EASTER: For such a time as this

“Easter won’t be the same this year,” said one pastor. Another pastor told me how their church is making plans to celebrate Easter when the lockdown is lifted. “When everyone gets back, we are going to blow off the doors!”

I get it.

Three years ago, the Easter Celebration at our church was one of the most powerful worship services I’ve attended in recent years. Soul-stirring songs, well planned creative elements, a moving testimony and a timely message were infused with the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit. God showed up! Add lots of people into the mix, and you have the kind of service that fuels a pastor’s ministry for the next six months.

This year will be different We will be sitting in front of a phone, computer or TV, watching Easter online. It’s not what we would have chosen.

Yet, I believe our celebration of Jesus’s resurrection is more important than ever. Easter is not a grand celebration for the good times; it is life’s most important truth for the hard times. Our well-orchestrated services don’t make Easter; the wonderful, life-changing truths contained in the simple phrase, “He is risen!” make us.

During its long history the church has faced crises far more serious than our current pandemic. Severe persecution, horrible wars, and devastating plagues, have forced Christ followers to remember the resurrection of Jesus while isolated in prison, hunkering down in foxholes, or living in a refugee camps. While they wished their circumstances would have been different, it was the truth of Easter that offered them hope.

If the experts are right, Easter Sunday will come about the time the pandemic is at its worst in our country.  Fear, anxiety, hopelessness, grief fill many hearts. The truth of Jesus resurrection—and only the truth of Jesus’s resurrection--speaks to all of these in a lasting way.

This Easter may not be the biggest Sunday of the year, but in our recent history, there has not been a more important Sunday. The glorious truth of Easter has not changed. It makes possible an eternal, new normal, which no virus can touch. 

People will be watching from their phone, their computer, their laptop. They need to hear the bigger-than-our-every circumstance, life-changing words: He is risen!

The resurrection of Jesus is for such a time as this.

COVID-19 Rethinking Church

COVID-19 is forcing us to rethink how we do church.

When the lock down began, churches scrambled to get their worship services online. In a remarkably short period of time, the vast majority of churches figured out how to offer some kind of online presence. Sunday services now range from sophisticated to simple.

Regardless of the service being offered, almost every pastor I have talked to is excited about the number of views. Many pastors have told me something like, “When COVID-19 is over, we are going to continue to stream our services, and work to make them better. This is opening our eyes to a whole new dimension of ministry.”

While both impressive and heartwarming to see churches stepping up and going online in creative formats, I personally see this pandemic impacting churches in a deeper, more significant way. 

Here are four things I have observed.

DEPENDENT PRAYER  

Crisis inevitably turns us to God. I believe this is one of the reasons God allows times of suffering. As my wife, Pat, recently prayed on one of our morning walks: “God it’s good for our souls when we are small and you are big.” In the face of COVID-19 we all feel small. As a result, we are turning to God, who alone is truly BIG. 

Churches are praying in a whole new way. Individuals are rising earlier and praying longer. Churches are organizing Zoom Prayer Meetings. Transformation Ministries pastors and churches are fasting and praying every Friday. There is a new level of dependent prayer happening in our churches--prayer that grows out of desperation, and the recognition of our great need of God. We can be certain that God is taking notice!

INTENTIONAL CARE

When the lock down came, churches immediately began to wrestle with the question: How are we going to care well for our people? One of the first responses was to take physical gatherings online. So small groups were encouraged to now us Zoom. Wherever possible, churches engaged in “digital duplication” (doing online what we previously did through physical gatherings).

But, very quickly, churches moved beyond “digital duplication” to intentional systems of care. They chose to pursue every person in their greater church community with the shepherding love of Jesus.  As a result, teams of people have been recruited insuring that every person in the church gets a weekly phone call. Healthy volunteers are shopping for those who are most vulnerable. Pastoral and congregational care are happening with great intentionality. 

As one pastor put it, “The focus has shifted from managing our systems, to authentically pastoring people.”  While social distancing is the norm, relationships are deepening.

KINGDOM COLLABORATION

Pastors are working together more than ever before. Almost every pastor feels overwhelmed and inadequate. Nothing in seminary, or previous ministry experience, prepared us for this. We are in a place we have never been before. It’s all new! As a result, we are leaning into each other with a new humility.

I recently called a pastor, who told me that that he had just come from a time of prayer and planning for the Community Easter Sunrise Service. Eight pastors in the community of Blythe will be collaborating in an online Sunrise Service. Another pastor shared with me that the church he pastored, would be joining other churches in the greater Ventura area in the use a common hashtag--#JesusChangedMyLife--for all of their Easter Services.  

When we work together, God raises the tide. And a rising tide, lifts every church.

GOSPEL URGENCY

When the lock down hit, an urgency came over the church. Churches did what they needed to do to get online! In almost 40 years of pastoral experience I’ve never seen so many churches mobilize so quickly. Tradition became secondary. Church boards didn’t block progress. Congregations didn’t moan about changes. Churches worked together to do what needed to get done. 

