Thursday Catch: The Seismic Shift Affecting Today's Church and More

Dave Gibbons: The Shift Already Happened—Before COVID-19

Are you seeing that a seismic shift took place? The pandemic is just giving us clarity about what has been growing underground for some time. We have entered a season of renaissance for the church. And it’s only now becoming evident to many. Read More

More Pastors Agree With Andy Stanley: No Worship Services Until 2021

Now 5 percent of church leaders say they don’t expect to reopen for the rest of the year. Read More

Protestant Churches Targeted in Korean Gathering Ban

In South Korea, where COVID-19 clusters keep emerging despite aggressive measures, Protestant churches say they’re being singled out with “repressive” governmental measures. Starting July 10, any type of small group gatherings held inside Protestant church buildings—except for Sunday worship services—are banned. If needed, officials say, the ban also will be extended to Catholic churches and Buddhist temples. Read More

I am adding this commentary due to the tendency of some Americans to exploit an article like this one to bolster their claim that state and local governments are using unnecessary public health measures to persecute Christians in the United States. Based upon what Ms. Martin wrote in her article the South Korean government may not have handled this matter very well, imposing the ban without first consulting the churches that would be affected by the ban.

At the same time there are two sides to every story and sometimes more than two sides. Large church gatherings in South Korea have been implicated in the spread of COVID-19 in that country. The extent churches have cooperated with the South Korean health authorities has not been uniform.

South Korean churches have prayer practices that can contribute to the spread of COVID-19 in poorly-ventilated, enclosed space like the rooms used by small groups in a church. One of these practices is is tongsung kido, a Korean style of prayer which is also used in Africa as well as other parts of Asia (and which I commend to readers elsewhere on my blog.) It is the "practice of praying one’s own prayers aloud at the same time as others." It involves loud talking and deep breathing, both of which increase the COVID-19 transmission risks in such a setting.

It only takes one person to infect a large number of people in a poorly-ventilated, enclosed space. Super-spreaders, also known as "silent spreaders," have been compared to the chimney, or smoke stack, of a virus factor. For reasons that we do not yet fully understand the bodies of these people produced tremendous amounts of COVID-19 coronavirus particles. They themselves may be experiencing only mild symptoms or may be in the pre-symptomatic stage. They also may not feel sick.

The article also points to what can happen when one group of Christians do not comply with public health measures. If this one group’s lack of compliance has a negative outcome, all Christians may be blamed for what happened and may become the object of public hostility.

Can We Sin in Our Sleep? What to Do with Troubling Dreams

If you or someone you’re ministering to has a sinful dream, what should you do? Read More