Rob Prince's Blog, page 44
April 19, 2020
Coronavirus and the Church: Are we in a storm, a winter season or an Ice Age?
No one will argue that the current Covid-19 crisis is a storm. The real question is how long will this storm last and (in our case) how will it affect the Church?
Here are three scenarios:
It’s a storm and nothing more. Like when a bad storm blows through the area, the power may go out; the roads are impassable, but you hunker down. Wait it out. Soon the sun is shining again, and the storm is over. Life goes back to the way it was. Is the coronavirus only a storm?
It’s an entire winter season. Is coronavirus like an entire Alaskan winter type of winter season? An entire Alaskan winter season means a lot change happens for a longer period of time. There are things you can’t do. Places you can’t go. But after months and months of darkness, the sun finally comes out and things get back to normal. Is the coronavirus here for an Alaskan winter season?
It’s the ice age. Like the ice age, everything changes. When the crisis is over, there’s a new normal. Somethings go extinct. Only the most prepared survive. What’s left looks nothing like it did before the ice age. This is the most serious (obviously) scenario, but we need to be asking: Are we in a coronavirus ice age? Have we only experienced the tip of the iceberg?
A storm, winter season or an ice age—those seem to be our choices?
We are flying blind. We don’t have all the facts. Still, I think only the most optimistic among us (and usually that’s me) says it’s only a storm. I hope and pray it’s only a season. But this might be an ice age. If it is, we had better prepare for it. What if things never go back to the way they were?
For the local church, how does that look in our worship gatherings? What does that do for our evangelism efforts? How does this change our on-line presence and how do we make it better? What happens with child care in the post-pandemic world? Do youth group gatherings still occur? What about retreats, summer camps and concerts in a post-pandemic world? How does that effect our church staffing on all levels? What does an ice age mean financially?
For the global church, how does it affect the travel of missionaries and global leaders? What does this mean for things like work and witness and the World Evangelism Fund? Can Nazarene Compassion Ministries meet the coming wave of needs and requests for aid? Are short-term mission trips over? What about gatherings like General Assembly and getting delegates into the country if there are still travel restrictions?
These are the questions we should be asking. How will we respond if this isn’t just a passing storm or even a long winter season, but it’s an ice age?
Here is our great hope whatever the case: The church will endure! Jesus is on the throne. Proverbs 3:5-6 is an appropriate reminder: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
April 18, 2020
April 17, 2020
April 16, 2020
Nine Lessons (so far) from a Pandemic*
1. Life can change in a flash. For all of our advances in sciences and medicines, a little bug named Covid-19 has smacked us. In January, practically every pastor in America, not-so-originally (present writer included) preached on our future and having 20/20 vision in 2020. We thought we were so clever, but none of us foresaw what was lying just ahead. It’s a good lesson that we can (and should) plan for the future, but our plans don’t have the final say. Solomon figured that out 3000 years ago: Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. (Proverbs 19:21)
2. Patience. We’ve all heard some version of this advice, “Don’t pray for patience or the Lord will send something troubling your way to teach it.” Well, somewhere in this old world, someone must have prayed extra hard for patience, because we are learning it—like it or not. My personality wasn’t built for pandemics. I need to be on the go and doing something, always doing something. Maybe the Lord is teaching me, “Not so fast. Slow down. Take a breath. Relax.”
3. Loneliness. One of the worst byproducts of a stay-at-home mandate is loneliness. God forbid, a loved one gets sick and needs hospitalization—when they need the comfort, strength and assurance from their loved ones the most—they can’t be around. We are wired to be connected with one another. Humans need face to face interaction. God in the garden said it best, “It is not good for man to be alone.” (Genesis 2:18).
4. Heroes. I am not sure if I will look at health care workers, grocery shelf stockers, garbage men, and all the other essential workers the same. I hope not.
