Virtual Realities - The Role of the Electronic Church

Virtual Realities:

the role of the electronic church

based on conversations I have had with professing christians

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised; and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching (Hebrews10:23-25).

What a day we live in & what a point in history we’ve come to. In many respects it’s a Dickensian best-of-times-&-worst-of-times. This is true, not only of the world, but unfortunately it’s also true of The Church.

When I was born in 1968, there was no such thing as the internet. There were no mobile devices or smartphones. There was no social media. There were no DVDs. There were no flat screen televisions, no laptop computers & no tablets. There were fewer cars on the roads & not as many aeroplanes in the air. The Pound went much further than it does now & yet there was much less that people were tempted to buy. Technologically we seem to have come a long way. Certain other things haven’t changed though; they’ve become worse. There are still the problems of poverty, famine, war & debt. Hatred & greed have increased. The love of many has been exchanged for the love of money & even love itself has waxed cold. Racism & prejudice are feral social traits & it seems as if it’s more advantageous to do someone over in this day & age, rather than to do someone good.

By the time I was saved in 1981, national & international communications were booming, thanks largely to the development of satellite technology. This was great news. Radio & television programming from around the world became more accessible to everyone. We soon had [what is now commonly called] SkyTV & all of its peculiarities.

SkyTV’s global reach introduced something to the British & European airwaves that had hitherto been reserved for Sundays. There we were, in the mid 1990s, used to programmes like Credo & Songs of Praise, when there were news reports of an application for a religious broadcasting license by an unknown entity calling itself The Christian Chanel Europe. This was later dubbed The God Channel, then its name was changed to God Digital & now it’s known as GODTV. I know what you’re thinking. Your guess, is as good as mine.

There was a sharp rise in blasphemy throughout the nation as The Lord’s Name was systematically taken in vain at this news & yet more reasoned debate concluded that with the correct legislation in the right places, the moral & financial abuses that had led to the demise of Jim & Tammy Bakker’s PTL club, could be avoided. We were British [it was said] & we didn’t go in for that type of thing. Well, we were soon to discover that although we were indeed British, it didn’t stop us going in for that & a whole multitude of other things.

Certain parts of The Church breathed a collective, heavy & heartfelt sigh, while others discreetly performed cartwheels & briskly rubbed their hands together under the table. There was money to be made, which sounded vaguely like there were souls to be saved, but who was checking? Either way, everyone involved on either side of the issue went to prayer.

For those of us who had been [figuratively] baptised in the fires of Pentecostalism & then wrapped up in the cotton candyfloss of the Charismatic Movement, this was good news. Previously, we had become accustomed to congregating in someone’s lounge & hijacking their VHS recorder for the evening. We would watch videos by the leading lights within the movement & for an hour or two we could imagine that we were right there in their services. GODTV would eventually broadcast 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year.

Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: the one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: but the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death (Philippians1:15-20).

For someone who suffered as much as the Apostle Paul, his outlook was rather chipper. A real faith in Christ will do that to you. As I read through his teaching in the New testament, I see his sold out service record for The Lord, his love for the Gospel & his burden for The Church, I cannot help but wonder what he would make of our current situation. Paul isn’t alone in his Apostolic admonitions. The Apostle Peter, who had been given specific, first hand instructions by Jesus Christ Himself (John21:15-17), poured his heart out concerning the sheep he had been commanded to feed. I wonder what Peter would make of the modern Church. Beyond these Apostles however, ultimately, there is the determinate question of the will of Christ.

The deluge of Christian programming, proliferated via the world-wide-web is not a bad thing. However, in order to exploit the freedom of access to the resources that we enjoy, we have to accept that there are elements opposed to us who will exercise their right to do the very same thing. All of our action & interaction takes place on this amoral, level playing field & it is up to us to choose who & what we view & listen to.

For the believer in Christ & indeed for anyone who uses the internet, it goes without saying that there are definite things to avoid online. Yet the assumption is made [more often than not] that these warnings are concerned with pornography, gratuitous violence or coarseness & profanity. As unsavoury as these things are [& I know this to be the case because I once partook of all of them], I see an equally dangerous & corrosive trait being promoted & even defended in the Christian community; virtual fellowship. This is a serious issue.

I don’t have a problem with The Church or Churches having an online presence. I don’t even have a problem with the use of online Christian resources as supplemental to teaching or as an aid to study or research. I do that all the time. I do however have a HUGE problem with The Church or Churches who are promoting an online presence as a replacement or substitute for actual fellowship. I have an even BIGGER problem with those ‘ministries’ who aren’t even Churches, but put themselves forward as such, offering anything from personal prophecies to dream interpretation & all at a cash price that the sometimes desperate & deceived are all too willing to pay. This is a serious issue. This is a very serious issue.

There are believers who [through no fault of their own] are unable to physically attend Church services. They may be disabled. They may be seriously ill. They may live in isolated areas or countries where there aren’t the same liberties that many of us take for granted here in the West. They cannot skip out of their front door, hop into their car & roll into the Church of their choice. These are not the Christians I’m addressing here. However, while we’re on the subject, I have to tell you that I believe The Lord can & will provide fellowship for those who cannot get to an assembly.

