Deconstructing the Church, Building and All
Part Eight: Moving from Toxic Beliefs to Transforming Ones
As I have pointed out in this series, the church as we know it is changing. It is being deconstructed, often by people who never use that word, but they know there is something wrong with the church as we know it. Of course, there is also something right with the church, too. The challenge is to leave the wrong and keep the right!
In 1999, 70% of American adults said they belonged to a church. In 2020, only 47% of Americans said they belonged to a church. For the first time in America’s history, less than half the population is affiliated with a church.
Around three and a half thousand believers walk away from the Christian Church every day in the USA. In fact, according to the online publication The Christian Century, an average of nine churches shut their doors for good every day in the USA.
Since 1970, weekly church attendance in the United States among Catholics has dropped from 55% to 20%. The number of priests declined from 59,000 to 35,000.
Similarly, there has been a dramatic decline in religious affiliation across Europe in the last forty years. The former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams recently stated that the UK had become a “post-Christian country.”
To many, the church will look like it’s dying. Churches will close. The buildings will fall down. But new forms of the church will take their place. I believe the church, by whatever name and form, will never die because we desperately need one another.
As the former pastor, David Hayward, the author of many of the heart-wrenching cartoons in this series, such as this one, writes, “The church will never die. I’m confident of that. But the church as we know it, the structure, the organization, the institution — in other words, the manifestation of the church… that is undergoing a massive shift. Some have their foot on the brake. Some have their foot on the gas. Some are asleep in the back seat. Others are just watching it go by like a curious antique car.”
Reformation — The Protestant Church
The printing press, credited to the German inventor and printer Johannes Gutenberg in the 1450s, became the single most important factor in the success of the Protestant Reformation. It provided the means for widespread dissemination of the “new teachings” and encouraged independent thought on subjects previously rigidly controlled by a religious elite. Martin Luther’s 95 Theses, which previously would have circulated only among the literate scholars of Wittenberg, became a bestselling pamphlet within a year of its initial posting in 1517. Between that date and 1525, Luther published over half a million writings.
Reformation Again — The Internet Church!
The internet today is what the printing press was for the Reformation 500 years ago. The participants of ICN today experience this new reformation — global internet church! By internet church, I don’t mean televised church services. Internet church has nothing to do with tuning into Joel Osteen and being entertained for an hour, albeit wonderfully well.
I mean the potent and palpable energy field present when spiritually awake people gather in Jesus’ name via the internet. This is the combined transforming field of our love and presence along with other spiritual presences such as Jesus, the saints of many traditions, and other guides.
But we have to be physically present for church, don’t we?
We may say, “But, being with other people physically can’t be replaced.” Jesus would not agree!
He told his friends in John 16, “It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go, the spirit will not come.” The spirit, or awakened consciousness, would allow them to “see” or sense him in his spiritual body and other spiritual realities that they could not “see” now.
This is what he was referring to later when he said, “In a little while you will no longer see me. And again, in a little while you will see me” (John 16:17). They would “see” him in a little while in his spiritual body, not his physical body and that was to their “advantage.”
His spiritual presence after the resurrection was a colossal step up from his mere physical presence. His spiritual presence was all that we needed to make him real to those gathered anywhere, by any means, in his name.
Jesus can now be with us anytime, anywhere via something like what I call the spiritual internet. This universal consciousness has been called by many names.
The spiritual internet has always existed
Various traditions use words for what I call the spiritual internet, such as samadhi, universal consciousness, Holy Spirit, cosmic energy field, pure consciousness, and universal life force.
In yoga, it is the true Self, which transcends space and time.
In Hinduism, Brahman is an unchanging, universal spirit or consciousness which underlies all things.
It is called God, the Universal Mind, the formless, spiritual energy behind all life, the Infinite Intelligence, and pure Oneness that funnels into our being as pure consciousness.
By whatever name, it is the spiritual energy field by which we are connected to all things and especially one another, other spiritual presences and realities.
