When Temples Topple: God’s Unexpected Blueprint for Community

Open door with a glow of light through it from the outside

Back in January when we asked a friend (who lives in Wuhan) to officiate our wedding, we did not expect a virus outbreak to happen. We really didn’t expect this outbreak to affect the world the way it has, with some of us just now returning to limited church gatherings and others still waiting.

As we are navigating how, when—or if—to start gathering in-person for worship, many of us feel displaced. For those that have gone back, church looks a lot different than when we left it. The old normal seems like an increasingly distant memory.

The Israelites experienced something similar but to a much greater extent during their return from captivity. The temple that was supposed to be the center of worship for the God of the universe had been destroyed, and the Israelites were sent to Babylon. The books of Ezra & Nehemiah tell the story about their return to Israel. This return to normalcy was pretty anticlimactic, especially regarding temple worship.

But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy.

—Ezra 3:12

Those that wept probably had in mind the stories of the temple’s dedication where God’s presence descended into the midst of Israel’s assembly. Yet, this didn’t happen for them. Yes, they were back in their land, and, yes, the temple was being rebuilt. But this seemed like a far cry from God’s promise of establishing His kingdom of perfect peace over all the nations. This shadow of the former glory prompted the question of whether that former glory would ever return! One thing was for sure: the pre-exile days were over, and there was no going back.

But God had something greater in mind. After all, His covenant was not with a building but with a community of people. A few hundred years later, Jesus—God Incarnate—was conceived and born into the world. He is the true Temple. After His death, resurrection, and ascension, this new group of believers are revealed to be the place where God’s Holy Spirit rests and dwells.  It is through this community that God sets up His temple, and it is to this community He entrusts His kingdom. God has always intended His creation to be His cosmic temple, and us humans to work as priests within this ultimate temple. [By the way, the people at the Bible Project can tell a lot of this with much cooler imagery, and it is worth looking up!]

So, why am I talking about all of this temple stuff? It’s because it helps us understand where we are in this season. I do not believe God allows things to happen arbitrarily. He knew this pandemic would happen and disrupt our old normal way of doing church. Instead of trying to go back to the “former glory” or mourning its loss like the repatriated Israelites, we should recognize that we are moving from one kind of glory to another. God has something greater in mind.

God has allowed what can be shaken to be shaken, so what is unshakable remains (Hebrews 12:26-28). We have the opportunity to ask ourselves: “What is the Church without a building? Do we see the Church continuing to live and thrive? Did we put more trust in our temples/buildings/programs than in the Living God?” The Church is ultimately a community of believers. All we need is two or three for Christ’s presence and authority to be in the midst of us. For me, this has been a sobering reminder that I have maybe put too much emphasis on our centralized gatherings. Don’t get me wrong, I love being able to see believers together in groups, and I miss it! However, I fear I have leaned toward making the same mistakes the Israelites did. They focused too much on a physical center of worship and lost sight of the main mission, which was to be a light to the nations. The mission wasn’t to hoard God’s presence but to spread it far and wide!

A great irony for me is that being that light is what we try to emphasize at Outpost. Our groups are really meant to be a communitas (a temporary liminal gathering for the purpose of change) more than a permanent static community. Throughout Strive—our summer masculinity program for young men–we emphasize that the goal of healing is ultimately not for yourself, but so that you can return to your community as a good gift. And we have seen many men do just that. In fact, we have had four weddings of alumni this summer (my own included). Our mission is not to hoard what God is doing, but to multiply it.

Even as we think of more enduring communities, such as our local churches, we must realize that these are not meant to be permanent and static. Our Christian “temple worship” was never intended to be contained within four walls. Our churches—and our gatherings of even two or three—are ultimately transitional spaces leading into God’s Kingdom and the fullness of Jesus’ rule and reign over everything when He returns! We are the living Temple, and we are meant to grow and expand and see God’s presence spread across all creation and all spheres of society.

So when we think about community as Christians, let us not get discouraged by restrictions on how we meet or how long this will last. This is an opportunity to embrace a new kind of normal. A normal that truly realizes the priesthood of believers. A normal that fulfills our call to carry God’s presence to all people, all places, and all circumstances. That why we are called an Outpost. We stand at the farthest edges of the Kingdom, and we are seeking to expand that Kingdom into the hardest and darkest places of our world.

