CHURCH IN THE HOUSE June 23, 2020

Because of the pandemic, and the global ban on large gatherings, we see many churches of today airing their services live online, and the members and congregants watching through their computers or smartphones.  This is a new world and a new life indeed, since, for as long as I can remember, it has been part of church doctrine for members and congregants to show faith by regular church attendance.  Now all that has been flipped over, and these days, to show faith is to check in through Facebook live or Zoom, for church services and meetings.

I am reminded of this from the Word today, in the Apostle Paul’s epistle to the Romans, chapter 16.  It reads like a roll call of acknowledgments, of those various followers who all formed the body of Christ, rendering their labor and giving generously of what they have—finances, services, gifts, talents, energy, time, companionship —to help build up the church and accompany the Apostle in his ministry and even in his sufferings and imprisonment.

So then, this whole thing about a church group not really in one place together is nothing new.  It was done 2,000 years ago, during the beginnings of the Christian church.  At that time, the whole known Mediterranean world was ruled by the Romans, while the New Testament scriptures themselves were written during the Hellenic Age.   We see then that the believers stood out like sore thumbs among their hedonistic, idolatrous conquerors, and yet, they never lacked in giving, in working, in praying and in encouraging each other, to endure and persevere in the greatest kingdom they were birthed into.

A pastor’s coach wrote an article about how we believers should adjust to the new normal we are experiencing now.  He said that even if we just listen to or watch the messages online, we shouldn’t stop reading the Bible on our own, praying daily and doing daily devotions within the privacy of our homes, and giving our tithes and offerings whenever we can.  More importantly, just because the pastor or church leader does not see us at least once a week, we should behave all the more properly, so as not to put the church, and GOD Himself in a bad light.  It is only the venue that has changed, but the church is not a building.  As long as we are part of the body of Christ, we are the church (‘ekklesia’, the ‘called-out’ ones), and we must all do our part in keeping it alive.

It is a tall order because many people do not do so well unsupervised.  I think it is human nature. We show the world how nice we are on Sunday, but when we go home, many of us do a personality change.  And when called upon to do church services at home, it might feel awkward because those around us know the real us, and may see us as not credible enough to be church service leaders or initiators.  However, we shouldn’t be discouraged because it takes a lifetime to build a legacy, it takes a lifetime to mature and grow to be the kind of person we are called to be.

Church might be in the house, and that should be true all the time.  Regardless of the place, we are the church, we belong to GOD’s family and kingdom, and we should bring it with us and represent it well wherever we go, and whenever we have the chance.