Biogeochemist Vladimir Vernadsky and the French philosopher and Jesuit priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin call it the Noosphere. This is the sphere of thought enveloping the earth. In relationship to this essay about the spiritual and physical “internets,” Clément Vidal, scholar and researcher at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, responded to the question, “Did Teilhard de Chardin actually predict the internet?” He says,
“Broadly speaking, he did. Indeed, the internet can be seen as a layer of information, as a thinking layer. Although in today’s world, social networks seem to act more like a feeling layer.
More precisely, Teilhard was envisioning a radical global transformation of planet Earth with two ingredients: the rise of communication networks and computers.”
In The Hours of the Universe, Ilia Delio says, “The computer, according to Teilhard, has evoked a new level of shared consciousness, a level of cybernetic mind giving rise to a field of global mind through interconnecting pathways.”
We can be anywhere via the spiritual internet and our spiritual presence. This is the deep spiritual reality that Zoom and other computer platforms today help facilitate as we connect with one another other visually and auditorily in the vibrant, tangible, spiritual energy of real-time. Incredible!
The Church is Not a Building
Most people commonly think of the church as a building. “Where do you go to church?” “That’s a beautiful church.” “We are remodeling our church.”
At no time does the New Testament give an indication that any local church of that era had a church building. These were churches that happened to meet in someone’s house. First-century Christians did not experience the need for a special church building.
The only religious building mentioned in the New Testament is the Temple in Jerusalem, the center of worship for Jesus’ religion. And clearly, Jesus was not fond of it. He kept talking about tearing it down! (John 2:19; Mark 13:2; Luke 21:6; Matt 27:40)
Buildings are costly. When a congregation decides to have its own building, the building demands time, energy, resources, and focus. And many of the resources of the church are drained away in providing and maintaining a building.
Most often large church buildings sit vacant during the week. These massive spaces exist almost entirely for one day, sometimes just a single morning. What a waste!
Yes, I love beautiful cathedrals. The Vatican and our Roman Catholic sisters and brothers excel at beautiful cathedrals and church buildings. These, in one sense, can be a form of worship themselves. An inspiring, peaceful presence reminding of us of God. Let’s enjoy the ones we have and not build anymore!
I say this because the church is not a building. It is people gathered in Jesus’ name so they can be like him and BE him in healing the world.
The Death and Resurrection of Christianity
What we are exploring in this series is the death and resurrection of Christianity as it is traditionally understood. I agree with Kurtis Vanderpool’s writing on the future of the Church. He says:
“Deconstruction is not a plague of the Church, it is its future.
Deconstruction will put Christ-following back into the hands of the people.
Deconstruction is from God. It is the revival evangelicals have been praying for — for centuries.
Deconstruction will sweep Western Christianity into massive reform. The internet church will play a major role in this new reformation.
It will remind us that our money and resources were meant to help the rampant poverty and oppression around us, not for mostly empty buildings.
Deconstruction will erase the divide between “ordained clergy” and “lay” people. [At ICN we have both, but we pay little attention to anyone’s status.]
Deconstruction may be the end of churches in the West, but it will not be the end of Christianity.”
Deconstruction, like many massive upheavals in the history of Christianity, is the beginning of the rebirth of the church, increasingly gathered together globally online. Here we can come into the awakened consciousness of two or three gathered together where Jesus and other spiritual realities are present in powerfully tangible ways—less encumbered by the burden of maintaining a building, which isn’t the true church anyway!
5 Reasons Why the Church of the Future Will be Online
Paul Nixon, author of multiple books on Christian leadership in a fast-changing age, gives these five reasons why the church of the future will be online:
The future will more and more see big screen high-definition TVs with internet access. It makes a difference in one’s online experience when you are no longer working off a 13-inch computer screen but on nearly an entire wall of your living room, with surround sound.
Online conferencing technology is rapidly advancing, so connections are more stable and dependable. Furthermore, it is hard to go to college or work without engaging such technology for online interaction and get accustomed to it.
Almost everyone under 60 today began adapting to computers before the age of 30 and, in so doing, entered the digital culture. Ironically, this is the same population that has dropped off the radar of most historic congregations.
