Choosing a church is one of the most
important decisions you’ll make in your lifetime. The implications for you and
your family are huge. The decision is more important than which new job offer
you’ll accept and which school you or your kids will attend. Whenever you find
yourself at one of those “life-altering crossroads” which may require you to
move to another location, you must always consider what local churches are in
the new area. Is there a church there with an uncompromising pulpit? Is there a
church that believes, promotes, and practices the essentials of the Christian
faith? Is there a church that will meet the needs of you and your family for
years to come? Is it a place where you can serve, learn, and partner in gospel
ministry in all good conscience? If there is no such church, you should find
another job or different school in another area. Yes, that is a dogmatic
assertion, but one that you will do well to follow. Too many Christians find
themselves in a situation where they cannot find a good church, simply because
that was not a priority in their decision-making process. And the results are
often dire.
Now of course there are certain
circumstances in which a believer is called to some higher public service or
missionary enterprise. In such cases, the Christian must be well prepared for
the difficulties of such a commitment. This type of service can only be
navigated by the most mature believer who has long been on the Christian road
and who has the prayer support of Christian friends and family, mission agency,
and other support systems that are designed to provide regular accountability.
In addition, failing health or old age
might also prevent Christians from being in regular attendance at a church.
When immobility, overseas service, or some
other duty gives good reason to miss church, what can a person do in this
circumstance to sustain spiritual input and continued learning? Tim Challies
helps:
It may be that there are some people who, for one reason or another,
are unable to attend church or cannot find a church were the gospel is
preached. In such cases, an online church may be a way for them to hear good
preaching and to communicate with other Christians. I do not deny that there is
some benefit for them. But here we find that the exception proves the rule.
Such people will necessarily long for true church and true community, knowing
that the online church is but a concession to unavoidable circumstances. It is never a replacement for the real thing.[1]
The point is that listening to a sermon via
the Internet, on a CD, or in some other digital format is always supplemental
to real church attendance and fellowship. It cannot be a permanent substitute.
Christopher Ash explains,
When we listen to an MP3 recording of a sermon, we are not listening
to preaching, but to an echo of preaching that happened in the past. Listening
on my own to a recording can never be more than a poor second-best to actually
being there with the people of God in a local church. It is better to listen to
the pastor you know, and who knows you, than to hear a recording of the
well-known preacher you don’t know, and who doesn’t know you.[2]
No Christian should desire recorded pulpit
ministry as a first option, but we admit that there are times when it may be
necessary, though not advisable.
If there are no faithful, Bible-teaching
churches in your area and you know you or any member of your family are
suffering the effects of spiritual malnutrition, there is one thing to do—move!
[1] Tim Challies, The Next Story: Life and Faith After the Digital
Explosion (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing, 2011), 109.
[2] Christopher Ash, Listen Up!:
A Practical Guide to Listening to Sermons (New Maiden, Surrey, England: The
Good Book Company, 2009), 12–13.
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