WHY DOES GOD ALLOW THE CORONAVIRUS? 4 CHRISTIAN INSIGHTS

compassionate hand clasp

Dr. Sean McDowell is one of the keynote speakers at the Restored Hope Network HOPE2020 Conference in June. This year, they have moved the conference online and renamed it HOPE 2.0. Since that makes this conference more accessible, we hope this blog post will pique your interest to check out the conference.

School cancelled. The NBA season suspended. People sick. And most tragic, thousands of people are dead.

Why would God allow such a terrible disease to become a pandemic? If God has the power, why wouldn’t He stop it?

Don’t be afraid of the question

Given that I teach Bible and apologetics, a number of people have been asking me this question over the past few days. My guess is that it has crossed your mind as well.

As Christians, we should not be afraid of difficult questions like this. Jesus said to love God with our hearts, souls and minds (Mark 12:28-31). The Apostle Peter said to be ready with an answer for our hope (1 Peter 3:15). Christianity has a rich history of wrestling with all sorts of difficult questions, including the problem of natural evil.

Caring for people in need

Yet, before we probe this question any further, let me state something up front: I am not going to pretend to address this question entirely. I am not even sure it can be answered in its entirety. God does not answer Job’s plea with a reason for his pain. Rather, He helps Job understand that his perspective is limited, and that God can still be trusted amidst Job’s questions and pain.

Even attempting a question can feel insensitive and uncaring, especially because so many people have been affected by this disease. Thus, if you have suffered because of the coronavirus, please know that I am deeply sorry for your experience. If you are a Christian, and you see people suffering, the first response is to empathize with them. As the Apostle Paul said, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). And then, of course, we need to reach out and love our neighbors.

Four Christian insights about evil and suffering

Rather than attempting to answer specifically why God allows the coronavirus, please allow me to offer four general insights from the Christian worldview. For those who want to go further, I will suggest some books at the end. My hope is that these four points will be springboards for further discussion with your family, friends, and neighbors.

First, the world is deeply broken.

Although the Bible begins with the creation of the world, and of mankind being placed in a beautiful Garden, the world very quickly gets messed up. The entire world is affected when Adam and Even choose to disobey God. Not only does sin break the relationship between God and human beings, but the physical ground itself is cursed (Genesis 3:17-18). The Apostle Paul reminds us that creation “groans” and awaits restoration (Romans 8:19-20).

The extent of sin’s effect on creation is debated among theologians. In fact, some scientists have even observed that viruses are necessary for life on planet earth. Yet Christians should not be surprised by the brokenness of the world, including the existence and spread of deadly viruses. Quite literally, sin has ravaged everything.

Second, God allows suffering and evil to draw us to eternal things.

God does not cause evil. But He does allow it. One reason may be that God knows that life continues for eternity after this present age. It is easy to get distracted by the desires and needs of the moment. Yet if the afterlife is real, God may allow evil and suffering to stir us up to think about eternal life. He may allow us to suffer so we move beyond our momentary pleasures and focus on what lasts forever.

Third, Jesus understands our suffering.

It is only in the Christian faith that God actually experiences human suffering. While Scripture does not mention Jesus getting sick, we do know that he suffered immensely from hunger and stress (e.g., Matthew 26:36-46). The author of Hebrews writes, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (4:15).

The God of the Bible has not abandoned us to our suffering. He has entered into it. He understands when we suffer and empathizes with us. Where is God when we suffer? Part of the answer is that He is right there suffering with us.

Fourth, Jesus has conquered this world.

Sickness, evil, and death do not have the last word. Jesus does. The Apostle Paul suffered immensely. He was shipwrecked, beaten, stoned, and experienced deep hunger and thirst. And yet he refused to lose heart (see 2 Cor. 6:4-5). Why? Because he knew Jesus had already conquered this world. Paul believed in the resurrection of Jesus, and thus refused to grieve without hope (see 1 Thess. 4:13).

So much more could be said about why God allows suffering and natural evil. This post is not meant to offer a simple and tidy response, but to offer some insights about how Christians can think about such a difficult question.

Let’s have conversations with our unbelieving friends about why God allows suffering and evil. But remember, our first task it to empathize with and love them as our neighbors.

This article was originally published on SeanMcDowell.org. We hope you will check out the HOPE 2.0 conference and register to hear more from all the speakers, workshops and testimonies! There will even be a Q&A with the speakers! The cost is only $100. The speakers include Joe Dallas and Linda Seiler as well, both of whom have great testimonies and strong ministries that speak of God’s truth and healing power. This conference is for strugglers, family members, loved ones, friends, pastors, counselors and laypeople.