I'm thinking of quitting normal face to face ministry and starting my own on line church. I was struck recently that the Internet is becoming the go to place for bible teaching, why go to my local church and hear my average pastor preach when I could go on-line and listen to a John Piper or a Tim Keller? Why have to endure second rate teaching when I could listen to my idols (or should that be heroes?!?) of preaching? Why go local when I can listen to the national or internationally significant?
I've been thinking about that and I have realised that applies two ways. Actually not only would it be easier for a congregation not to hear average but faithful and sound bible teaching but it would be easier for a pastor not to have an average congregation with all its foibles and struggles and diversity! Lets be honest no congregation is perfect but with an on-line church a pastor could pick and choose who got to be part of it when they requested member status with a simple click of the button, and if someone got too difficult to deal with the pastor could just click to un-member them. Just think a pastor started their own on-line church they wouldn't have to actually look at anyone when preaching and teaching, they could just stream a video they had recorded whilst sat all alone in their office, and actually as an added bonus that means they could record it any time they liked and maybe have a Sunday morning lie in! They wouldn't have to preach to those nodding off every Sunday morning. It means they could keep people at arms length, he wouldn't have to really get to know them or risk being hurt by their comments or rejection or simply by suffering alongside them as he share the struggles of life with them. It would make pastoral care so much easier because it could all be done by that most impersonal of mediums email. And in just the same way that none of the MP3 or video pastors foibles and struggles are known so he wouldn't have to concern himself with any of the congregations foibles or struggles. There are so many other potential benefits that I can see the future and it is on-line church!
But it really isn't because such a thought is horrific because it trashes, denies and destroys everything the bible says is beautiful about the church. No congregation is second rate or merely average! No gathering of those loved by Jesus should ever be thought of like that. The beauty of the gospel community is the gospel at work in diverse different people, it is the love of God fleshed out in the giving of ourselves sacrificially to serve others. Gospel and community go together. In just the same way it would be ridiculous for a pastor to leave a real living breathing, struggling yet growing, encouraging yet frustrating church to start an on line church so it is ridiculous for us to give up meeting together to listen to an MP3. By all means make the most of the great benefits of having access to such resources but not at the expenses of real gospel community. What are we saying when we do so? What we are saying is that we despise the people of God, we do not value the church. But the Church is God's gospel masterpiece and in God's sovereignty it is no accident that you are part of it, and therefore God has given you your pastor, in the flesh with all his imperfections and his struggles for your good and so that you can be for his good in the gospel.
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