Day 3 of 365: Being Stretched

It’s a funny thing as a pastor looking at so many Facebook posts pertaining to the issue of COVID. Back in March of 2020 I recall having a bit of a panic attack knowing this thing was real when the schools decided to go virtual. I had heard about COVID mostly on the cruise my wife and I took with my brother and his wife back in February. When we arrived home and saw everything that was going on it got me thinking about the kids schooling, Tracy’s work and the church. 

In larger churches there is a bit more wiggle room to bounce ideas off one another in order to navigate these difficult times. When it comes to smaller churches though where the pastor is the only paid staff and outside of a couple board members that weigh in with good insight, it really made many pastors including myself a bit panicky. There were many churches across the nation that had too close down for good and yet many that made it. I am so thankful for a church that made it.  I am confident I gained more gray hair and even lost more of what I did have. 

As we progressed through the year however something very ugly began to happen. The nation began to politicize this disease. Many Christians got (and remain) downright nasty. Now let me clarify I do believe this time in our history was used to scare people and to leverage political agendas in some cases. What I also believe is that this disease is real and that we ought to be careful. If it means shutting down the church to go virtual for a little while then why not? Does it show a lack of faith? Not at all. What it means is that unless a person is a medical professional, I am open to opinions but I am going to stick with the pros on making decisions. 

Radiant Fellowship was not much different than many other churches. What we had going for us as we moved forward was that this church had been streaming its services since 2009. I am thankful for the fact (as I told my worship team) it has stretched me in ways that will only benefit our online presence for when we do meet in person beginning this Sunday.

As a person who has COVID along with my family, I can confidently say there was nothing political about it. It wipes you out and makes you feel like crud. I cannot imagine how much more difficult it would be on a person with underlying conditions.

So all of that to say, shoutout to all you pastors in a church where you are the sole staff person and yet you are here praising the Lord because he protected you. Way to hear from God on that one!