The Church Isn't Closed, the Church Left the Building
About a week ago , President Trump declared houses of worship “essential” and demanded that governors allow worship services, provided they meet CDC guidelines. Of course, politicians have no authority over the Church. But more to the point, the Church never closed. A church that closes doesn’t exist any longer. That happens to thousands of churches each year. Salem isn’t closed. Salem has simply left the building where we gather. I know that it is a sacred space, but the reality is, a church is not the building. The church is the people, and we have been deployed. Napoleon, the emperor of France in the early 1800s, once pointed to a map of China and said, “There lies a sleeping giant. If it ever wakes up, it will be unstoppable.” Rick Warren from Saddleback Church in California said in his book, The Purpose Driven Church , that he believes the church is a sleeping giant. Each Sunday, church seats are filled with members who are doing nothing with their faith except “keeping it.