How will you do church today?

How will you do church today?
Tim Senn
March 15, 2020

Dear Bible Church Family,

What a weird and abnormal Sunday morning?! I can remember a time or two in the past decade when we have not been able to assemble together as a church body in corporate worship (due to snow or ice), but COVID-19? Who but God knew that this day would find us worshipping in a very different manner than is our normal practice! But here is my question for you: "How will you "do" church today?"

Some will say, "My family and I are staying home and watching a livestream service," or "We are going to have family worship this morning." Hey, there is absolutely nothing wrong with watching preaching or worshiping with your family! But let me suggest that neither of these is either "being the church" or "doing church." Perhaps many of us have fallen into the wrong mindset that "doing" church is equated with "going to church." But if "going to church" is the same as "doing church," then what are you supposed to do when you cannot go to the church building?

The good news is that not assembling at the church building this morning doesn't prevent us from "being the church" or "doing church"! It does prevent us from gathering together in corporate worship. So how should you "do church" today? In addition to watching a sermon or singing and praying together as a family, I challenge you to add one of the following:

Call the members of your small group or accountability group and ask how they and their family are doing, and find out if they have specific physical or spiritual needs that you could help with.

Call another member of your care group and talk about what you are learning in Scripture.

Call one of our shut-ins or widows or widowers and find out if they need you to do any shopping for them or whether they have something that needs to be fixed or repaired in their home (I would love it if our widows and shut-ins received more calls this week from the church family than they have received over the past 12 months!)

Take out the church directory and call the next person on the list and ask them how they are doing, and if you can serve or encourage them in any way.

In these and a hundred other ways, isn't God giving us the opportunity this week to "do church" and "be the church" in ways that perhaps we have neglected or forgotten? Earlier this year, I told you that one of the ways in which I am praying for spiritual growth at BCLR is for our love and unity with one another. I proposed the "Reading Together" plan in order to build unity by giving us opportunity to talk about spiritual things together. Perhaps our Heavenly Father is giving us another "church -wide" program to deepen our unity and love for one another -- "COVID-19"!

So how should you "do church" today? The answer is found in Romans 13:8:

"Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another, for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law."

Love in Christ
Tim Senn - Elder