Page 22 - Digital Church in a Lonely World

What were the essential ingredients for church community in the New Testament?

1 . Spiritual engagement (Colossians 3:16)
2 . Preaching the Word (Hebrews 13:7)
3 . Worship and prayer (1 Timothy 2:8)
4 . Evangelism (Acts 1:8)
5 . Interpersonal responsibility (Romans 12)
6 . Inconvenient hospitality (Acts 4)
7 . Institutional physicality (Matthew 26:26)

These seven attributes are consistent elements of local church communities in the New Testament. I am
sure there are more, but they give us a good framework to engage with.

Can we achieve all seven of these by doing church online? If we can, sign me up for the digital church.
Or the hybrid church. I’ll gladly lay on the beach and eat my Portuguese custard tarts, and maybe
attend a small group every now and then. Sounds pretty good.

Questions act as both a stimulus for creative thought and a set of
boundaries to focus our ideas

Unless, of course, not every one of these seven expressions can be achieved through a screen.

When I think of spiritual engagement, preaching the word, worship, prayer and evangelism, I have seen
examples of all of these being achieved through online church experiences.

Sometimes, that is where the conversation ends. People engaged. People worshiped. People responded
to the salvation prayer. These are all crucial elements of a church experience, but I am not so sure they
fulfill the full spectrum of church community.

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