As for people under 30, most of them came to consciousness as children with digital devices in their hands. Their whole concept of virtuality is changing — in some cases, disappearing. Experience is real — in all sorts of modes. This population segment finds itself profoundly disengaged and disconnected from its parents’ churches.
Major personal relationships start online these days. Why not church relationships? I predict that the majority of today’s children may meet their future spouse via the internet. For increasing numbers of people, online is just another great way of meeting — as real as if people were physically in the same room.
Due to the virus crisis, telecommuting, telemedicine, distance education and online schooling have thrived. This is becoming the new normal.
Online Communion and Mass
You can even have Communion and Mass online together. Online viewers can prepare their own communion elements and partake with others present. If you prefer the Catholic Mass, you will have to deconstruct the colorful drama and the unbiblical idea that only priests can pray over the elements. You or others who embrace transubstantiation can pray as effectively as any priest!
Or, if you want to get really mystical, you can become the communion yourself in the mystical body of Christ. This is not just the symbol of bread and wine, but the spirit consciousness reality of becoming the body of Christ, the hands and feet of God in the world today!
My traditional friends don’t understand
Traditional church folks often can’t understand the experience of a mystical community that happens in real time in an online church. That’s because the traditional church is usually not a mystical church. The people gather to sit lined up in pews, focused on the all-important stage where the action is. They sing, hear a prayer, listen to a sermon and go home. You can do all of that and not have a mystical bone in your body.
People would come to hear Jesus physically in much the same way, unless he started healing people, and then that got their attention. However, Jesus moved to being present only in his spiritual body, which requires more of us. If we are to be “two or three gathered in his name,” we must become mystics who are able to commune and connect with this invisible Jesus and other spiritual realities.
This means the “church” Jesus described was composed of an energy field made out of awakening consciousness, not a building made out of brick and mortar!
Although the internet enables us to listen to sermons, watch communion services, give offerings, and praise and worship God wherever we are, that may not be real church. Jesus says that real church is “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matt. 18:19–20.). Jesus is always with us. But in real church, whether in person or on the internet, Jesus shows up in an ultra-potent way!
The early church flourished as the church that met in homes. Our homes today can become that same kind of church when we use them to meet via the internet. They don’t cost extra, don’t need additional maintenance, repairs, and an oversized staff while sitting empty six days a week!
Our homes are the least distracting sacred space
Sacred space on the internet is the spiritual consciousness of two or three gathered together, not the physical consciousness of a group meeting in a public building which can detract from spiritual consciousness.
Concerns about traveling to a location, what to wear, who you will see, and busy surroundings can be distractions. However, in your home, on your computer, looking at each person face to face, including yourself on the computer screen, can be quite helpful. I love the visual equality offered in a Zoom gallery, in that each of us has exactly the same size space on the screen, not focusing on a single "upfront" pulpit. In addition, for those of us who easily forget names, it’s wonderful to see everyone with a name tag built into the picture!
We often settle for physical proximity in a physical church. But in online church, we are invited to focus on spiritual proximity. And that’s what “gathering together” is all about.
When it comes to a big vision, if the size of your vision shrinks to the size of a church building you can fill, you’ve missed the purpose of church. As ICN states it:
Anything less than a global vision is too small!
Reasons to stay with your local church
You are blessed if you can find local church that provides you with others who are on a similar spiritual journey. That means you don’t have to become an institutional church refugee.
However, in addition to online church, some may find they need the physical presence of others, even if they are in a different place spiritually than they are. Hybrid Church will simply match reality: Life is already a slipstream between digital and physical.
Embrace wherever you can find the fulfillment of Jesus’ words of two or three are gathered together in his name, that he is there with them (Matt 18:20).
Online church is simply the church gathered in an online setting. Those of us who gather in an ICN WeSpace group can easily testify to the presence of Jesus along with many other spiritual realities. If you long for such a space, come join us!
For Reflection:
1. Jesus thought moving his presence from the physical realm to the spiritual was advantageous. How does the Christian community moving from physical closeness to spiritual closeness with the internet seem to you?
2. In what ways have you deconstructed your understanding of “church”?
3. Which cartoon in this article (or entire series) is your favorite? Why?