Dave Adamson, you are wrong. Dead wrong.
Then again, you're not a pastor, either.
On March 11, 2019, Fox News posted an opinion article titled "Church as we know it is over. Here's what's next." (If you are curious what was in the article, you can read it here.)
(pardon me while I beat my head against the desk for a moment, until I forget about the dumb for a while)
Now, at the top, he does rightly call out churches that focus on attempting to increase attendance numbers, as if that is the goal of the Church. But he then claims that this also means that the "traditional" church model, namely that there is a physical building where worship takes place is like the dinosaurs: dead.
No, Dave. The Church does not die. She thrives. But, then again, you wouldn't know. You're not a pastor.
What you are is a has-been sports announcer who now works for a Bible-denying heretic at a place of business that looks more like Facebook and Instagram than the countryside of Galilee, or Rome, or Wittenburg. It doesn't even look like what Billy Graham was doing.
Some churches and "churches" will try to implement the sort of stupidity. Now, I'm not saying it is bad to have the ability to navigate modern social media and use it as the tool which it can become. No. I'm saying that thinking foolishly that you can replace church with a Facebook chat session.
Yes. That is what he suggested. He just probably has no idea that's what he suggested. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt on that.
Why do I say that? Because if he knew what "church" was he wouldn't have made such a suggestion.
The word we now know as Church comes from the Greek word ἐκκλησία. Quite literally meaning "assembly" or "communion," though whenever it is used in the New Testament it does clearly mean the Church. And the Church only exists as a group. As Jesus says in Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
That is one of the primary marks of the Church: fellowship. And not just being "together" in some vague way, but legitimately being in the same space worshiping together, reading the words of Scripture, partaking in the Sacraments, and praying. If you are not together, physically, you are not the Church. You cannot have baptism and communion without being physically together.
Yes, having the ability to watch a service, or listen to the audio, when it is physically impossible to physically attend service, can be beneficial, especially for some members, such as the elderly. But this cannot replace worship. And to claim that, not only will it, but it is beneficial for the church in such an age of post-modernistic fluff, is foolish. I'd even go so far as to say treasonous. To not only think this might happen, but to wish for it, to look forward to it, to think it will be the next step in the progressing of the Church from archaic to modern is disgusting.
According to Dave "If the Church is going to make an impact in the modern world, we need to take the swim lanes out and let people explore our church and our content in their own time and in their own way. We need to understand that digital channels do not compete with physical attendance, they partner with it. And if the marketplace is an indicator, doing digital engagement well will lead to increased physical attendance."
What it should say is "If the Church is going to make an impact in the modern world, we need to quit trying to be what the world wants and be the Church. We need to understand that digital channels do not replace with physical attendance, but they can support it. And if the marketplace is an indicator, living in such a disconnected and digital engagement means we need to be promoting the value of physical and routinely attending a confessional and Scriptural community."
Yeah, I know that isn't what he said. But it is what he should have said. Not "oh, look, let's abandon our heritage and identity as the Church as we try to emotionally manipulate people into attending through callous and secular methods based on psychology and advertising."
If he was really a pastor, he would call out his boss Andy Stanley, the leader of North Point Ministries in Atlanta. Stanley is a known and intentional heretic who has gone on record stating that the Old Testament is of no use to Christians. This would make Stanley a Marcionite.
Marcion and his followers rejected the "Hebrew Bible" (which we call the Old Testament), since they saw the Hebrew God was vengeful. According to them the one true God sent Jesus to be the savior, and Paul was the chief apostle. If that sounds familiar to another religious mantra... I'll let you figure that out yourself. Because gnosticism never goes out of style, unfortunately.
So, Dave, like I said. Dead wrong.
The church is not about being "popular" and neglecting to mention Christ in nearly everything we say and do. The Church has always been about preaching Christ crucified and risen for sinners, which includes me and you. Everything a pastor says should be about or connect back to that central most fact of Christianity.
Maybe you should go back to talking about sports. At least there if you are wrong it is only your opinion, and not heresy.
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