mission

Covid-19: 9 Reasons I am Thankful a Year Later

It was a year ago when the Covid-19 lockdowns became real. On top of the pandemic, this past year was full of political division and difficulty. Words that could describe 2020: uncertainty, turmoil, division, isolation, distancing, death.

All of us have been affected by 2020. Some of us felt the struggles of isolation and depression. Some of us became sick (with Covid-19) or other illnesses. Some of us faced the very real challenges of grief and losing a loved one. For all of us 2020 was challenging. For many 2020 was difficult. For others 2020 was devastating.

If you are reading this, regardless of the difficulties you’ve had this past year, you have some things for which to be thankful.

We don’t have to be thankful for everything we’ve experienced, but we should remain thankful in what we’ve experienced. The apostle Paul penned the following words from prison to a church that needed reminding about being thankful.

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:4-8 (emphasis mine)

In reflecting on this past year, here are some of things that I’m thankful for.

During this past year, God taught me to be more thankful for time. A friend of mine observed that it seemed March 2020 happened just yesterday and on another hand that it happened 10 years ago. I’m sure we can all relate to his sentiment. As I was reflecting on this, God reminded me that he created time, is outside of time, and is not bound by time. God gives us time as a gift to spend. 2020 was a year that reminded me the privileges of time with the Lord, time with family, and time with others.

During this past year, God taught me to be thankful for the difficult things. In Scripture, the people God used most often faced difficult circumstances in life. Noah spent more than 100 year building an ark. Abraham left his home. Joseph was sold as as slave and falsely sent to prison. Moses was a refugee in the wilderness. Job. David. Jesus. We could go on, but the biblical data is clear. God uses difficult circumstances to shape and mature us. The isolation, suffering, grief, uncertainty, and division of the past year have been challenging and at times devastating. But in the hands of the Master, these circumstances can also form us spiritually. I’m thankful for how God used the stresses, uncertainties, and difficulties of this past year to point me to him.

During this past year, God taught me to be more thankful for my family. For so many families, distance learning and the loss of extracurricular activities have been difficult. But my wife has been a hero playing the role of teacher, mom, wife, and director of a non-profit. Family life together figuring out school, work, and family day-by-day has been a challenge. But God gave me an exceptional wife who managed the details of this past year spectacularly. We put the boys back in school recently, and I’ll confess that I miss them at home during the day. The pandemic year spent at home together is a time we are certain to never forget.

During this past year, God taught me to be thankful for frontline workers. Here are some of my heroes from the past year: teachers, anybody working in the hospital, and all those working at grocery stores and in the transportation industry. I’m sure I’m leaving other frontline workers out, but for any of us who were able to isolate safely with resources, there are many people for whom we should be thankful. I’m grateful for the teachers who were forced to adapt from in-person to remote to in-person to modified. And next time you think about it, whisper a prayer of thanks for those in the hospital that dealt with the tragedies and deaths of this year. If you had food and necessities during your isolation remember that someone packed, shipped, stocked, delivered, or prepared it. It is easy to take our frontline workers for granted. Don’t. Be thankful for those who had to work when everyone else was told to stay home.

During this past year, God taught me to be thankful for my church family. God called me to be a pastor, and I love my calling. But this year has been uniquely disconcerting. Shutdowns, reopening, disinfecting, distancing, online worship are things they don’t teach you in seminary. But during this entire year, our church family at Wilkesboro Baptist has remained gracious and encouraging. Our church generously gave more than our budgeted needs, participated in online worship, continued serving community mission partners, and prayed for our church and staff. We’ve had no major arguments, frustrations, and fusses. I’m grateful for a church family that’s been supportive, generous, and involved during this challenging year.

During this past year, God taught me to be thankful for the little things. I never thought I would miss seeing people smile. But with everyone masking up, one has to look closely at the eyes to see a smile. I’m grateful for the waves, elbow bumps, and greetings that have replaced hugs and handshakes. I’m grateful for moments in the sunshine and the little things that God does to remind me of his presence. It is good for us to pause and be thankful for the little things in our daily experiences.

During this past year, God taught me to be thankful for good books. Someone once said that we are most shaped by the people we meet, the places we go, and the books we read. With limited opportunities to meet new people and travel during this pandemic, reading is one thing that I could do. This past year gave me the opportunity to finish Francis Schaeffer’s complete works, subscribe to audible.com membership to engage with books when I’m unable to sit down, and to read many other books. In addition to Schaeffer’s works, here are a few favorite reads from my pandemic year. Favorite philosophy/theology book: Pagans and Christians in the City, by Steven Smith. Favorite commentary: Jeremiah and Lamentations: From Sorrow to Hope (Preaching the Word Series), by Philip Graham Ryken. Favorite biography: Leonardo da Vinci, by Walter Isaacson. Favorite leadership book: Eat That Frog, Brian Tracy. A book that challenged me: Dopesick, by Beth Macy. Most inspiring book of this past year: The Hiding Place, Corrie Ten Boom.

During this past year, God taught me to be thankful for good friends. I needed my friends this past year. God gave me good pastor friends to help navigate the changing responsibilities of pastoring in a pandemic. God gave me friends who would just listen and friends who just needed me to listen. While in-person interaction with friends has been different during this year, contacts and conversations have been just as necessary. I’m thankful for those friends that have encouraged, inspired, and challenged me.

