Our view of just what the church is will impact how we respond to not being able to meet. If you think of the church principally as your building, then this time is going to much more trying than for those who are inclined to say church is your people. But, even if we do hold the latter (as most seem to do), are we necessarily ‘church’ whilst we are all separate or are we only church when we come together?

I’ve noticed a few people asking what are the key theological issues that need thinking through given our inability to meet together as usual. So, without offering any specific answer on these questions, here are some of the key things we now need to consider.

What is church?

This is probably the biggest question that will inform most of the others. Our view of just what the church is will impact how we respond to not being able to meet. If you think of the church principally as your building, then this time is going to much more trying than for those who are inclined to say church is your people. But, even if we do hold the latter (as most seem to do), are we necessarily ‘church’ whilst we are all separate or are we only church when we come together? If we remain church when we are separate, what are the boundaries that make us a church rather than others—who we recognise as believers—who do not belong?

How do we function as church?

A related question is how we function as a church. If there are essential things that are required to be a church (e.g. meeting together, taking communion, preaching the Word, etc), are we able to replicate these things from a distance meaningfully? If we are not able to do these things, but we believe that we nonetheless remain ‘church’ at a distance, how do we square the circle?

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