Pastor’s Mid-week Update
Written blast today, Thursday—-video blast tomorrow, Friday
“Walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Eph. 4:1-3
Let me bare my soul. The enemy will do anything to divide us, especially the body of Christ. In all my more than 50 years of ministry I have never come across anything so polarized, politicized, strategized, ‘conspiricized’ (my made up word) or demonized than COVID-19. That enemy has already deeply divided our country. In Christ we are above that. So, we need to keep our eyes on the One who is above all, sees all and conquers all.
Here is our dilemma. We all have legitimate questions. Do I go out in public or not? Do I wear a mask? How close is too close? Do I go to church? If I do go, how do I interact with people I love and want to communicate with? An even greater question is, am I judging and getting angry with people who do not answer these questions exactly as I do.
As stated in the past, all of us as followers of Jesus need to operate in faith, not fear. That means that we should not be afraid to stay home. We should not be afraid to go out when needed. We should not be afraid to refrain from going to church right now. We should not be afraid to go to church if we are healthy and so choose. AND, we should not be afraid of what others think of us in the decisions we make. Our love for one another, our unity in the Spirit must not change as we deal with this crisis individually. There may not be one answer for all of us. We each have different physical and emotional needs. We all come from a different place in our growth. The good news is that God is working in each of us and is faithful to complete what He has begun in us.
Pastorally, my number one desire is your well-being, safety and continued intimate walk with Jesus. Keeping that in mind, I have conferred with other pastors and with some of our church leaders and am continuing to earnestly seek the Lord. We acknowledge, there is a spike in COVID. So, here are some things we can do.
- We will monitor closely the situation both locally and statewide and listen respectfully to our leaders, trying to abide wherever and whenever possible.
- If we need to close church again for a time, we will as the Spirit leads.
- We will take everything one week at a time until further notice.
- We are taking further measures in the sanctuary to provide more protection. 100 chairs are being removed on Saturday, going to our sister Calvary Chapel in Belleview. This will open up much more space for distancing.
- We encourage a greater awareness of one another so that everyone can feel comfortable if they choose to attend.
- We will refrain from serving corporate communion for this month.
- It is imperative that you feel comfortable wearing a mask.
- We will continue to provide sanitation and supplies for the building.
- Most importantly, we all need to be seeking the Lord’s mind on this and interceding for one another.
As always, we welcome your input and comments. If you would like to express your heart on this matter, please, simply send a reply to this email. Or, you can contact me personally. We want to carefully consider and value your thoughts.
If we continue to look to the Lord Jesus, there is nothing He cannot accomplish in and through us. One way or another, we look forward to seeing you sometime soon. You are loved by the Lord and by us.