Online

I love learning new things and especially learning new ways to use technology. I am too cheap to constantly keep up with the latest gadgets and devices, but I am always looking for ways to use the technology that I do have to its fullest capacity. And sometimes, unfortunately, that means using the technological equivalent of duct tape to get stuff done.
But recently I had a company reach out to me who wanted to show me some newer options for getting our church more technologically advanced. And I knew that we probably wouldn’t have the budget for most of what they were offering, I really wanted to learn more about what was available.
And the things he showed me were incredibly impressive. I won’t bore you with the details, but the technology available for churches is significant, especially when it comes to streaming services and publishing information online. But as he continued through his presentation, I got a little disheartened. And it wasn’t because of the cost; it was the current trend of our churches.
Like I said, I love technology and finding ways to use it to tell others about Jesus in whatever way we can, but there is a growing trend of people whose only experience of the church is online. They may faithfully and passionately watch even multiple services online a week but they never experience the connection of being in the presence of others Christians. And as important as getting information and maybe even singing along with church services on YouTube might be, equally important is the connection, fellowship and relationships we have with other Christians.
I want to point out, though, that I get some of us still have medical reasons why we might not attend, including the concerns of COVID. I’m not casting judgement at all, but for some of us, we have mostly returned back to our regularly scheduled lives but still don’t seem to make it to connect with a church.
And I don’t want to harp on you or make you feel guilty. But I also want to make the point that the church isn’t just watching a sermon online. It’s not listening to podcasts or singing worship songs alone in your car. Those things can be wonderful, for sure, I do them every week. But the church is much more than that. It’s the community of Jesus-followers who gather together to encourage, challenge, love and help one another grow. We can’t do that online. We can’t do that through Zoom. We need to be with one another, even when we irritate each other. That’s the church. That’s who Jesus will come back for. And when we love as best we can, we can all benefit from being together as a church. So, I pray we’ll find ways to connect to a local church in a more intimate way this week. God bless.