I want to share with you a handful of reasons I am not on the worship livestream bandwagon. Many congregations now livestream, or record and post later, their entire worship services from beginning to end.
Our church is out-of-step with this trend. I made our deacons aware several months ago of my hesitations about continuing to livestream our worship services now that we have a safe and highly effective vaccine and mask-wearing is optional in our buildings. Now, I pass on these hesitations with the wider congregation.
Paul R. Gilliam III
Perhaps this first concern of mine is most obvious: If people can gain full audio and visual access to our worship services, they are more likely to stay home and watch.
I was reminded of this reality recently. Earlier this month, we did livestream our worship service because of questionable weather and, at the time, we were not on the radio. After worship, someone said to me: “I so wanted to stay home and watch on Facebook. However, my husband insisted we come. I am glad he did.” This woman then said what struck me the most, “I had a little bit of the devil in me this morning!”
I could write and write about the superiority of gathered sanctuary worship to pajamas living room worship. However, I think the above exchange says it succinctly. Deep in our bones, most know it is simply better to gather with other Christian believers on Sunday morning for the worship of God. And somehow, when we do not gather, we sense that the devil gets a win in our lives. No other avenue — television, computer or Facebook — is the same as being there. Thus, I am not concerned about reaching fewer people. Besides, for those who desire, the options for internet worship appear almost endless.
“Deep in our bones, most know it is simply better to gather with other Christian believers on Sunday morning for the worship of God.”
My concerns about internet worship, however, go much deeper. The worship of God is a sacred activity. The worship of God is an intimate activity. The worship of God is contextual. Participation in worship via livestream and video recordings diminishes the worship experience. At least, this is what people tell me. I am told that it is hard not to answer the phone while watching livestream or recorded worship. I understand the temptation is great to fold towels while the congregation sings.
As with most people, there are parts of worship I find more engaging than other parts. Even as this is true, I never would say the sermon is more important than the hymns. Or the children’s time is more important than the doxology. However, there is a tendency, if I watch a recorded worship service posted on Facebook or YouTube, to fast forward through the worship segments I find less inviting. I know, however, that God sometimes speaks to me, and I speak to God, through the lyrics of a slow and unfamiliar hymn that I would not consider except that the hymn is a part of the larger worship experience for the day.
Finally, my training as a historian of the early Christian church gives me pause when it comes to livestreamed and recorded worship services. In the early church, catechumens (people in training for baptism) were not allowed to even witness holy Communion (the mysteries) before their baptism. After the sermon, in some parts of the early church, say for example the fourth century church of Augustine’s day, the catechumens were escorted out of the worship gathering. And then the baptized Christians would partake of the bread and the wine. The early church wanted to make sure worship was treated with sacred reverence.
I fear that when we just cast the worship experience out there, there is the potential that it will be trampled underfoot. Perhaps this occurs when a non-Christian, scrolling her feed, slanders a worship video that is posted. Perhaps this happens when we work to find a place on the recording so we can see how many people were there. Or maybe, worship is trampled underfoot as we match socks and change diapers while listening to the pastor’s sermon. I confess I recently watched a worship service while working out on the treadmill. Perhaps, this is innocent enough. However, I suggest we do better when we handle the pearls of worship with holy gloves.
Paul R. Gilliam III serves as pastor of First Baptist Church of Ahoskie, N.C., as well as director of the religion program at Chowan University.
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