The Replaceable Chruch

As the appointed pastor of a digital church plant, I see it as my obligation to research as much as possible to understand better the beast I have been called to serve.

The digital church is confusing, exciting, and overwhelming. And I love it.

I love it so much that I see it as my responsibility to serve it in connection with as many wise writers and leaders in the field as I can.

This requires a lot of reading, followed by some more reading, then top all of that off with a little more reading.

There is one thing that has been made redundant. We do not need ever to say this one sentence in any book. It has been written. It has been exegeted. It has been backed up traditionally, scripturally, and experientially. It is only short of the Archangel Michael descending upon Bill Gates in his sleep to affirm it.

The phrase?

Online Church is not here to replace traditional expressions of church.

If you could, you would hear my eyes rolling right now.

Please, please, please - let’s allow that to be the last time it is written on the Internet. The point is proven.

Instead, here’s what I propose: to everyone so afraid of the online church replacing their physical churches… how about you just be irreplaceable?

In his pivotal book Linchpin, Seth Godin posits the idea of the most valuable employee or idea being the one that holds the whole thing together. The most valuable leader is the one that is indispensable and creative - living each day as an act of breaching the chaos and finding order.

The antithesis of the ‘linchpin’ is the person who lives in fear of the unknown, uncertain, and undetermined.

In other words, the ones afraid of being replaced.

It is precisely the fear of being replaced that makes you replaceable.

The church digital has no plan to replace the traditional one, it’s true. But whether it will or not is up to the orthodox church. Be irreplaceable. Be indispensable. Be the linchpin.

Don’t place the burden on the digital church. Be the best you that you can be.

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June 27th, 2022