a "fellowship" in itself.
Some established churches, by God’s grace, are also relatively full of stable people. They can weather the doldrums of live-streaming for some months, and they can stay afloat. They have the family ties and the financial resources, and the inherited self discipline. I don't mean to make you feel guilty, and I am not in favor of social justice theology, but it is much easier for a middle-class family, with a strong social network, and a detached home, to weather this situation than it is for some others. Sometimes being poor and needy leads to becoming poor and needy sinners. (Matthew 19:23-26)
In the small church, or church plant, or the healthy church, some who lack the informal network of believers may crave restoration of the church itself because they are in danger of backsliding, financial ruin, or loneliness. Some part of opinions in situations like this is inevitably related to people's character and circumstances. We are human, after all. We should not assume the worst of people, on either side. Some churches are like hospitals, even with a rotating cast of critical patients. Some have mental health issues, others substance abuse, or scars of abuse. Some are poor, or in difficult homes. They are not weathering this well. Are there some in your church too? Don't assume they are just rebels when they cry out. These people are beginning to want to come to church right now more than ever. Some new ones may stay, and begin to grow. Closing a hospital due to a virus would be wrong. How much more a spiritual hospital? Sometimes the weak must be strong, and the strong are the weak.
Other Fellowship is Still Happening
This need for fellowship is also demonstrated when we hear that many from closed churches still visit others, despite the stay-at-home orders. I am not surprised by this. Visits are critical for widows and the weak at least. (James 1:27) But be careful not point the finger at churches like those in B.C. that open or bend regulations, if you yourself have bent them quietly for other reasons.
Are some visiting or pushing boundaries, while pointing the finger at some "crazy" churches for being open? Or are you calling out churches for failing to keep regulations perfectly while you yourself cut the same corners at work or school? If this describes you, I suggest some serious soul searching, for your own good. (Romans 2:21-24) Some of the churches that are open are doing what many are doing behind closed doors or at parks. Yet they are doing this for the sake of the one thing needful. The assembly matters more than a clandestine coffee with a couple of friends.
Concluding Thoughts
Being a church requires assembly. Real, living, breathing assembly in geographic space and time. If that assembly is postponed indefinitely, at what point does a church cease to be a church? Some people have convictions that Romans 13 requires more patience for government. I can respect that view, but I would be concerned that a church that does not assemble for months at a time will atrophy and waste away. Its end will come if the means of grace are not used.
I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the LORD.”Our feet have been standing Within your gates, O Jerusalem! - Psalm 122:1–2
The fourth article in this series will be a guest post about live-streaming and the sacraments.