During this past year, God taught me to be thankful for his unchanging mission. There are many everyday circumstances that have changed during this pandemic. But “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Our mission to lead our neighbors and the nations to follow Jesus is changeless. Since moving worship services online, we’ve had the opportunity to reach more people with the message of the gospel. God sent unbelievers to our church, and during the course of the year we saw some of them become Christ-followers. We continue to witness God at work in the lives of others. It is important to remember that while many things in our daily experience have changed, the most important things remain the same.

What are some of the things you are thankful for from this past year? What are some of the challenges you’ve overcome during this past year?

Photo by Simon Maage on Unsplash

Anchored in the Church

In today’s post, we are going to reflect on our need for the church community. This is post number three on the topic of being anchored. We have addressed being Anchored in the Word and Anchored in the Gospel the previous two weeks.

This post is informed by the observation that when God saved sinners, he also ordained the church into existence. God’s program of salvation and relationship with mankind does occur individually, but it is is not isolated. The means for spreading the gospel, worshiping God, and serving others is the church. The church is the people of God living in community.

The Greek word, ecclesia, is the word translated church in our English Bibles. It specifically means “called out” or “the called out ones.” The universal church is made up of every believer on planet earth and represents God’s people throughout history. But while the Bible speaks of the universal church, the most common reference to church in the Bible relates to the local church, or to a specific body of believers gathered around God’s mission for worship and fellowship.

To be sure the experience of church has looked different during this Covid-19 pandemic. Attendance, interactions, programs, classes, services, and relationships have all been affected. But the mission and necessity of the church has not been changed.

Our mission at Wilkesboro Baptist Church is to lead our neighbors and the nations to follow Jesus by worshiping, learning, serving and replicating.

Since the church’s founding after the resurrection of Christ, the church has survived persecution, marginalization, heresy, and countless debates and divisions. It is safe to say that the universal church is thriving as are many local congregations.

In his first general epistle, Peter described the church using metaphors and illustrations:

4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, 8 and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

1 Peter 2:4-10, emphasis mine.

As the church, our identity is what God says about us. We are his, and God is building us up into his dwelling place. God has made us royal priests to serve his people and purposes. God has called us from among the nations to reflect his glory and goodness to others.

As Daniel Doriani observed in his commentary on 1 Peter, “In the old covenant, God set his people apart from the nations. In the new covenant, he sets us apart as we live among the nations.” God wants his church to reflect his mercy and goodness to each other and to the peoples around us.

The bottom line. We need each other. We need the church.

This past week I entered our Wednesday evening worship service preparing to preach. This is the service we record and stream on Sunday mornings. But I was not really in a good place, mentally or spiritually, as I walked into the service. We had recently had a repair done at my house that took up a great portion of my week. I was unable to get some things done that I needed to finish. And before the service I heard some distressing news. But something changed when I gathered with the believers to worship. The songs we sang emphasized God’s glory and intervention among his people. Our corporate worship and the leadership of our worship team moved me. I teared up. Sang. Wept. Praised. Prayed. Confessed. In that moment, I needed the ministry of our worship team and the ministry of congregational worship.

The other week, I wrote about just trying to get through. This past week I had this experience again.

I don’t know about you, but there have been times in my life that I’ve prayed for daylight. There have been times that I’ve prayed just to make it through the storm. There have been times that I’ve prayed to get by to the next day.

Anchored in the Word

Sometimes, God answers our prayers to get through with each other. Sometimes, God anchors us in relationship with one another. Sometimes, God holds onto us through the ministry of the church.

More times than I can count, God has strengthened, encouraged, supported, helped, and motivated me through the ministry of believers in his church. We need to be anchored in the church.

  • To be anchored in the church, we need to be part of the church. I’m not specifically talking about church membership. To be a part of the church, we need to repent of our sins and trust Jesus for salvation. Becoming a follower Jesus is our introduction into the life of the church. If you are a follower of Jesus, then you are a part of God’s church.
  • To be anchored in the church, we need to be connected to the church. Relationships matter. If you don’t believe me, consider the fallout from the isolation and separation during this pandemic. We need the benefit that comes with counting on one another in dependence and relationship.
  • To be anchored in the church, we need to serve one another. Just in the last week, I recognized my need for the ministry of someone else. Not only do we need relationship with fellow believers, but we need the gifts and service of others. Your church needs you. And you need the ministry of others in your church.
  • To be anchored in the church, we need to defend the unity of the church. In 1 Peter 2:1, Peter wrote: “So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.” Peter identified these community-destroying vices, and told his readers to rid themselves of behaviors and attitudes that damage the church. We have an obligation to defend the church’s unity.

Being in the church offers encouragement, accountability, service, and support. In this era of isolation and uncertainty, we need the church more than ever. Here are some application points for anchoring yourself in the life of your local church.

Attend, watch, participate. I realize not everyone can attend church right now. Masks, social distancing, pandemic spread, vulnurable health conditions are all reasons for staying home. But if you stay home, watch your church’s service online. Participate in the worship of your church. Sing. Pray. Praise. Take notes. Be a part of your church even if you are apart from your gatherings.

Call, encourage, communicate. While we may not all be able to be as present as we’d like to be, we can still remain in contact with one another. Don’t wait on someone to call you. Pick up your phone and think of someone who may be more lonely than you are. Give them a call. Send them a text. Minister to them. Serving someone else by caring for them is part of our church’s mission.

Pray, support, give. Distance does not affect one’s ability to pray for the needs and situations in the church. One way to remain connected is to pray for your pastoral staff, church leaders, and those sick in the church. Our prayers, support, and giving are ways to invest in the life of the church. Investment in the church leads to being anchored in the church.

Photo by Jackson David on Unsplash