So would it be fair to say that MacArthur has a pope complex then? But even that's not really fair to the pope.

The church I served during COVID did close its doors during the pandemic out of concern for people's health. We did things online. We did things very intentionally. We did worship on zoom so that there would be interaction and community. Even when we when back in person, we fully integrated the people online - we had online lectors and would show them on the screen in the sanctuary. We had online assistants. We also had inperson worship leaders too. We would make a point of people online and in person being able to see each other for the passing of the peace. We did online communion too. We integrated both and were intentional about both online and in person as much as possible. Not everyone liked it, but I'll tell you that the couple in Switzerland whose parents were a part of our church loved it because there was a specific time every week they got to worship with family and friends. They were as much a part of the congregation as anyone else.

I'm always amazed at the argument that online church isn't church. It's as if Jesus isn't present once you reach the doors of the sanctuary. How convenient that we get to contain Jesus and put boundaries on Jesus.

And as for MacArthur's need for people to listen to him - I'd much rather have people working out faith together, struggling with questions, having doubts, etc. rather than me having to come up with an answer for everything. I don't have the answers. I don't think it's helpful for pastors or the congregation to think that pastors have all the answers. We don't. And that's a good thing. The opposite of faith is not doubt, it is certainty. If you are certain, you don't need faith.