Monday's Catch: COVID-19, Church Revitalization, and More

5 Ways the Pandemic Is Saving the Church

What if the truth is that this pandemic might not just be serving the church, but saving the church? What if the path most churches were on, if not forced into a radical redirection, would have guaranteed their continued marginalization, irrelevance and decline? What if the pandemic has forced countless churches to change in ways that will actually allow them to grow in both size and influence? Consider these five ways the pandemic might just be saving the church instead of killing it.... Read More

The Cancer of Racism amid COVID-19

Three in 10 Americans blame China or Chinese people for the novel coronavirus, according to a report released last week from the Center for Public Integrity and Ipsos. They aren’t being quiet about it, either—one-third of respondents said they have “witnessed someone blaming Asian people for the coronavirus epidemic.” Read More

Unfortunately both the Trump administration and the Democratic Party's presumptive candidate for President of the United States have been fueling anti-Chinese sentiment, the Trump administration to divert attention away from its inadequate response to the COVID-19 pandemic and Joe Biden to show he will be tougher on China than Donald Trump. While the Chinese government may have withheld information regarding the pandemic in its early stages, Americans of Chinese ancestry and more recent Chinese immigrants to the United States are not responsible for the spread of COVID-19 in the United States. The evidence points to Europe as the source of the virus in the United States and to the failure of the US government to take appropriate measures to screen travelers from Europe arriving in the United States and to quarantine those infected with the virus. One way or another the virus would have spread to the United States so any finger pointing and blaming is pointless. What is far more important is preventing the further spread of COVID-19 and the consequent loss of human lives.

Five Likely Consequences of the Pandemic Most Church Leaders Do Not Expect

There have been volumes written about the church world in a post-pandemic era. There have been webinars and blogs and podcasts and more. Indeed, I am one of those who has joined the chorus of voices sharing my perspectives with local congregations. I have also been looking below the surface to see what might transpire that might not be readily obvious. These five likely consequences range from the trivial to the important.... Read More

When Should Churches Reject Governmental Guidelines on Gathering and Engage in Civil Disobedience?

As the COVID-19 stay-at-home quarantines tarry, folks are getting restless. State governments think about pathways to opening up. The stock market leaps a couple percentage points at the slightest whisper of a vaccine. And pastors have begun to ask each other, “When can our churches gather again?” Yet a darker question sometimes follows: “If the government continues to say we cannot meet, when do we as churches engage in civil disobedience by gathering anyway?” Read More

While the public health measures that state and local governments have imposed may be stringent, they are the kind of measures that must be imposed to prevent the spread of a highly infectious disease. Despite the arguments of some politicians and pastors, they are not violations of the constitutionally-guaranteed right to practice one's religion. The Constitution does not recognize the right of individuals or groups to ignore the health and safety of the community and to spread disease or otherwise endanger the community in the practice of their religious beliefs. What we are experiencing in the United States during the pandemic is not like what is happening in the People's Republic of China where the government at all levels is seeking to suppress the practice of religions that it views as competitors with the Communist Party. Nor is it like what is happening in Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries where no religion other than Islam is tolerated.

How to Choose a Bible Study for Your Online Group

For a lot of small groups, that means figuring out how to successfully choose and work through a Bible study virtually. It’s not always an easy task under normal circumstances, but now it’s especially difficult. What worked well with a group sitting around a living room or classroom, may not translate as well to a video call. Here are a few things to think about as you decide what study might work best for your online group. Read More

Will Evangelism Be Different After the Pandemic?

I’ve been wondering in recent weeks how the COVID-19 pandemic will affect Christians who want to be faithful in sharing the gospel and inviting others to church. We’re called to go and make disciples; how do we do this when we’re forced to stay? What will disciple-making look like after the crisis passes? Read More