Unfortunately, the internet is a natural go-to-ground for believers who may be in the aforementioned circumstances, desiring fellowship, teaching or the company of other Christians & unless they’re part of a Church with servant-leadership that provides Pastoral visitation & a membership that demonstrates ‘the same care one for another’ (1^stCorinthians12:25), even though they may not have forsaken the assembly, the assembly may very well have forsaken them. I have known very dear brothers & sisters in Christ who have become systematically discouraged because no one could be bothered to make an effort &   …..anyway, you know what I’m saying. This is a very serious issue. This is a very serious issue indeed.

*Part of my discourse here is covered in a string of blog articles called ‘Will ALL of the REAL Pastors PLEASE Stand Up!’, so I won’t repeat myself. However, I have to add something here that I didn’t say there. The Church has had an unchecked record of failure with certain types of people, while it has heartily embraced other types. This has to change. We must become deeply burdened for those who don’t have fellowship & I believe that burden [in some very small way] reflects Christ’s burden for them. We will be judged. If you know someone who has no Church family & cannot physically attend services, seek them out, visit them, pray with them, share in the Scriptures and break bread with them. I believe this will please The Lord. Iron cannot sharpen itself (Proverbs27:17).

Do you remember Jesus’ preparedness to go to the house of the Centurion after He had healed a leper? (Matthew8:5-7). Do you remember His readiness to go to Jairus’ house [after the healing of the woman with the issue of blood] even though news arrived that the girl had died? (Luke8:50-56). Do you remember The Lord’s willingness to go to heal Lazarus? (John11:11). As we read through the Gospels we see Jesus going to people who cannot get to Him & we see the friends or family of the incapacitated bringing them to Jesus. He deliberately goes out of His way for people, we must go out of ours. As well as those who cannot physically make it to Church, there are also those who will not go. Specifically, there are some who have stopped attending for reasons which fall anywhere between significant doctrinal deviation & the abuses that we are all too familiar with. Negative experiences, false brethren, Pastoral abuses of authority & bad Church traditions are among serious arguments put forth to me for non-assembly. However, some of us make blanket statements about the Churches we’ve left, statements which [upon investigation] hold less water than an old, broken sieve.

Personally, I believe that there are very few valid reasons for leaving a Church fellowship. Beyond these whys & wherefores, there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to remain out of fellowship. Yet on an all too regular basis, I speak to person after person after person who will justify their lack of assembly, whist doing an impression of Han Solo; the hyper-drive is broken & it’s not their fault. Again, the internet becomes their go-to-ground.

This issue has become so utterly entrenched in the thinking of so many believers that I’m convinced it’s an epidemic within The Church.

Disliking a minister’s style or delivery & disagreeing with his sermons, is not tantamount to him being in doctrinal error. Falling out with members of a congregation does not make them false brethren. Being admonished from Scripture concerning personal sin & discipleship is not legalism & SO WHAT if you don’t like the music, no one is worshipping YOU! These are not valid reasons, these are excuses.

These & other sad pretexts are often exaggerated beyond all recognition. Why go to Church when we can simply log on & tune in from the comfort of our beds? With electronic fellowship, we can choose what we want to hear, when we want to hear it & if we don’t like it, we can simply find someone else. Furthermore, non-attendees slowly but surely become armchair critics of The Church, its laity, its leaders & ultimately its Lord. Party spirit begins to take route. One is of Osteen, another of Copeland & another of Hinn.

I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables (2^ndTimothy4:1-4).

This demographic is deceived into thinking that the actual Church can be adequately replaced by a virtual one. This is impossible & again I repeat what I said earlier. I don’t have a problem with The Church or Churches having an online presence. I don’t even have a problem with the use of online Christian resources as supplemental to teaching or as an aid to study or research. I do however, have a huge problem with The Church or Churches who are promoting an online presence as a replacement or substitute for actual fellowship.

If we cannot endure sound doctrine, if we won’t get along with our brethren & if we find it impossible to receive instruction or correction, it is we ourselves who not only have a problem, but eventually become a problem. Leaving fellowship doesn’t solve issues, it creates them. Without other members of the flock around us & a faithful Shepherd over us, we’re open prey. However, pride propels those who believe that they can survive on nothing but YouTube clips & Facebook friendships. It is entirely unbiblical. They have made an enormous error & have failed to recognise the role of The Church in Christian life.

For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do. And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves (1^stThessalonians5:9-13).

Fellowship brings comfort & edification. It also generates trust in Pastoral oversight. When we’re out there on our own, there is no fellowship, there is no comfort, there is no edification; we’re nothing but fodder. You don’t know those you are following online & they do not know you. No Apostolic writing is ever addressed to individuals who have voluntarily forsaken assembly & removed themselves from Pastoral authority. Viewing a service online is not the same as being in an actual service, much in the same way that watching a film is not the same as being in an actual film. It isn’t even the ‘next best thing’ as some have put it. Christ has prescribed that we fellowship together under the leadership of a Pastor & elders.

Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation (Hebrews13:7). These are not your Facebook friends. These are your Church elders.

Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you (Hebrews13:17). These are not your managers at work. These are your Church leaders.

Salute all them that have the rule over you, and all the saints. They of Italy salute you (Hebrews13:24). These are not your business partners. These are your Pastors.

I used to detest these verses but now I have come to love them & the Pastor that I have. An online ‘ministry’ cannot oversee you, care for you or give an account for you. It can take your money though & if you’re fortunate you’ll get a reply to your emails, but it is not a Church. It is a faceless entity. You can’t submit to the authority of a televangelist. You can’t call on them as elders of The Church (James5:14) & you can’t refer to any of them as your Pastor. A sheep on its own is prey (Ezekiel34:5) & many are being preyed upon on a daily basis because they’re scattered. They are sheep with no Shepherd.

At this stage in conversations, I usually receive a handful of counter arguments such as ‘the fact that I don’t go to church doesn’t mean I’m not a Christian’ or ‘the church is the people, not a building’ & my personal favourite, ‘show me scripture that says I have to go to church’. These arguments are all put forward without any biblical mandate & are therefore pretexts without precedent. If you have left a Church because of serious doctrinal deviancy, that is what you’ll state. If you left because there was unchecked sin or immorality, that is what you’ll state. If you left because the leadership was lycanthropic, that is what you’ll state. You will have a reason, not an excuse. However, if the circumstances under which you left are spurious, you will raise arguments similar to the non-substantive ones I shared at the beginning of this paragraph. The assembling of ourselves together is not about US, it’s about HIM.

There are some who have been genuinely crushed, abused & failed miserably by their former Churches. They need to be restored & healed. The Lord wants to do that for them. It’s unfortunate, but these things do happen. The solution isn’t complete withdrawal because as a wounded member you will become prey. In some respects, your willingness & desire to continue receiving God’s Word via YouTube or some other electronic platform is commendable, but it is not advisable. My heart goes out to you.

Perhaps there are individuals with whom you can fellowship, even if you cannot bring yourself to darken the doors of a Church at the moment.

A pride that is fuelled by arrogance & haughtiness will blind a person to the plain fact of their need for fellowship, especially in these days. However, television ‘ministry’ will rarely tell you this, especially when you’re a donor. You’re welcomed to the broadcast as if you’re a part of their extended family & a member of their Church. What’s the real attraction? Do ‘ministries’ that attract an online audience offer non-attendees something that a local Church doesn’t?

There’s no accountability online. There’s no restriction. There’s no oversight. There’s no reproof, no rebuke & no exhortation. No one is looking over your shoulder. No one is leading or guiding you. There’s little or no discernment. Yet multiplied thousands will sit in front of their computers & watch their favourite teacher instead of making their way to an actual assembly. There’s no challenge. There’s no serving.

We seem to have bought into the lie that the only thing we attend Church services for, is the teaching of The Word of God & because we can now access that 24-7, we don’t think that we actually have to go to Church at all. Even a cursory reading of Scripture will dispel that myth. Our Church attendance is about Him, not us. We may benefit from His Word & His presence; we may benefit from receiving communion & we may benefit from praying one for another, but ultimately we gather together because of Jesus. Anyone who separates themselves from assembly, thinks that assembly is ultimately about them. They are wrong.

As we read through the New Testament & see the internal & external ministry of The Church, any argument for separation is soon put to bed. Those who resist the admonition of Scripture simply do not want to assemble. Whatever they’re learning online makes them more spiritual & knowledgeable than others. They don’t need to go to Church. If they understood The Church in biblical terms & not in the simplistic manner they’ve adopted, they’d see that what they’re actually saying is ‘I don’t have to act as if I’m a part of the body of Christ’. It’s an act of unfaithfulness.

The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: (1^stPeter5:1-6).

Scripture is abundantly clear about the specific circumstances under which believers are to be outside of fellowship.

Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican (Matthew18:15-17).

But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one, no, not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person. (1^stCorinthians5:11-13).

A man that is a heretic, after the first and second admonition, reject; knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself (Titus3:10-11).

If you are in the habit of forsaking assembly, please return to full fellowship with a body of believers. There are good Churches led by good Pastors. Find one. The world wide web is aptly named & although there are many, many ‘ministries’ available, from which we may cherry pick teaching, they are not Christ’s model. He has set Pastors in The Church to oversee & feed His flock. If you cannot physically make it to an assembly, I pray you’re a part of a fellowship that has visitation & proper Pastoral care. If you’ve been hurt by a Church, I pray that you’re soon healed. If you’re in rebellion because you don’t believe that you have to assemble with other believers, I pray that your internet goes down & someone from a local Church knocks on your door. God bless.

Copyright by David Samuel Parkins mmxvi