This
past weekend hundreds of houses of worship sat virtually empty at the hours when
they were typically most full. Many
states in an attempt to limit the spread of Covid-19 have requested or ordered
meetings of more than 10 people be suspended.
That means that thousands of church buildings did not fill with worshipers. Many churches offered online services. For some offering online services was already
a part of their ministry; they simply had more viewers than usual. Other churches scrambled to make something
available. Many smaller and less tech
savvy churches simply directed their members to other resources. How this plays out for the future of the
American church is huge. We may be
witnessing one of the pivotal moments in American church history.
One
thing that this will bring into sharp clarity is that as we have taught our people
to love, study and assimilate the Word of God the church will do well. But as we have relegated sound Biblical study
to a second of third tier priority the church will be in trouble. Online teaching is of great value, but it
cannot and will never replace a genuine love for the Word of God as the source
of individual and collective spiritual health.
A
few months ago I saw a posting from a minister that I found shocking. He said that he was going to read the Bible
in the coming year. He went on to say he
had never actually read the Bible, at least not all the way through, and was
going to read it and invited his congregation to join him. While that action is praise worthy I had to
ask myself, “Dude, what took you so long?”
This preacher is much closer to 60 than 40 years old. How is it possible that he ministered for
over three decades and is just now getting around to reading the Bible?
One
possible answer is that we have treated the Bible as a textbook not a life
book. We have used the Bible to proof text our favorite doctrines, defend our
denominations or fellowship, support our political ideology, and provide us
material for stirring talks or entertaining orations. But we have not lived or presented the Word
of God as the essential food for souls.
In point of fact, many times it is not personal research and study of
Scripture that fuels our teaching, but lesser resources. I read of one nationally known minister who
admitted proof texting what he read in self-help books to write his sermons. With the rise of the Internet it has become
possible for ministers to download sermons complete with text and manuscript
and become little more than a mouthpiece for someone else’s research. This is nothing new; ministers have always
used “stolen” sermons. But as we pursue
creativity and cleverness we have often done so at the loss of careful Biblical
teaching.
Let’s
face the facts; it is easier to tell a heart-warming story than to dig up the
nuanced difference between de and alla. Our congregations having
grown accustomed to a diet of “Faith Lite” in the comfort of religious
entertainment centers have never developed a great appetite for the Word of
God. Now that the buildings are closed
we may find that our flocks will gravitate toward the virtual church that does
the best job reducing the worship experience to a 13.5-inch screen. That may mean when the buildings are reopened
a number of churches may have lost members to their new “stay at home” church.
What
we should have been doing all along and what we must do now more than ever is
foster a love for the Word of God. Depth
of Biblical study is not dull and dry.
In fact, done well, deep Biblical study is powerful, attractive, heart
awakening and energizing. It is much
harder than downloading a sermon from catchysermons.com for $3.95, but it has a
much more powerful effect. Now is a
great time to change our course.
We must
love the Word of God and the way you love anything or anyone is to get to know
them. The poet/disciple who wrote the magnificent poem we call Psalm 119 loved
the Word of God. Under difficult and
trying circumstances he finds his life, his very being, in the Word. It wasn’t a textbook for making speeches; it
was a glimmer of hope that made life livable.
This
poem is a study into the beauty, power and delight of the Word. This Psalm is intimidating; it is rarely read
and less often memorized. It is less
smooth in flow and more difficult than some of the other Psalms because of its
structure, which is built around the Hebrew alphabet. But it is a marvelous meditation on the
wonder of God’s Word. It serves as a
Bible study on why to study the Bible.
In
the weeks and months ahead the church will face great challenges. While technology can be a great help we must
not rely on it as a way to deliver the expertise of the preacher to the
congregation. The technology that we
need is not new and fabulous cameras, computers, and bandwidth. The technology of paper and ink is sufficient
if we love the Word of God and that is what we should have and now must
emphasize in our churches.
In
the Cause of Christ
Charlie
P.S.
I just completed a series of devotions on Psalm 119. As with all my material you can use them at
no charge providing you are not making a profit from them. If you would like to
use them you can access them at https://devotions4disciples.blogspot.com/
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