Opportunities and Challenges Facing the Church
Pastor’s AGM Report – 1st March 2021
Introduction
The threat of the coronavirus pandemic is beginning to recede due to the amazing vaccination roll out, but many uncertainties remain, not least the spread of various mutations. The global impact of this Covid-19 crisis looks set to change many aspects of our society forever. I want us to think about and face up to a number of important opportunities and challenges that we face.
- The mission remains the same
The Covid-19 pandemic has had no effect on the mission of the church. Circumstances have certainly changed but the call to preach the gospel, make disciples and build up the people of God is constant.
The job of the church is to proclaim Christ – in season and out of season – and regardless of whether COVID-19 and lockdown apparently helps or hinders us, that work must be our priority.
- There are new opportunities
Over the past year new doors have opened for the church and for us to connect with the community and even out into the world.
We are now live streaming services on YouTube. An International Bible Study has commenced on Thursday afternoons using Facebook Messenger and there is an additional Zoom Bible Study and Prayer meeting on Monday evenings. There is also some evidence of a new openness to the gospel.
- There are indications of growing tensions in our society
As the stress of prolonged lockdown continues, we are seeing some evidence of a society turning in on itself. Since the times of the early Church, Christians have been like a “third race”, neither Jew nor Gentile, but God’s new creation. Both cancel culture and racism are based on an idolatry that makes part of a society its own god. But as Christians, we believe there is only one God, the Triune God of covenant love and mercy who has created all humanity and has provided one Saviour in His own beloved Son the Lord Jesus Christ.
- The practice of church online
The use of new technology has made online access to our church services accessible. It reaches more people outside our own congregation and outside the church in terms of potential evangelism. So, there are many positives and I think that much of what we are currently doing online will continue after all restrictions are eased.
However, there is a danger of assuming that church online is as good as, or better than, meeting together. So, in emphasising the positives, we can easily forget the negatives. How many church members and attendees are we excluding because they have no access to the internet? What do we miss by not meeting together? Have you so got out of the routine of attending church that you’re going to find it difficult to restart being at the church building?
In Psalm 42 David mourns the fact that he is unable to meet with God (verse 2). He remembers the times when he gathered with the Lord’s people for worship amongst the festive throng (verse 4). This makes his soul downcast (verse 6). His only consolation is that he looks forward to the day he will be once again with the Lord’s people praising God. That is his hope (verse 5).
There is surely still a lesson here. David could pray and worship God alone, but he still saw something vital in the gathered congregation. My concern is that we may neglect that vital aspect. It is where brethren dwell together in unity Psalm 133 that God commands His blessing, not while they are sitting in their respective homes watching on a screen.
I am also concerned is that in adapting to the new normal we may be missing the lesson the Lord is teaching us. We were quick to suggest that this might be a judgment on the world for its godlessness. That may be true, but what about 1 Peter 4:17:
For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God.
Ought we not to be asking:
Why did the Lord close the doors of our churches?
Before the Covid 19 crisis the church overall in the UK was declining rapidly. Even evangelical churches were shrinking. Prayer meetings were by and large declining. Where they still existed, it was mainly older believers meeting together.
Where is the honour due to the Lord’s name? Isn’t this a time to humble ourselves and reassess our attitude to the Lord and to one another? How much do we really value fellowship? How much do we really love the gathered church? How precious to us is the worship of God? How much do we actually love God?
So we must adapt to the new situation. We have the technology to do so. It is right to put things online. What I am unsure of is what this will mean for the worship of God as a gathered church when this is all over.
- We face some practical difficulties
Looking to the future, and the possibility of an end to the pandemic created by the vaccine deployment, we will have to grapple with the question of what will survive from the before times. This is an opportunity for us to reflect on what really matters in church life, and to focus on the core values, vision, and mission that sustains us before God.
The lessons learned online in terms of widening participation will need to be retained and in-church services may look different with hybrid worship involving both in-person and online worshippers becoming more common.
However, there are certainly going to be areas where rebuilding will be very challenging:
Explorers (Friday evening meeting for children aged 4-11 from 6.00 pm – 7.00 pm) – three new helpers are needed before Explorers can restart.
Matrix (Friday evening meeting for young people aged 11-18 from 7.30 pm – 9.00 pm) – one new helper needed.
Music – one of our two main musicians is leaving this summer.
Deacons – one of our deacons is also leaving this summer.
Carers and toddlers (Monday morning 10.00 am – noon) – this needs new personnel if it is going to recommence.
- A wake-up call
So, what lessons have we learned during the lockdowns? This pandemic did not catch God by surprise. It was not the result of happenstance! So what lessons have we learned?
(i) Life in a fallen world is not meant to be comfortable
We modern westerners aren’t good at uncomfortable. We crave comfort. When we feel sick, we take medicine. Push button, fix problem is how our modern lives operate. So, we’ve grown used to comfort. We expect it. Indeed, we demand it. So, when God throws a spanner into our lives – such as a pandemic that disrupts everything – we don’t do so well. We get frustrated. We get scared. We grow anxious, and even panic.
We forget that we live in a fallen world – a world under God’s curse (Genesis 3:16-19). The world is fundamentally broken. Yes, modern technology has done an amazing job ameliorating some of the symptoms – and that’s not a bad thing. But it means we can delude ourselves into thinking life is meant to be comfortable.
But it’s not.
This broken world is not heaven. And never can be. No technology can ever usher in the new heavens and the new earth. Only God can do that.
(ii) This pandemic is God’s severe mercy
It forces us to look for meaning and hope beyond this world. While this pandemic is part of the cursed world we’re living in, it can and is being used by God to achieve His redemptive purposes.
When it comes to Christians, this pandemic is a trial that can shift our gaze from the broken glories of this world, to the undying glories of the resurrected Christ. It can reorient our desires so that instead of yearning for worldly comfort, we seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33).
This pandemic heightens awareness of our mortality. Yes, it’s a challenging thought. But if we combine this death-awareness with the gospel of the risen Christ who has overcome death, we can become more captivated by the resurrected life to come.
When that happens, our white-knuckled demand for worldly comfort is loosened. We then realise – in a fresh way – that true life, meaning and hope isn’t found in a larger bank balance or a new mobile phone, but at the foot of the cross. It’s a hope that will sustain us whatever this pandemic brings.
(iii) This Pandemic highlights the differences between the Christian and secular responses to suffering
There’s a key difference between the typical secular response to suffering and uncertainty, and the Biblical response:
In the modern secular worldview, suffering (especially life threatening suffering) is to be avoided at all costs. It serves no purpose. On the contrary, such suffering takes away from our life’s purpose, which is to be happy and comfortable. The result is that in this view avoiding suffering – even if it means hoarding at other people’s expense – is a rational response.
But in the Bible’s view, a Christian’s suffering serves a higher purpose. Yes, suffering is painful. The Bible doesn’t hide or deny that. But it’s a key way God achieves His purposes, namely, to make us more like Christ (James 1:2-4). That goal gives meaning and purpose to our suffering.
And so, Christians can lean into suffering. We don’t have to fear it. We don’t have to avoid it at all costs even if that means surrendering to a secular agenda. Instead, we can use it for the opportunity that it is: to glorify God and serve others. And that’s a much better way to respond to the unfolding pandemic around us.
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