Does How We Gather Matter?

Hebrews 10:24-25 NIV - And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Gathering in person is overrated.

Why do so many leaders think a physical gathering is superior to a digital gathering?

Isn’t real life a hybrid mix of the digital and physical?

There is a huge debate going on right now about how we should be gathering.

Physical or Digital?

Now that the mandates for wearing masks are waning, and the covid crisis seems to be ending, many leaders want their people back in person.

After some adjustments, most office workers love working from home. They no longer fight traffic to and from work. Eating lunch just got way more convenient.

They’ve just figured out what digital entrepreneurs have known for years.

But the jury is out on whether or not the office worker will return to the office.

If not, what do you do with all that office space? Savvy businesses are adjusting to this new normal.

Many would say, things will never go back to normal.

Churches are having the same issue. Prior to covid the church model revolved around attendees showing up in person.

Many invested in large buildings or multi-site facilities.

While prior to covid, most were already streaming, when covid hit, their attendees adjusted and got used to digital.

Digital was actually convenient. Why? Ask Blockbuster video? Digital is already a huge part of our lives.

Prior to covid, most pastors were wishy washy on the legitimacy of church online.

Their resources, staff, volunteers and budget were heavily weighted towards in-person gatherings.

As most churches are now open, and the mask mandates are disappearing even in the bluest of cities, not everyone is coming back.

And the leaders are scrambling as to what to do. Nothing looks worse than a 1500 seat auditorium half filled.

It’s hard for the church leaders to say gathering online is somehow now less legitimate without sounding hypocritical.

Both business and church leaders are scrambling with this dilemma.

The church has built their doctrine around this scripture.

Hebrews 10:24-25 NIV - And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

The first century churches met mostly in homes, not church buildings.

In the bible days digital didn’t exist. But now it does.

Today digital and physical are woven together in our lives. We may live with our immediate families in the physical, but shift back and forth between digital and physical with every part of our lives.

Because of digital, our community at Cana is global. When we were in LA, we could only reach people who lived within driving distance.

My best friend Benson Agbortogo, a fellow faith-entrepreneur and I meet every Friday for 2-3 hours. We have meaningful dialog, and pray together — yet we’ve never met in person.

While I would submit to you that my life is a mix between the physical and the digital, does how Christians gather matter? Does where they gather matter?

What do you say?

- Gerald