Virtual Realities
the rise
& fall of the roaming empire
(based on conversations I have had
with professing Christians)
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 global 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 that these warnings are mainly concerned with pornography, violence or coarseness & profanity. As unsavoury as these things are, I see an equally dangerous & corrosive trait being promoted & even defended in the Christian community; this trend is virtual fellowship. This is a serious issue. I don’t see a problem with The Church at large 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 promoting an online presence as a replacement or substitute for actual fellowship. I have an even bigger problem with 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 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. They cannot skip out of their front door, hop into their car & roll down to 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. He is The Good Shepherd & no one cares for the sheep like He does.
Unfortunately, the internet is a natural go to 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 leadership that provides Pastoral visitation & a membership that demonstrates care (1st Corinthians 12:25), even though they may not have forsaken 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 the effort & …anyway, you know what I’m saying. This is a very serious issue. This is a very serious issue indeed.
The Church has had one or two failures with certain types of people, while it has heartily embraced others. 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 reflect Christ’s burden for them. 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 (Proverbs 27:17).
Do you remember Jesus’ preparedness to go to the house of the Centurion after He had healed a leper? (Matthew 8:5-7). 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? (Luke 8:50-56). Do you remember The Lord’s willingness to go to heal Lazarus? (John 11:11). As we read through the Gospels, we see Jesus going to people who cannot get to Him. 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. 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, their moral failings & bad Church traditions are among serious arguments put forth to me for non-assembly. However, some make blanket statements about The Church 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; it’s not their fault. I then begin waving my arms & growling like Chewbacca. Again, the internet becomes their go to.
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 or sofas? 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 its route in order to take root. One is of Osteen, another of Hagin, some of Kenyon, another of Copeland & another of Hinn. God help them.
This demographic is deceived into thinking that the actual Church can be adequately replaced by a virtual one. This is impossible.
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, we not only have a problem, but eventually become a problem. Leaving fellowship doesn’t solve issues. 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.
Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom (Proverbs 18:1).
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, or indeed, being of 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 Shepherd.
And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour 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 (1st Thessalonians 5:12-13).
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 (Hebrews 13:7).
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 (Hebrews 13:17).
Salute all them that have the rule over you, and all the saints. They of Italy salute you (Hebrews 13:24).
These are not your media ministers. These are your Church Elders. These is not your managers at work. These are your Church leaders. These are not your business partners. These are your Pastors.
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 & heartless entity. You cannot submit to the authority of a televangelist. You cannot call on them as elders of The Church (James 5:14) & you cannot refer to any of them as your Pastor. A sheep on its own is prey (Ezekiel 34:5) & 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 thought & 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 were wolves, 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 crushed, abused & failed miserably by their Churches. I know this. They need to be restored & healed. The Lord wants to do this. The solution isn’t complete withdrawal because as a wounded member you will become prey. You will die. In some respects, your willingness & desire to continue receiving God’s Word via YouTube or some other electronic platform in the short term is commendable, but in the long term it is not advisable.
There’s no accountability online. There’s no restriction. There’s no oversight. There’s no reproof; no rebuke; no exhortation. No one is watching over you. 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 false 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 unfaithfulness. Scripture is abundantly clear about the specific circumstances under which believers are to be outside of fellowship. Not wanting to go, is not one of them.
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. This is Christ’s model. He has set Pastors in The Church to oversee &
feed His flock (Ephesians 4:11). 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.
Copyright by David Samuel Parkins mmxvi
