Important Questions for the Church
By Jessica McFalls
There are several questions we could ask about the current global crisis. Questions such as, “How did this happen?,” “Who is to blame?,” “Why did this happen?,” “What is the right governmental response?,” and probably the one on everyone’s mind right now, “When is it going to end?” While there is a place for these questions, it is time now to look at another set of questions. These are questions to assist us in making the most of this time, of seeing something good come from it. Questions such as, “What have we learned?,” “What changes caused by this crisis are actually good and should be continued when it’s over?” These kinds of questions firstly help us to look beyond the current discomforts of this situation to a future day that has the potential to be even better than the days preceding this global event. Secondly, they ensure that all this suffering and turmoil have not been for naught. These kinds of practical questions also move us beyond mere theory and philosophy toward real and tangible change. All events in our lives have the potential to lead us to meaningful change if we are willing to engage with the right questions and respond to what we discover in the answers.
Making disciples and planting churches is what we are all about in this All Nations Family. It makes sense then that as a family we ask questions about how this global event has affected those activities. It has been interesting to watch the Church globally respond to the various restrictions faced around the world. Many of the cultural trappings we have known as “Church” have been stripped away during this time. This has been especially true for churches in parts of the world where church meetings take place in large groups and in one building. These churches have been forced to find ways to stay relationally connected in a meaningful way without being able to gather in large groups. In other parts of the world where Christianity is still relatively new most churches have been able to adapt quickly to the new realities this has brought. However, for many in the global Church it has been hundreds of years since we have had to figure out what it means to be Church when we cannot legally gather in large groups.
For those who are in parts of the world where Christianity is still new and growing, they have also faced new challenges in attempting to connect with their church members via technology. Some of this technology, such as Zoom or other video call platforms, are very new to them. As they are being exposed to these new tools, they are also dreaming up new ways to connect, train, and coach each other. This is an exciting development.
What used to be a good sermon about how the “Church” is not the building but the people in the building, has moved from a good theological concept to ponder to a sudden reality to be grappled with! There is a good chance that large gatherings may be impossible for the near future. So, what DOES it mean for Church to be the people and not the building or the institution? Even if many churches were doing well in living this out before, it is at a whole other level now!
What will the Church have learned when this is all over? What should look different about Church globally when the pandemic is done? These are the questions I hope each of us will be asking both individually and as church communities around the world.
Many people have attempted to answer the question — as though they were speaking on God’s behalf — WHY this pandemic has happened. Some of the answers offered have directly or indirectly suggested that God wanted this pandemic to happen or that it was His punishment for the sin of _______ (fill in the blank). I don’t know why this has happened but what I do know is that God takes every situation we face and uses it for good in our lives, and through us, in the lives of those around us. His specialty is making beauty out of ashes! One question that I have felt led to ask myself and those that I coach is this: “How should Church look/respond during crisis?” I have wondered aloud with several friends and colleagues if this could be one way that God is making beauty out of ashes in this pandemic.
Allow me to explain my thoughts here. This global pandemic, as horrible as it is, could have been much, much worse. If you are like me, you’ve seen the disaster movies where half the world’s population dies in a pandemic or something crazy like that. What if one of the ways God is using this pandemic is to teach the Church globally how to be and respond in the time of global crisis? It could be, if some interpretations of the Bible are correct, that many more of these kinds of events will come in the future. Could this be our chance to learn how to respond well to global crisis as the Church in these times to our unbelieving friends, family and neighbors in a way that shines the Light of Jesus? Have we learned that? Are we doing that well?
This is not the first time the Church has faced pandemic and what seemed like global crisis at the time. The Roman empire faced a fierce plague during the early years of the church. Historical reports written record that the followers of Jesus sacrificially cared for not only their fellow believers but any who were sick and many died as a result. They paid the ultimate sacrifice. This response left a mark on the unbelieving population around them. One that has made it into the pages of history. Will our response in this pandemic and any disasters that may face us in the future also see a response from the Church worthy of the history pages? Or better yet, worthy of the King we worship?
I hope that these thoughts and questions have stimulated you to ask your own questions with God and with each other. I hope they have sparked conversations that will lead to great insights inspired by Holy Spirit. May we be better on the other side. Lord have mercy on us, that we may shine His Light to a world lost in darkness.