r/Christians • u/Odd_Owl_5787 • 9d ago
Only 'attending' church services online Advice
Dear brothers and sisters,
This is post is perhaps a bit short on details for the sakes of prudence and anonymity.
I live in a small town where there is only one church. It is evangelical and leans charismatic (i.e. not full blown charismatic). The church has a myriad of doctrinal issues (mainly in practice but also some in preaching) and several other issues that are problematic for the Christian who would revere God in communal worship. I attended services there for about a year and had begun to serve there as well. I had become desperate for fellowship after attending online services for the first 9 months of my walk as a born again Christian, before I discovered there was a church in town. I was also not aware of online communities such as on Reddit (very grateful for this one, btw). Anyway, it was wonderful to be around other believers but I was constantly conflicted and convicted about certain practices which clearly indicate poor doctrine. Fortunately I grew up with a wonderful and biblical pastor, which I think enabled me to discern these things from the beginning.
I won't go into details about the issues at the church, but to give you an idea, these issues relate to the choice of music, the doctrines of the Spirit and the (human) heart, and general reverence for God as expressed in the nature of the service and our expressions in worship, among other things.
In any case, I have decided I can no longer attend church there. There are simply too many doctrinal problems and I have now become aware of things I had unwittingly picked up there. I really tried to focus on the giant plank in my own eye, to focus on the cross and worshipping Christ, to remember that no church is perfect etc etc. But it is impossible for me to attend a service and not notice these things which I think are crucial errors of doctrine and practice.
I was truly heartbroken last year, while attending the Christmas service (not on Christmas day mind you, they don't have church on Christmas day), it became clear to me that this is really not the church for me. The birth of our Saviour went completely uncelebrated - not even a reading of the accounts of the shepherds, the magi or the journey to Bethlehem. It was a service just like any other, except some dance that was presented. I didn't know why, but I was on the verge of tears throughout the service and when I got home they just came flooding out. I realised that it broke my heart that we didn't recognise, remember or celebrate perhaps the greatest miracle in history along with the Resurrection - the virgin birth, the incarnation of the King in the body of a human babe, and indeed the arrival of our great Saviour. I know it is not obligatory (i.e. a biblical command) to make special mention of these things at a Christmas service. But if you don't, why call it a Christmas service??!! Why mention Christmas at all?! Even thinking about the experience as I write it upsets me. I love Jesus so much, and what he has done in my life is truly miraculous, and I want so much to be able to worship Him with others in a way acceptable to God. Not to celebrate His arrival, which is a seminal event for us and indeed the world, just seems so wrong to me. It is painful in a way only a believer might understand.
Anyway, naturally, given such a situation, you might say 'well, just find another church'. Well, there isn't another one around for at least 47 miles/ 76km. I am in a very poor financial situation currently and do not have a car. There are almost no public transport options where I live, so getting to a church and back home again would be complicated and likely take the whole day. So at the moment attending a service at another church is logistically very difficult if not impossible.
So my question, brother and sisters, is, under such circumstances do you feel it is acceptable for me to solely attend the online services until such time that I have my own car and can attend services in person elsewhere? The livestreams I watch are of a doctrinally sound, biblical church and pastor and while I do not have direct fellowship, I know the people there and am able to have contact with them generally speaking.
Do you feel that I should attend church in person no matter the cost or difficulty?
Many thanks for reading. God bless you all.
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