Easy Ways to Enhance Your Church at Home Experience
Has your church been closed since the lockdown started? Have you struggled with staying connected while everything is online?
We were all told this would be a few weeks, and it morphed into a few months … and counting. Our churches didn’t think we’d still be away from one another, and neither did we. So we were all caught off guard. But I’d like to posit a theory:
The pandemic didn’t really keep us from church. Our view of church did.
If you’re on Christian Twitter then you should know that right around March and April it became a bit of a joke how many people kept saying “the church is not a building but a people.” It’s absolutely true. The problem though is that we weren’t prepared to live that fully in today’s circumstances.
In today’s episode, I want to give you a few ways to create a connected church experience from your couch if your church building is still closed. So stick with me!
Also you should know, I’m literally writing a book about this. So I can talk all day about it … but for your sake, I won’t. I’ll give you some high points and some practical things to do, And hopefully you’ll feel empowered to create a true church at home experience for yourself (because you 100% can).
God’s plan was always a move toward people over spaces.
But if we’re gonna talk about this, we have to take a longer view into account than just our current day and age. We’ve gotta get back to the roots of the “people not a building” thing, because that is the thrust of the story.
Let’s pull back: in the beginning, God created everything, right? Then he made a garden and placed man in there. They walked and talked together. There were no barriers back then in the relationship. It was complete and full. But you know, we messed it up. People sinned and that led to being kicked out of the garden and fellowship with God.
But God made a way -- through sacrifice. First this looked like the tabernacle that the Israelites carried in the wilderness. Then in the Temple Solomon built in Jerusalem. Both were places that the presence of God sat, and it was through the sacrifices that people could come near to him. That’s really what a temple was then: the place where God met man, where Heaven met earth. It’s this place where those two things come together seamlessly.
Fast forward, right, and there’s Jesus. He is a literal temple walking the earth. The Gospel of John even says he “tabernacled” among us. This is not a coincidence. John is bringing back those holy place images. Jesus is God and Man in one body and he is on earth. He is the new temple -- this is a theme in the book of John, and it’s through his sacrifice that the next phase of God being with humans becomes possible.
That next phase was us. God indwelling believers. WE become the temple -- the place where heaven meets earth and God meets men. The sacrifice of Jesus allows us to be in right relationship with God. That means now the Holy Spirit-- one of the persons of God can live in each of us.
PEOPLE are now where God lives on earth -- not a place. Here’s the thing though. None of us are Jesus, none of us are perfect nor infinite, and therefore, our expression of God in the world and with each other is inherently limited in some capacities. That’s why God made the CHURCH -- the coming together of his people to become a whole, an expression of the Body of Christ in the world. Paul talks about this in a lot of places like Romans and 1 Corinthians. We may be a dwelling place of God individually, but together we become the Church.
So what happens when we can’t meet in our designated church?
I’m glad you asked. Here’s what my friend and mentor Dr. Sandra Glahn wrote recently:
The church is the people in whom the Spirit dwells. And these people are exhorted to gather. But sometimes we get the wrong idea and think that unless we meet all together in our usual space, we can’t be the church. Yet Jesus set the minimum number at two: “when two or more gather in my name, I and them in their midst” (Matt. 18:20). So the important thing is not the space. Or the number.
I’ll include the link to her post in the show notes for you, but it’s also from her study of Ephesians. The church is the people … together. It doesn’t have to be all of us, but Jesus told us it’s 2 or more.
Then the question becomes: okay, so if we’re not able to meet together in a common building then what the heck do we do?
Here’s the thing: for centuries and even in some places around the world TODAY, churches do not look like what our churches look like. They aren’t big. They aren’t dedicated buildings. They aren’t led by well-educated or ordained ministers. These are part of our American privilege. They aren’t bad, but they aren’t the only way.
This is not a new situation. It’s the same problem in different clothing, only it’s now affecting us so it doesn’t feel the same. The church has always been creative. Back in Acts, they met in the synagogues and temple court. Then they moved into homes. There are a lot of places where being a Christian isn’t allowed today. The church is still meeting and growing, but not in a building.
So just know you are not alone. This is an opportunity to experience church like so many do today. Here are some examples.
I met a group of Muslim-background believers in Southeast Asia. Some of them had been abandoned by their families for believing, others hadn’t told their families because they would be disowned. They met together in a small room in one of the businesses owned by a believer. They worshipped while sitting on the floor and prayed, shared stories, and read Scripture. It was beautiful.
In South Asia, I sat in a packed room in the dark because that night was their turn for the rolling blackouts to conserve energy. By candlelight, this one-room home was a church for a dozen or more people.
In North Africa, a man came to faith and was the only believer in his community because someone from out of town came in to share the gospel. Soon after, his family came to faith. Now there are only 4 of them around, but together they make a church and they worship and encourage one another in the faith as a family.
The church is agile precisely because it’s NOT in buildings. Buildings break down and crumble. People are creative and resilient, and people in community, even more so. So think about the incredible legacy you get to be a part of at this time in history -- not just in the US but the one that’s been forged in our faith over centuries and even by the faithful around the world right now.
What makes a church, a church?
This is a great question, because we all know that 2 or 3 gathering isn’t the only thing that makes a church. Church is both people and practices. And I like to think of these in rhythms.
The vertical rhythm: Worship
The first rhythm for every church body is vertical. These are the practices that connect us to God together. These are things like praise/worship, communion, and prayer. The things we do to remember and communicate with God.
The horizontal rhythm: Unity
If we’re part of a body or a family, how we relate to and support one another matters. This is the horizontal rhythm of a church. These are things like fellowship, baptism, and giving -- both gifts and money -- to make each other whole regardless of size or location.
The inward rhythm: Formation
Beyond vertical and horizontal, churches also need internal and external rhythms. The internal rhythms help us refine and teach one another within community. These are the practices like studying Scripture, mentoring, and nurturing leaders even when it's with your children in your home.
The outward rhythm: Compassion
The church may be strengthened by its internal practices, but it grows because of its external ones. These rhythms are vital to the church and her mission. Evangelism and serving within their local communities are how they love their neighbors and build relationships for the Kingdom though you may not have a building to bring them to.
These rhythms make up the church, and they can be practiced ANYWHERE in lots of different ways. By using them, you can become a house church if you want to. You can turn your simple Sunday morning around the laptop or tv with your pastor’s sermon into a more connected experience if you have people with you.
How do we make our home worship more like church?
Let’s get practical, because I know this is where we may be feeling stuck right now. When you’ve only experienced church a certain way or in a certain kind of place, it can be challenging to think outside of that paradigm. But you can still have church and make in meaningful and real, even when your building is closed and you may be watching online or maybe even if you haven’t felt like you could step in a church for years.
People with you, this can be your family members or a friend or two you feel safe with (physically and emotionally)
Watch the sermon together, pick a Bible study or book of the Bible
Discuss together, maybe have a meal if you feel safe
Incorporate your favorite ways to worship
Share your own testimonies/highs/lows
Share a skill or thought with each other, teach about something you love related to the Bible or Christianity
Pray together for each other
Think of people you can help or take up collections for causes you like to support
Think of people you can share the gospel with, pray for, or reach out to
You’re probably thinking: well, that’s not that different from what my church did before. And you’re right. It’s not. It’s just now that it’s smaller. LIke all churches, your little house church is a microcosm of the church at large.
In these days, we’re having to examine our paradigm of church -- whether it’s because we’ve been hurt or because we can’t meet like we’re used to. Whatever your reason, you don’t have to let go of church or faith all together. You can create your community’s expression of it and not miss another week of church because you created it with intentionality.
