I understand secular America seeing the church as “non-essential.” Secular America lacks the categories by which to differentiate the crowd at church from the crowd at the arena. It doesn’t understand that spiritual needs are more vital than physical needs, that spiritual health is more important than physical health, or that the medicine of the Great Physician through the local church is more important than the medicine of the local doctor at the local hospital. 

It has been surprising to see the speed with which the churches have shut down public operations and shifted their ministries online. Having this online capacity is a wonderful provision during an epidemic, one unavailable to previous generations. Livestreaming allows the church to do something when the alternative might have been to do nothing, to provide some spiritual food when circumstances might have left members bereft of all spiritual nourishment.

Yet it should be acknowledged that the virtual church is not the church. Actually gathering, actually occupying space together as a church is foundational to the definition of a church and to its practice. Jesus speaks of the church in terms of a structure of accountability and authority (Mt 18:15-18). The Apostle Paul repeatedly makes reference to “when you are assembled” (1 Cor 5:4), or “when you come together as a church” (1 Cor 11:18; cf 11:17, 33, 34; 14:23, 26). When the church gathers virtually, it is able to occupy the same time, but not the same space. At the very least, the online assembly is a poor substitute for the real thing.

The guidelines of the civil authorities distinguish between “essential” and “non-essential” services.

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