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Notice this part of the PCA's Book of Church Order:
"Public worship differs from private worship in that in public worship God is served by His saints unitedly as His covenant people, the Body of Christ." (BCO 47-7)
"Public worship differs from private worship in that in public worship God is served by His saints unitedly as His covenant people, the Body of Christ." (BCO 47-7)
The sentence immediately following says that "For this reason..." children should be present as well as adults.
So it's clearly imaging a united physical presence.
So it's clearly imaging a united physical presence.
Virtual worship service is actually a collection of private worship services. They may or may not happen "at the same time" but they are not happening unitedly.
This even more true when technology creates time gaps-- whether a 20 sec. delay or people choosing to watch later.
This even more true when technology creates time gaps-- whether a 20 sec. delay or people choosing to watch later.
Virtual worship service prevents us from worshiping "together." We cannot hear the voices of the other saints. We cannot see their faces.
The pastor's interaction with the people is also mediated in new ways.
The pastor's interaction with the people is also mediated in new ways.
None of these points mean that God cannot or will not bless people through virtual worship. They do not mean that He will not accept this worship as pleasing.
But they do mean that it's not equivalent to a public worship service.
But they do mean that it's not equivalent to a public worship service.
This is different than a limitation on attendance, because in that case we could still have a portion of our congregation in attendance, and we could even rotate those members over time. We also did our best to accommodate as many people as possible by adding more services.
But now people are not allowed to exercise their religion through public worship at all, until the temporary order expires. Only the minister and staff are allowed to be present. So the logic of the order is to prohibit a public worship service.
This may or may not be appropriate given the severity of the pandemic. My argument has not attempted to answer that question. But it is very important to make clear what the order does to worship services & what Protestant pastors have to consider and communicate to their people.