5. God’s people find ways to serve. I love that our women’s ministries set up meal trains for healthcare workers and first responders. I love that our seniors are making masks that are hand delivered for free. I love that folks are checking up on our most vulnerable congregants and offering to grocery shop, run errands or do a few chores. Our pastors are knocking it out of the park in their service to the Lord– connecting with children, students and adults. God’s people will serve—pandemic or no pandemic. When folks live out Ephesians 6:7 (Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people), it’s a beautiful thing. But speaking of “hitting it out of the park” …
6. The shocking truth about sports. I’ve realized how much of my time was occupied by watching games and talking about sports. Sports are a black hole. The time spent occupied and consumed by sports cannot be regained. Now c’mon, let me be honest and realistic (who’s kidding who?) when sports resume I will still be interested, but I hope to be more time conscious than I was pre-pandemic. No one will be asked upon entry into heaven about the Wolverines and Buckeye rivalry (Can a Buckeye go to heaven? Sorry I couldn’t resist. It was a low hanging fruit). Sports are fun, but they also suck precious time from the more important things of life.
7. Mute All Button. I wish every social media platform had Zoom’s “Mute All” or at least a “Mute Some” button. Someone talking to much political blather. Mute. Someone attacking, bragging, grumbling or gossiping. Mute. Mute. Mute. Mute.
8. Let the experts be the experts. During a World-Wide Pandemic, I want to hear from level headed, realistic medical experts and scientists on when is the right time to reopen life again. I don’t want to hear from red or blue politicians or various media outlets, who (I know this is “breaking news” to us all) have a hidden (and sometimes not-so-hidden) agenda.
9. Trust in the Lord. Most of us knew this before the pandemic, but maybe the pandemic has made us relearn it or learn it more and better and deeper. God hasn’t left us—there is not a chance of that. So, let’s just trust Him to see us through these crazy days!
*I am certain I will learn more as the pandemic is prolonged. Ask me in a month and my list probably will have grown.
April 15, 2020
April 14, 2020
April 13, 2020
April 11, 2020
The Greatest Threat during this Pandemic is NOT Covid-19
Covid-19 is not our biggest threat during these quarantine days. Most of us will not be infected by coronavirus and even if we are, most of us will survive. But there is another great danger lurking.
Let me explain it this way:
When in Panama last month, we saw two sloths on the roadside. In all my trips there, I had never seen a sloth and this time I saw two. Now home in this quarantined time, I am worried about sloths. Not the cute animals in Panama, but those who succumb to the deadly sin of sloth. Like the slow-moving creature, slothfulness is the slow fade away from Jesus. Unlike Covid-19, everyone quarantined is in the “high risk category.”
The words “sloth” and “boredom” are not in scripture, instead the Bible writers use words like “Idle” and “lazy.” Obviously, these days, those out of work are not “lazy.” It’s more of a forced idleness—that has been thrust upon us. Still the outcomes of idleness whether forced upon or through our own choice or circumstance are the same. Maybe you’ve heard the phrase, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.” It’s true.
In both letters to the church at Thessalonica—Paul warns of those who are “idle and disruptive.” Idleness and disruption go hand in hand. He wrote this in his second letter to the church: We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down. (2 Thessalonians 3:11-12)
I’ve seen other destructive outcomes of idleness and boredom. In nearly every counselling session with a man battling a pornography addiction, boredom was at the top of the list that led to their habit. In nearly every counselling session with a woman caught in an affair, boredom was one item listed for her wandering ways. Alcoholism, drug abuse, suicide and most every other destructive behavior can trace its beginnings to boredom.
During this mandated stay-at-home quarantine, boredom is our very real enemy. Hours wasted or vegged away in front of a TV or scrolling Instagram is probably not the best use of this time. Instead, we need to remind ourselves daily to embody Paul’s words: I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14).
The deadliest danger for most of us is not Covid-19, but using our time unwisely or sinfully. It takes work to press on. It takes commitment and resolve to not succumb to boredom and its destructive and disruptive patterns. We may not have had a say in our idle circumstance, but sinfulness and drifting from Jesus is in our control. Make sure your eyes are fixed on Jesus – quarantined or not.
