I’m pleased to welcome a guest blog by my friend Dan Masshardt for this week’s edition of the E-News. Dan is the pastor of the Fairview Bethel Church of God in New Cumberland, PA. He serves on the Administrative Council of the Eastern Regional Conference as well as the General Conference Administrative Council. Over the years, I’ve come to deeply appreciate his gifting as a teacher: he has a passion for the truth of God’s word and helping others understand the truth and apply it to their lives.
I know that many pastors and leadership teams are wrestling through how to gather and whether to gather during these difficult days. I thought Dan’s insights into the whole issue of why we gather as the people of God were immensely helpful and I believe will be a blessing to the larger church family.
Christ’s Peace,
Lance
“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 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.”
Hebrews 10:23-25
When we want to encourage Christians to ‘come to church,’ this tends to be the passage of Scripture that we turn to. It offers both the original audience and us today some important reminders. But let’s dig a bit deeper and look for the ‘why’ of the admonition not to give up meeting together.
Why was it important to the author of Hebrews that followers of Jesus not give up meeting together? And, for us in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, how should we understand the priority of this instruction amidst other questions and concerns for prevention of possible spread of the virus?
First, we should understand that the admonition to continue to meet together is not the main point of this passage. Rather, it is something that serves other purposes, which we will explore. Note: there are other scriptures that relate to what ought to happen when we gather. This post is focused on our understanding and application of this one section, as it is often seen as the clearest admonition to ‘go to church.’
As we dig in, we can see that the main point of this section is the concern that the recipients ‘hold unswervingly to the faith.’ This ties right in to the argument of the entire Letter to the Hebrews. It seems that some were potentially being lured away from a robust faith in Jesus. The author goes to great lengths to highlight how amazing Jesus is, to root them deeper into Jesus – the one who is ever faithful.
The author continues, reminding us that we don’t stay spiritually strong in isolation. In an often externally hostile culture, as both Diaspora Jews and early Christians were, we need a robust community to continue to remind us of who we are and whose we are.
When times get tough – whether through life circumstances or challenges to one’s faith – we need others. The author says that we should be seeking opportunities to ‘spur one another on’ and ‘encouraging one another.’
In the First Century, how could that happen? There were no phones, no text messages, no Youtube, Zoom or email. There were only two options available to them, expensive letter writing and face to face interaction.
People who got out of the habit of meeting together likely had no Christian teaching or encouragement in their lives. Virtually nobody owned a Bible. The New Testament didn’t yet exist. If you disconnected from face to face gatherings, you were in trouble. Notice that the text here is not clear about a particular kind of gathering, although the weekly synagogue gatherings turned house church meetings were likely in view. The concern is that people were going astray because they were disconnecting from Christian community.
For a disciple of Jesus, disconnected from real Christian community is almost always a mistake. We need to encourage others and be encouraged ourselves with solid truths from Scripture into our lives regularly.
So, here we are at the end of 2020 in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic and churches have been trying to decide what is the best course of action throughout this past year. Many congregations have gone only ‘virtual’ for at least part of this year. Some are trying to decide what to do right now. Additionally, individual Christians have had to decide what is the best thing for them to do, whether to show up in person (if this is an option) or not. In either case, Hebrews 10 often enters in to the conversation.
As you consider these options and look to your own study and application of this scripture, I’d submit to your the following for your consideration:
Above all else, stay connected! With all of the technology available to us today, this should be quite possible if we make the choice to. It’s easy for us to tune out with everything going on. We can easily not click on the link from our congregation. We don’t have to pick up the phone or type out a text message or email. Whether you individually or your congregation as a whole decided to gather in person, we should all commit to staying connected to the body. The word for ‘giving up’ meeting together is elsewhere translated ‘forsaking’. You have a commitment to your local body of believers as they have a commitment to you.
Encourage one Another! Again, the main point of this teaching has nothing to do with having your butt in a seat at a particular time and place. If you are physically together with other believers – whether in a congregational setting, a coffee shop, a living room or a socially distanced park bench, make sure that you are getting to know them more personally and deeply so that you can effectively encourage one another in the faith. Showing up and singing songs and listening to a sermon does not accomplish this instruction fully!
Of course the songs we sing, prayers we pray and messages that we share from the Bible are all a part of this ministry of encouraging and spurring on. But here’s the thing, if you choose to engage, you will still reap much of the benefit of these, whether participating in person or online. It’s true, there’s something about congregational singing in the same room that isn’t nearly the same as by yourself at home (my singing voice is terrible). Physical presence – sitting together, human touch, sharing a word while looking into someone’s eyes – is powerful. It’s ideal when done well.
But in a season where sickness is spreading and people are dying, the benefits of these ‘in person’ aspects are being weighed against the risks and each congregation and each person is seeking wisdom on what’s the best choice in this current moment.
My point is this: You can fulfill the ‘why’ of Hebrews 10 whether you choose at this moment – individually or as a congregation – to meet in person or not. But only if you stay engaged! Participate in what your congregation is doing. If you are staying home right now, don’t just watch. Jump on the chat and encourage others. Reach out throughout the week to encourage your brothers and sisters via phone, text, email, or letter writing. If you are struggling, let someone know so that they can encourage you. Open your Bible.
And finally this vital purpose – ‘to spur one another on toward love and good deeds.’ However we engage with one another as the body of Christ is not just an end unto itself. It is a reminder that we are to live each and every moment of our lives in worship to God in service of those around us.
If we ‘show up’ either to a live gathering or an online version and it doesn’t change the orientation of the rest of our week, we’ve missed a big part of it.
Might we continually encourage each other to grow in the knowledge of our Lord, Savior and Teacher and in doing so pour out our lives in sacrificial love and service to our families, community and world.
This is the heart of Hebrews 10:23-25
CGGC eNews—Vol. 14, No. 51