Church via app is spiritual masturbation

This week, Judah Smith, pastor of Churchome — the mega congregation that is home to the Hillsong worship band and famously attended by Justin Bieber — announced that the church’s latest location was not a physical plant in Nashville, Houston or some other city. Rather, the church’s new location is “everywhere,” via an app called Churchome Global, which allows “members” to stream services, listen to sermons, submit prayer requests and engage in discussions via a “lobby” feature.

It’s the church’s latest campaign toward relevance, and making church hip and accessible for modern audiences. And while I’m sure it’s an impressive app and can even provide some entertainment and encouragement, let’s be honest: it’s not church.

All the goosebumps, none of the responsibility

I’m not going to pretend that I don’t see the appeal of this approach to church. Sunday mornings are stressful. Getting two kids ready and out the door on time is a gauntlet I’m not fond of running, and I’ll be honest that sometimes I wake up on Sundays after a rough week and my first thought is “let’s stay in today.” I just took on a second job and occasionally I have to work Sunday mornings. It sure would be nice to have a handy app that allows me to attend church whenever I want, especially if I don’t have to put on pants.

I can see the appeal of being able to listen to a world-class worship team and getting sermons directly from Bieber’s pastor; there’s a cool factor there. I don’t doubt that there is some great, mood-changing worship going on that gives you goosebumps and the feeling of spiritual movement. It’s easy to walk away from a Hillsong performance and feel that you’ve just had a worship experience; maybe it’s genuine, but maybe it’s also the effect of emotional manipulation. And knowing that you can chat with people at any time about your spiritual questions and that they’ll pray for you is encouraging (and, let’s be honest, probably an ego stroke). Plus, you can log out if the conversations get too real, and you don’t have to worry about being held accountable for any change you pray for in your life.

Church is inconvenient. I’m a man with social anxiety; it takes a lot of effort for me to hold down conversations in public. I’m a busy man; I don’t always like it that church responsibilities pin our schedules down. I’d a prideful man; I often have little patience for people who are unlearned or not as “high-brow” as I would like. Church via app would allow me to have a worship experience, spiritual teaching and relationships with people who I choose.

This is why it’s wrong.

Church should be inconvenient

People behind an app like Churchome Global understand why we want to go to church: the spiritual uplift, the teaching, the feeling of being part of something bigger. And it understands why we’re often hesitant to attend: It’s inconvenient and sometimes annoying. They understand the personal likes and dislikes that come into play when we consider going to church.

What they don’t understand is why we need church.

If we go to church, it should not be just to attend a show and get our “God fix.” We’re part of the Body to serve each other, encourage each other and to allow ourselves to be changed. The point of church is relationship. Yes, there’s the vertical relationship to God, which I admit that an app can be a fine addition to. But there’s also the horizontal component. While I’ve been blessed by online groups of believers, I’ve never mistaken it for my home church. I can’t tangibly meet their needs, there’s not a community I can roll up my sleeves and get dirty in. We don’t love each others’ kids, see each others’ messy homes, make food when people have a new baby, or cry together over illnesses or divorce. The Church is the body of Christ made tangible in our world. Online interaction may feed the mind, but it starves the body.

And the inconvenience and discomfort is part of why we need it. We need church to challenge our idols, tear down our barriers and help in the work of sanctification. We need to be pulled into relationships where sharing our struggles and sins is welcome, and groups of friends who refuse to let us stay as we are. We need to get our hands dirty serving the community. We need to be reminded that, yes, we’re part of something bigger, but we’re also not the center of the story.

I understand that there are people who feel like they don’t get this at their church or that an app would be more convenient for people who work odd schedules or who are shut-ins. My response is that,if that’s the case, maybe your church needs to make a change and consider how to better reach its community. Giving you control of when, where and how your worship and how much you’re able to engage just seems antithetical to why we gather.

Again, I understand the appeal of Churchome Global and similar apps (because they will pop up). But I worry that it’s church without accountability, worship without service, spirituality without sanctification. It’s like sex without commitment or love; it gives a good feeling, but there’s nothing deeper there. In fact, with its lack of true relationship with other people, church via app just sounds like spiritual masturbation (oddly, Smith’s announcement posits the app as attending church via your palm, which seems fitting). You tune in, log on, and leave feeling like you’ve worshiped. And true, maybe you have. Maybe you’ve even had a spiritual experience.

But you haven’t been to church.

Note: To all my readers, I know I’ve been a bit inactive lately. Busy life, coupled with not really feeling like engaging in the toxic political climate. But with elections over, I hope to start posting a bit more frequently.