The Church Scattered And Gathered

The church of Jesus has not seen anything like these modern times in the United States. Churches around the world live under such conditions of banned meetings everyday. . Banned from meeting live churches have creatively found ways to minister the word of God and to their members. It has been said repeatedly that the church is not the buildings but the people. Very true.

I have heard of church services held in the facilities with no one in attendance and viewed on line, some have viewed the worship with their community groups. I heard about drive in services where everything happened live but everyone stayed in their vehicles to worship. Some have moved back to the house church model.

There are some who continue to meet and stand strong. They do so out of conviction. It is far from business as usual.

Right now many churches are scattered. The people isolate themselves and their families. Such churches are finding ways to stay connected during the scattering. Through phone calls, texts, and videos people are trying to make the best of a bad situation. As good as these things may be, they can never substitute for meeting face to face. A person's voice or image on a screen is not the same as meeting in person. The virtual cannot replace the actual act of gathering together.

Perhaps the American church has taken our religious freedoms for grated. Maybe we forgot the blessing of gathering to worship together until it was taken away. The blessings in gathering include: the joy of seeing people you love, a handshake, a neck hug, the atmosphere of God's people singing together, the experience of studying the Bible together, the connecting with others, the serving of others, the God encounters, seeing people get saved, viewing baptisms, embracing new members and the list could go on. Just having a safe place set apart for worship is a blessing. Now  that people have opted to meet in homes, vehicles and other places many of those past blessings resurface.

Now that those things have been snatched away from many, maybe they will be more treasured in the future. When the church gathers it can be a beautiful thing. Not always when people fuss and fight. Maybe all this will put things back in perspective. We will get our minds off  the petty power grabs that happen in far too many churches. This scattering might move us to appreciate one another more. Relationships are important. Little blessings seem larger like toilet paper, a drive through window, running into someone you know, some basic groceries.

For those who bravely still gather, I salute you. Even if you observe social distancing in your gatherings. Be reminded, persecuted Christians do the same in homes, barns, basements, caves and in the outdoors. All of this leads back to simpler times. In my mind, back to where it all began. Go back and reread those verses again. Maybe it has been awhile. And remember, we are the church both scattered and gathered.
Acts 2:42-47 (ESV)
⁴²
 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
⁴³  And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.
⁴⁴  And all who believed were together and had all things in common.
⁴⁵  And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.
⁴⁶  And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,
⁴⁷  praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.