Tag: virtual church

For those who cannot attend in person church

I believe that Christians should seek to gather as best and as maximally as possible. This means that when the pandemic happened and many churches relied on things like Zoom and Facebook, I argued that this counted as the church gathering.  I do believe that where possible, we should seek to meet in person, embodied,… Continue reading For those who cannot attend in person church

The pandemic elephant in the room. What happened to our reformed theology?

This is a little bit of a lament.  I come from the Reformed tradition theologically.  We pride ourselves in this tradition on deep theological reflection. This theological reflection is meant to be rooted in detailed exegesis of the text set within two important theological disciplines, Biblical Theology which enables us to see how God’s redemptive… Continue reading The pandemic elephant in the room. What happened to our reformed theology?

What should we do about online church after the pandemic ends?

If the government roadmap goes according to plan in England, churches will be able to fully reopen again from the 21st of June. During the pandemic, most of us have been providing online content for the many people who have been unable to attend our services in person. During that time, we have learnt that… Continue reading What should we do about online church after the pandemic ends?

Twitter Church?

The big debate over the past 12 months has been about whether our online activities during lockdown counted as church worship services and whether it was possible to do things like share communion online. My position throughout has been that given the specific context we found ourselves in, that yes the online provision  did count… Continue reading Twitter Church?

Is “open or closed communion?” the right question?

One of the graces in COVID is that it has pushed us hard to think about some key aspects of church life such as “What really is gathered worship?” and “What are the priority ministries of a church in the week?” There has also been quite a bit of discussion about when, how and why… Continue reading Is “open or closed communion?” the right question?

Shall we gather? The case for physical gathering may actually prove the opposite!

Before we go any further, I want to make it clear that I prefer to see local churches physically gather in a specific venue. There are so many reasons as to why I believe this is far better than zoom and Facebook. I long for the day when we can gather without restrictions, singing God’s… Continue reading Shall we gather? The case for physical gathering may actually prove the opposite!

Learning the wrong lessons: virtual church and remote pastoring

What happens to church during lockdown?  There are essentially * answers to that question Option 1: Physical gathering never mattered much, the spiritual was always what mattered and therefore virtual online church is great. It is at least the equal if not better than physical gathering in buildings. Option 2: It is impossible to physically… Continue reading Learning the wrong lessons: virtual church and remote pastoring

Isolation and Communion (part 1)

One Cup? The practical questions for us have rumbled on for years. Traditionally our church followed the practice of passing round the bread first and letting people tear off a piece, then we pass round chalices, each person taking a sip before wiping the rim of the cup with a serviette.  Sharing in the one… Continue reading Isolation and Communion (part 1)