There is a statement that has been repeated over the years and is being echoed through social media during this current time of COVID-19 (2020): The church is not the building, it is the people.
Yes, of course, we know this to be true. However, the sentiment behind this statement can be dangerous, and neglects a healthy understanding of the church and of liturgical theology. This statement is often repeated by those who, whether willingly or not, are ultimately downplaying the significance of gathered worship.
My plea is that we please stop saying it, in this season, especially to those who grieve the absence of gathering with the body of Christ for worship.
Let me be clear. I am not saying that temporarily halting indoor church worship services in the midst of this current pandemic is, or was wrong. I do not believe it was an attack against our religious freedoms. If it were simply that, I would still have been able to go to a movie theater or dine inside a restaurant. Closing the buildings during this pandemic may very well have been a sacrifice made out of love for one another, not because the corporate gathering of the church is expendable.
Saying the church is not the building, even when an aspect of that statement is true, disregards the fact that what we do in those buildings matters a great deal, or at least it should. By repeating the phrase, it is feeding into the modern mindset that worship service attendance really isn’t that important. But the space in which we offer our worship is critically important because it helps shape the ways in which we are spiritually formed.
Yes, we can worship anywhere because the Bible makes it clear that God is everywhere. You cannot, however, worship fully as the church in that sense, though. Corporate worship is very different than personal worship. Unfortunately, the state of modern worship has worsened this misunderstanding. Modern worship services have encouraged personal worship within the corporate setting (the congregational worship service) and so the church has come to believe that the worship we engage in by ourselves is all that is needed. Worship is worship, so what does it matter how we do it? But corporate congregational worship is vitally important to our discipleship and spiritual growth. Both corporate and personal worship are needed. Both are biblical. Followers of Jesus need to engage in both practices of worship.
A better phrase to say would be: We gather as the church and go out into the world to be the church.
Each is equally valuable. Each is critical to our well being as followers of Jesus. The corporate worship, or liturgy, that takes place within the building is vital to the Christian life. It is through our times of corporate worship that teaches us how to be the church together and strengthens us for that task. We are called to assemble and are specifically called to not forsake the assembly. We are called to rehearse the story of God as we are gathered together. To participate in a historic liturgy based on and filled with Scripture with those who are called and have united themselves within the body of Christ.
This is where we learn how to “be” the church. This is why having corporate worship taken away from us is a big deal. This is why it is a tragedy that churches have been forced to discontinue worshiping together.
So, please, let’s stop saying that the church is not a building. It may technically be true, but the sentiment behind it can lead to a dangerous misunderstanding of the church.