Page 9 - Contact Autumn 2020
P. 9
The Importance of
Gathering
At the beginning of this year (before the I, for one, was extremely grateful for the
world was turned upside down) I spent two technology team who did such an amazing job
weeks in India with a team from High Kirk. in providing the highest quality livestream
It was an incredible, eye-opening, and blessed services. But if I’m perfectly honest, I couldn’t
experience in many ways but the one major wait to gather again with God’s people in
drawback was spending all that time away from person. No matter how good the online
my wife and daughter. I missed them both services are they are not the same as the
terribly and wished they could have been with public assembling of God’s people together.
me to experience all that God was doing. We
kept in touch via WhatsApp and video calls The Presbyterian Minister Brian Borgman goes
(whenever possible) and I was truly grateful for as far as to say, ‘we can no more reproduce the
the technology that allows us to do this. church virtually than the incarnation of the Son
However, it just wasn’t the same as being with of God could have been a virtual incarnation.
them in person. Of course, during those weeks Flesh and blood requires flesh and blood
apart we didn’t cease to be a family, but if I had (John 1:14; Heb. 2:14)’.
decided to remain in India and never come
back home because I was happy for I understand that there are a variety of
our relationship to continue through the legitimate reasons why some people are
technology you’d be excused for thinking that unable to gather with God’s people. This article
I wasn’t much of a father or husband. In the is not addressed to them. There are, however,
end, if I was simply content to maintain my others who ‘could’ gather again with the church
relationship to the girls virtually then you could family but have chosen not to because they
definitely question the legitimacy of calling us a have become accustomed to the format of the
real ‘family’. online service.
Over the period of the lockdown all of us have What I hope to do in this article is give a brief
had to be separated for a time because of the apologetic for why the public gathering of God’s
necessary government restrictions. people is not only ‘important’ but is, in fact,
essential.
The article will not be able to cover all the
reasons why gathering is essential but I want
to highlight just a few.
continued on the next page