Praise God for the great work that has taken place. 

But the greatest work of the church is not yet finished. There is a disease that is more pervasive and deadly than the Corona Virus. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ is strong enough to overcome this disease. As churches mobilize to proclaim the death and resurrection of Jesus this Easter, and then continue to do so in the weeks and months ahead, we need to make sure that traditions remain secondary, church boards become our greatest gospel advocates, and our congregations are willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. 

What would happen if gospel urgency became our everyday passion?

FINAL THOUGHT

To borrow the words of my new favorite song: “God is moving in this place….waymaker, miracle worker, promise keeper, light in this darkness. That is who You are!” The most recent Presidential briefing warned us to expect a very hard next two weeks. The dark is only going to get darker! But God’s light is shining in this darkness. God is moving in His church.  I see new evidence of dependent prayer, intentional care, Kingdom collaboration and gospel urgency.

May this deeper work of God remain with us long after the virus is gone. If so, God’s church will be a powerful church, whether it gathers physically in a sanctuary or online in a living room.

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.                 

Ephesians 3:20-21

BAD LUCK AND CHURCH PLANTING

I'm currently reading GREAT BY CHOICE by Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen.  Today I read the chapter called "Return on Luck." In this chapter, the authors ask the question: What part did luck play in the success of these 10X companies? As one might guess given the title of the book,  the authors conclude that luck does not play a significant role.  Essentially, great companies make their own luck, and overcome bad luck.

Tucked away in the middle of the chapter is this sobering observation: "A single stroke of good luck, no matter how big the break, cannot by itself make a good company. But a single stroke of extremely bad luck that slams you on the Death Line, or an extended sequence of bad luck events that creates a catastrophic outcome, can terminate the quest."

As someone who cares about church planting, and is himself involved in planting a church, I began reflecting on the bad luck stories I have heard in relationship to church planting. Promised funding dries up. Try as it might, the new church cannot find a place to meet, or one that fits into a meager budget. The planter becomes sick. While one these scenarios may raise questions,  the possibility of extremely bad luck is a scary reality for a church planter. (It's a scary reality in all of life, isn't it?)

As I read reflected on bad luck stories and what might go wrong with the church I'm currently planting, I was struck by a verse in the Bible I read this morning.  It is found  I Samuel 23:14. David is experiencing a whole bunch of "bad luck". King Saul is hunting him, intent on killing him. Saul is drawing near; the David story is about to end. Then when we read, "But God did not give David into his hands." God protected David. God did not allow David to experience bad luck.

Extremely bad luck is always a possibility when one is planting a church. But, church planters cannot live in the fear of what might go wrong; they step forward in the confidence that God will protect and provide. Planters operate in the confidence that  God will not give them, or their church, into the jaws of extremely bad luck.

It is relatively easy for us to see how God moves and provides positively on our behalf. We have a more difficult time seeing the ways in which God protects us from the "bad luck." Today, I want to be thankful for the good things God has done. Today, I also want to be extra thankful for the bad things that have not happened. And, while I find the chapter on "luck" very helpful, and understand the intent of the authors, I am thankful that I serve a sovereign God, who is in control of my luck, and the luck of others who answer the call to plant churches.

GOD KNOWS, WE TRUST

Our job is to trust the God who knows the future, and is working out his redemptive purposes for our good and His glory. This truth was brought home to me afresh as I read Genesis 18 this morning.

There are two primary events in Genesis 18, emanating from the visit of the heavenly 'trio" to Abraham.  The first event involves the announcement of a son, Isaac. What is the response of Abraham and Sarah to this announcement? Laughter. In fact, "laugh" is found four times in the space of a few verses. The second involves the announcement of Sodom's sin, and the destruction the city. What is the response of Abraham to this announcement? Argument and pleading. Abraham wants to be sure that he can trust God to do the right thing.

I have never tied these two incidents together. Now I see that they are connected by what I call--GOD KNOWS, WE TRUST. In both of these events, we see a man who struggles to trust God what God knows.

You know the end of this story that begins in this chapter.  Isaac is born on schedule (Gen 21), and Sodom is revealed to be more wicked than Abraham could ever have imagined (Gen 19). God knows what he knows, and God knows what he is doing. Abraham had to learn that he could trust God.

Of course, what we read in scripture is meant to be applied to our lives. Do we really believe God knows? Does God know what is happening in the world? Does God know how to handle the affairs of the world? Is God aware of what is going on in our lives? If the answer is "yes" then our response is to trust.

I pray that I can do that well in 2012.

EVANGELISTIC CHURCHES AND ME

Georgia's TOP EVANGELISTIC CHURCHES was the name of a pamphlet recently sent to me by a friend. Honestly, it's not the kind of pamphlet I typically keep around. Before throwing it out, however, I decided to give it a scan. 

