From his post:
1. The virtual pastor prohibits people who have the gift of teaching from exercising what God has given them. With the rise of the virtual pastor, those who are gifted teachers have fewer and fewer avenues to use their gifts. Now those who like the virtual model would argue that even in that model, the pulpit is sometimes filled with a live person, someone actually from the congregation. Still, nothing replaces the week to week study and preparation from a person who knows the people they are speaking to.
2. I believe the most effective teaching ministry comes when the pastor/teacher is in daily relationship with the people under their care. In this way, the teacher truly knows the people, and, perhaps more importantly, the people know him. They know his family. They know his struggles and his weaknesses. He is more than a talking head or an incredible communicator - he’s a real person who needs them as much as they need him. The virtual pastor has none of these qualities, and ultimately, I believe it creates an even larger separation between the clergy and the laity.
So there you go. Again, it’s not a question of effectiveness, because the virtual model is effective. It’s a question of whether it’s right or not. Just because we can, does it mean we should? And wouldn’t a better model be one of actual church planting, where a mother church plants a daughter one and then releases it into the world instead of struggling to maintain a hold on it?
What do you think? Those of you who go to churches with the pastor on the screen, what do you think of this style of church?
2 comments:
For both of the reasons that Michael Kelly listed, I am not a fan of, and would likely never belong to, this type of church.
In fact, I'll go a bit further and say that I think there are also similar problems with very large churches and/or churches that have two or more Sunday services (recognizing that I am a member of a church with two Sunday services).
In very large churches, how can most people ever really get to know the pastor (or main preaching elder) in the way that Michael describes here? How can they truly know him, or they him, in terms of the "daily relationship" that Michael describes? Not that I'm saying that very large churches should not be an option for Christians. Belonging to one, though, can make it harder for a person to have a relationship with his/her pastor.
About churches with two or more Sunday services, this can be problematic, because it basically creates two churches within the one "official" church. Often, these "two churches" might have little interaction or involvement in each other's lives. I have experienced this sad state of affairs myself.
It does help somewhat when a church (such as Desert Springs) emphasizes home groups as a way to grow and be involved in each other's lives, and also has an active Sunday School class that meets for discussion and prayer. These elements can help to balance out some of the problems of multiple Sunday services.
Having been a member of a church that worked very hard to keep to one Sunday service though, I can say that the sense of community in the church-- with all of us gathering together, at one time, in one place, on Sunday morning-- was very strong and simply wonderful. There is nothing like the family of God, in a local church, all being together at the same time to worship Him. When the congregation became too large for one service and one building, the elders decided to plant churches nearby and actually encouraged members to check out these churches, if they happened to be closer to where those members lived.
Oops-- I should have written, "How can they truly know him, or he know them..."
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