Empty Building, Active Church

If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it hundreds of times. In fact, I’ve probably said it hundreds of times: “The church isn’t the building; the church is the people.” It’s a theological truism every pastor probably mumbles in his or her sleep. I have frequently reminded people how the New Testament church didn’t even have buildings. They met in people’s homes. I’ve traveled to India and Africa, where churches meet under a shade tree. I know fellow pastors here in the States who lead congregations that meet in school gyms or rented auditoriums rather than owning their own building. The church can exist quite well apart from bricks and mortar. 

Of course, I pastor a congregation with a huge building. I think we maintain somewhere around 120,000 square feet of usable space. (I’ll bet our custodial staff could give me the exact number!) To be clear, I don’t apologize one bit for having such a large physical structure. Our facility gives us an incredible capacity for a wide range of ministries that serve people at every stage of life. That’s why we do our best to put our building to good use every day. It warms my heart to see cars in our parking lot at almost any hour of the day on almost any day of the week. I know the people of God are doing good work inside those walls, whether it involves leading Bible studies, facilitating support groups, teaching preschoolers, mentoring youth, feeding the hungry, rehearsing music, sharing worship, exercising their bodies, praying for the needs of the world, or simply being together in the presence of God. 

That’s also why it pains me to see these halls empty right now. As the health crisis around us has grown more urgent, we have basically shut down all regular activities. The church office is still functioning, and staff are still reporting to work, but none of the things that make up our regular rhythm of life together are happening until further notice. This building, which is usually bustling with life, is eerily quiet. 

But rather than seeing this as cause for despair, I am choosing to look at it as a tremendous opportunity. For one thing, these unprecedented circumstances have forced us to adapt to the brave new world of technology with much greater haste than we otherwise would have. Technology has been a vital component of our ministry patterns for a while, but in the last three or four days we’ve had to learn how to move almost all of our ministry content online. I am in awe of the incredible work our staff has done in making this rapid adjustment. This time last week we might have told you that live streaming a worship service was something we might get around to one day. Now, we are preparing to launch our first live service within the next ten days. In the meantime, we are pre-recording a service to push out onto the web this Sunday so our congregation can share in virtual worship. There’s nothing like a little crisis to force the changes you’ve been needing to make! I cannot help but think these new capacities will serve us well once this crisis has passed. 

My greatest reason for hope, however, has little to do with technology. I simply go back to that beginning statement. The church is not the building; the church is the people. The building may be empty right now, but the church is as active and alive as it has ever been, because the church is wherever her people are. The things that normally occur inside the walls of this church can and must still happen in all the various places where church people go. The ministries of care and nurture and study and devotion and worship and witness will now happen exclusively “out there” because, at least for now, they cannot happen “in here.” Granted, we are supposed to keep our safe distance from each other, but even with the restrictions of social distancing in place, most of us will probably make at least eye contact with our neighbors more in the next few days and weeks than we have in the last few months and years. If we are intentional about those moments of contact, we can build connections and relationships we often ignore when we are busy rushing off to the church house. 

At the beginning of Acts 8 we read about a wave of persecution that broke out against the young church in Jerusalem. In response, many of the believers fled into the surrounding regions of Judea and Samaria. (A side note relevant to this present crisis: when your life is in danger, it is good to flee or to take other steps to preserve life!) But a curious thing happens in the very next verses. Those fleeing Christians took their faith with them, and as a result the faith began to spread. The very thing that was intended by the church’s enemies to silence her (i.e. persecution) actually ended up amplifying her voice, much in the same way water poured on a grease fire spreads the fire rather than extinguishing it. I am not suggesting we should pray for persecution any more than I think we should be pleased with a global pandemic. I am suggesting, however, we see this as an opportunity to take what normally happens inside our building and spread it around for others to see and experience. This is a chance for the church to go public in a new way. 

“See this as an opportunity to take what normally happens inside our building and spread it around for others to see and experience.”

So, let’s be thoughtful and purposeful about caring for the people around us, especially in these days of threat and fear. Yes, we should be concerned about the welfare of our fellow church members, but our concern should not stop at the virtual walls of our known fellowship. A call to a neighbor; a word of encouragement to someone who is anxious; a sharing of excess resources with someone else; prayers for people in need or for those who are particularly at risk; a redirecting of energy normally spent rushing to work; even extra time spent with family during these days of enforced sabbatical – these and other intentional acts can be a powerful witness to the kingdom. 

Wouldn’t it be amazing if COVID-19 turns out to be more an agent of renewal than of death and sickness? With God’s help and our openness, it can! 

Pastor Chris