What’s wrong with this picture? 

According to an article in our local paper, members of a large church in our area are alleging that the lead pastor is “shaming” them for not attending church in person, saying things like:

• You can’t serve Christ from your couch.

• “Cowards” are hated by God and will not enter heaven.

The members of this church who brought this issue to the attention of the newspaper felt as if their church had only one play: Sunday morning worship where the pastor gets to hold forth as the teacher-in-chief. It’s almost like, “I’m the pastor, and if you’re not here on Sunday morning, I can’t do my job.”

By contrast, another church with which I’m very familiar is “taking what the defense gives them” to use a football analogy. For example, when the church wanted to give the members a Lenten devotional book, they didn’t say, “We have this book for you. Be sure you’re at the church to pick it up!” No. Volunteers delivered the books to the members’ houses in a little gift bag.

This church is also doubling down on personal discipleship and mission outside the walls of the church. Here’s some of what they wrote in the annual report:

Ministry is the responsibility of the entire membership of the church, not a special group set apart from the rest…We are all called to be disciples, not just those who are pastors and ruling elders…We each are called to “full-time” Christian work where God has placed us. And when we are all involved, the ministry of the church will be capable of providing more—more care, more service, more ministry, more witness, more examples of Christian love. When we take on this attitude, our discipleship will be less passive and inward and more active in our individual corner of the world…Why now? There is change everywhere we look—in our nation’s divisiveness, in our systems, in our institutions. More apparently, the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted our ability to be together, to worship, to grow, to serve our community. And there is this nagging sense that things may never return to the way they were. We have been forced into a smaller world and we long for connection.

It’s a completely different view of church and a completely different set of responsibilities for members. In fact, if I’m a member, and I don’t think I am quite up to “full-time” Christian work where God has placed me, maybe I’ll be motivated to…wait for it…attend church (either in person or by Zoom). I’ll attend, not because I’ve been shamed into it, but because the church is promising to help me live into my calling.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,… (Ephesians 4.11, 12, ESV)

And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful. (Titus 3.14, ESV)