What lessons can be gleaned from these churches? While 10 are listed, let me cite the top 5. Incidentally, when measured by the number of baptisms, these churches are truly evangelistic. Regardless of whether they are categorized as small, medium or large (over 500), the vast majority of the churches had a better than 1:10 attendance to baptism ratio--and that's really good.

#1 - Evangelistic churches are intentional in their approach.

#2 - The pastor's influence is elevated in evangelistic churches.

#3 - Evangelistic churches purposefully engage the congregation in personal evangelism.

#4 - Evangelistic churches pray for the lost and unchurched by name.

#5 - Evangelistic churches connect their ministries to evangelistic opportunities.

Any surprises here. I don't think so. There are no new programs, secret methods, or great gimmicks. It's all about intentionality, leadership, training, dependency on God and using every opportunity to present the claims of Christ.

It's pretty basic stuff, isn't it?  It makes me ask the question: Why isn't every church evangelistic? I suppose there are a number of reasons. But, I wonder if in the end it doesn't come down to something real basic--passion. How much passion do we have for the gospel? Is our heart burning with the compelling love of Jesus that motivates us to do whatever we can to make him known to people? Where there is passion there is a way.

Instead of decrying the lack of passion in the churches I see and know, I think I'll take some time to examine my own heart.  How much do I pray for my neighbors?  When is the last time I shared the gospel with someone face to face? How much does my heart burn within me? 

Lord, I'm ready and willing. Lead me, sensitize me, and give me the words to say to someone in whose heart you have already been at work. 

WHERE ARE YOU LOOKING?

Yesterday I watched Rory McIlroy destroy a world-class field of golfers and win the US Open by eight strokes. Besides the wide-margin of victory, what makes his victory so intriguing is that Roy is still a kid,  only twenty-two years old. As the announcers were sharing their post-tournament reflections, Johnny Miller talked about the whole group of young, outstanding, up-and-coming, highly-talented, twenty-something golfers that are changing the landscape of the sport. Tiger (Woods) and Phil (Mickelson) may well be giving way to Rory and Jason (Jason Day, a twenty-three year old, finished in second.)

Today I will be attending an assessment event at Hope Baptist Church for church planters hosted by Launch, a church-planting organization. The assessment will be filled with young, twenty-something, aspiring church planters. Being somewhat familiar with what's happening in church planting around our country these days, I realize that this event is not an isolated phenomenon. Scores of passionate, gifted, twenty-somethings are sensing God's call to plant a church.  In his recent book,   Ed Stetzer pointed out that for the first time in a long time there are now more churches being planted than closed each year in our country. These young church-planters are changing the landscape of the church, and may be instruments in changing the landscape of the nations itself.

I began this morning by thinking about the new developments taking place in the world of golf. Now, mid-morning, I'm thinking about new developments taking place in church planting.  Both developments testify to changes taking place in our world, but only one of these has the power to effect lasting change.

What concerns me about me is that I could have caught up in the world of golf and missed the greater thing that God is doing in his church. I could have missed the greater thing that God is doing because I was spending my time looking at, giving attention to, and thinking about something else.

I don't want to miss what God is doing in our world. My guess is that you don't either. One thing is clear, however,  if we want to see what God is doing, we need to be looking for it. If we are prayerfully looking for what God is doing, I'm confident He will reveal it to us.  That's a promise God gives to us again and again. Once we know what God is doing, then we have the great privilege of participating in his activity.

I'm really looking forward to being at this assessment this morning. God is up to something, and it's a lot bigger than a stunning victory at a golf tournament. Let's make sure we don't miss it.


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EVERYDAY HEROES

Recently my wife and I watched "The Longest Day," the epic WWII movie about the allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. I have never seen a movie with so many stars in it. Evidently, every notable actor of that era felt it was his patriotic duty to play a role.

After I viewed the movie, I was struck by the fact that there was not really a leading character. With all the stars, there's not a star! It's a movie that simply chronicles the exploits of many heroic and courageous individuals and platoons. The general (Eisenhower) who after the counsel of his advisors reluctantly gives the order for the invasion. The soldiers who secure the bridge. The paratroopers who take the village. The thousands of unnamed soldiers who are gunned down trying to secure a beachhead. The army engineers who finally make a way from Omaha Beach.

Who's the hero of the story? No one. Or even better everyone. Everyone is a hero!

"The Longest Day" is  a powerful picture of the church on mission. Ultimately the war against the forces of darkness is going to be won because individual Christ-followers live courageously and sacrificially for the cause of the gospel. The mother who will not stop praying for her wayward child. The student who loves the geek to Jesus. The church planter who dares to believe the gospel can reach that neighborhood. The computer programmer who chooses to take his skills to the mission field so the scriptures can be translated more efficiently into new languages.

 To be sure, we live in a celebrity Christian culture. Certain names make headlines. But, in the end, it will be ordinary Christians doing their duty in the trenches of life that help the church accomplish its mission. Thank God for EVERYDAY HEROES.