Gathered and Scattered
As often happens when we go through hard times, somehow, someway, something good comes out of it.
I think that’s true for the western church in this current crisis. The shutdowns brought on by COVID-19 have forced churches all over the world to rethink the ways we “do church.”
Because churches have not been able to rely on the Sunday morning gathering of large numbers of people to be our primary venue for communication, teaching, care, and community, we have, by necessity, had to pivot our focus to ways to engage the body in smaller groups all week long.
In a very real way, we have had to go from being the church gathered to being the church scattered.
And while at first, that seemed to be a loss, it actually offered our 21st-century church leaders the opportunity to rediscover the power of the 1st-century roots of our faith. A rhythm that has been largely lost in modern times.
These weeks of the shutdown have offered our 21st-century church leaders the opportunity to rediscover the power of the 1st-century roots of our faith: the church gathered and the church scattered.
Temple and Home
In the book of Acts, Luke tells us the first followers of Jesus in Jerusalem gathered together regularly in two venues.
“And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:46-47)
The apostles organized large gatherings of thousands of new converts in the huge Temple courts where they gave eyewitness accounts of what Jesus said and did.
Then, in a more organic way, these followers of Jesus would also gather into extended family homes where they shared meals, prayed, and deepened their relationships with each other.
Scattered!
But then something unexpected hit. Something that would radically alter the lives of Jesus’ followers forever (can you relate?). The prominent Pharisee, Saul, oversaw the murder of Stephen and then organized a systematic persecution (see Acts 8).
This caused a scattering of the church which ultimately led to the Pauline and other apostolic missions that planted the Good News in new cities across the Mediterranean world and further east into Asia.
Although most of these new believers did not have a venue like the Temple for large public gatherings, they continued to gather in mid-sized groups, filling up extended family homes.
About forty years later the Romans destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem. And some twenty years after that the Jewish followers of Jesus were formally expelled from the synagogues. Now the die was cast. The primary gathering place for the followers of Jesus was the family home.
In the 1st century, the primary gathering place for the followers of Jesus was the family home.
There were occasional opportunities for multiple house churches in a given city to meet together in a larger group when an apostle was visiting. For example, Paul rented a lecture hall in Ephesus to facilitate his wider teaching ministry. But for the next three hundred years, the followers of Jesus met primarily in medium-sized groups in larger homes.
Today’s Opportunity
We can thank God that most of us today do not have to risk our lives to worship Jesus, but we have experienced an unexpected scattering as our church buildings have been closed to public gatherings. The latest research indicates that it will be much longer than we thought before it is safe for large groups to gather in church buildings.
Some will see this as a frustrating delay of “getting back to normal.” Others will see this as an opportunity to regain something that Jesus began and the early church continued for centuries: gathering in homes as extended families for worship, fellowship, and mission.
This is an opportunity to regain something that Jesus began and the early church continued for centuries: gathering in homes as extended families for worship, fellowship, and mission.
I was fortunate to have rediscovered the potential of this six years ago – well before the pandemic. And I was privileged to be coached in how to shift a culture that was heavily reliant on the church gathered to see the value of the church scattered.
Now I am passing this on to my coaching groups and finding a ready audience. If you are a pastor who is interested in this (or if you know of one who might be), please contact me or share this blog with them.
While this season has been difficult, it doesn’t have to be devastating. It may in fact trigger by necessity a return to the pattern that spread the gospel far and wide.
One more thing. This may well not be the last time we will be forced to be both the church gathered and the church scattered. Another pandemic may arise OR we might in fact face a level of persecution that could in fact close the facility doors permanently.
While I hope and pray that won’t happen, it has before. And, remarkably, the church not only survived – it thrived.
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