Church, Coronavirus-Style
The coronavirus may have shut the doors of churches on Sunday mornings, but it has not stopped the church from meeting.
It all started when I went on a camping trip the weekend that the quarantine was initiated. For the first five minutes of the car ride, we gave everyone permission to say whatever they wanted about Covid, and then for the rest of the trip it was banned to speak of it.
Instead of dwelling on coronavirus, we embraced the outdoors, explored scenic byways, hiked to the top of a mountain, wound our way up to a waterfall, and lingered long around campfires. All the while, we mingled between story-telling, joking, and talking about life and Jesus. The serious, the sacred, the lightheartedness, and the laughter became inseparable. We breathed the fresh air, and also our hearts breathed afresh from the mutual encouragement of the others. We watched the evening campfire die while knowing that a fire had been kindled in our souls.
Upon our return Saturday evening, we hadn’t had enough, so we gathered for “church” on Sunday morning only to realize that we had been “doing” church all weekend.
We invited a few more friends to join us (keeping the number less than ten in order to respect social distancing) and everyone showed up with an ingredient for breakfast. As we cooked and brewed coffee, we kept sharing life and faith with one another, until the dining room table was completely covered in a spread that looked like a king’s breakfast feast. We ate, we communed, we worshipped.
We moved from the table to a small circle of chairs, and we continued to weave between worship, prayer, songs and hymns, the reading of Scripture, communion, words of testimony and encouragement. Instead of following a particular order, we circled back and forth between all those elements in the most natural and organic way. No one person led, but every person participated. And before we knew it, several hours had passed.
The next week, instead of gathering in a home, we gathered in a park. We built a campfire, sang songs of praise, took communion together, and shared lunch. We stayed all afternoon, spending hours not in a formal worship service, but in a spontaneous and spirit-led gathering of people who love Jesus.
The next week, even more people came, including a young man who had been running in the park when he saw us and approached. “Are you guys doing church?” he asked and decided to stay.
Church isn’t something we do, church is something we are.
The truth is, I’ve experienced more “church” in the weeks of quarantine than I have in a long time. That’s because church isn’t about streaming into a digital service and listening to an hour long sermon. Church is about living life together with a group of Jesus-followers who are committed to obeying his commands.
Church is an advancing movement with forward-motion and momentum, a wind sweeping across nations and a fire burning through hearts that give themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ. Church isn’t an event; it is a transformative force. It is not a building; it is a movement. It is not something to sit through; it is something to join in.
Church has looked different since the coronavirus quarantine started, but I hope that is not just because services have moved online. I hope that house churches and small group Bible studies spring up and flourish everywhere in this season of being limited and quarantined. I pray that people wake up to an understanding that church is not somewhere we go, it is who we are —that it is not a meeting for an hour, but the sharing of life in Christ with others throughout the week. I hope people taste the richness of small groups meeting in homes or in parks, and consider those gathering to be the church just as much if not more than large congregations in pews. The coronavirus cannot and will not stop the meeting and spread of Christ’s church. And church could look different than what we maybe always thought.
People keep saying that life will never go back to the way it was before coronavirus, and I sure hope they are right. I hope that the church is a part of that. What is more, I hope that the church becomes a driving force in the transformation of our lives and culture. I pray that we as the church get refined and sanctified by coronavirus, and that we come back to a purer devotion to the Word of God, the breaking of bread, and to prayer.
As coronavirus continues, let us, the church, become a people who pursue a vibrant personal relationship with God and obedience to his commands above all else. As fear and anxiety in the world increase, let us, the church, become a steadfast beacon of unshakable hope and truth. As coronavirus spreads, let us be a people committed to spreading the message of Jesus.
Let every coronavirus conversation become a Christ conversation. Let every hour of quarantine become an hour to seek the Lord. Let every limited social gathering become an opportunity to share the hope we have in Christ. And let every church become a vibrant, living, organic movement instead of a Sunday service. May church become less of something we go to and more of who we are.
It all started when I went on a camping trip the weekend that the quarantine was initiated. For the first five minutes of the car ride, we gave everyone permission to say whatever they wanted about Covid, and then for the rest of the trip it was banned to speak of it.
Instead of dwelling on coronavirus, we embraced the outdoors, explored scenic byways, hiked to the top of a mountain, wound our way up to a waterfall, and lingered long around campfires. All the while, we mingled between story-telling, joking, and talking about life and Jesus. The serious, the sacred, the lightheartedness, and the laughter became inseparable. We breathed the fresh air, and also our hearts breathed afresh from the mutual encouragement of the others. We watched the evening campfire die while knowing that a fire had been kindled in our souls.
Upon our return Saturday evening, we hadn’t had enough, so we gathered for “church” on Sunday morning only to realize that we had been “doing” church all weekend.
We invited a few more friends to join us (keeping the number less than ten in order to respect social distancing) and everyone showed up with an ingredient for breakfast. As we cooked and brewed coffee, we kept sharing life and faith with one another, until the dining room table was completely covered in a spread that looked like a king’s breakfast feast. We ate, we communed, we worshipped.
We moved from the table to a small circle of chairs, and we continued to weave between worship, prayer, songs and hymns, the reading of Scripture, communion, words of testimony and encouragement. Instead of following a particular order, we circled back and forth between all those elements in the most natural and organic way. No one person led, but every person participated. And before we knew it, several hours had passed.
The next week, instead of gathering in a home, we gathered in a park. We built a campfire, sang songs of praise, took communion together, and shared lunch. We stayed all afternoon, spending hours not in a formal worship service, but in a spontaneous and spirit-led gathering of people who love Jesus.
The next week, even more people came, including a young man who had been running in the park when he saw us and approached. “Are you guys doing church?” he asked and decided to stay.
Church isn’t something we do, church is something we are.
The truth is, I’ve experienced more “church” in the weeks of quarantine than I have in a long time. That’s because church isn’t about streaming into a digital service and listening to an hour long sermon. Church is about living life together with a group of Jesus-followers who are committed to obeying his commands.
Church is an advancing movement with forward-motion and momentum, a wind sweeping across nations and a fire burning through hearts that give themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ. Church isn’t an event; it is a transformative force. It is not a building; it is a movement. It is not something to sit through; it is something to join in.
Church has looked different since the coronavirus quarantine started, but I hope that is not just because services have moved online. I hope that house churches and small group Bible studies spring up and flourish everywhere in this season of being limited and quarantined. I pray that people wake up to an understanding that church is not somewhere we go, it is who we are —that it is not a meeting for an hour, but the sharing of life in Christ with others throughout the week. I hope people taste the richness of small groups meeting in homes or in parks, and consider those gathering to be the church just as much if not more than large congregations in pews. The coronavirus cannot and will not stop the meeting and spread of Christ’s church. And church could look different than what we maybe always thought.
People keep saying that life will never go back to the way it was before coronavirus, and I sure hope they are right. I hope that the church is a part of that. What is more, I hope that the church becomes a driving force in the transformation of our lives and culture. I pray that we as the church get refined and sanctified by coronavirus, and that we come back to a purer devotion to the Word of God, the breaking of bread, and to prayer.
As coronavirus continues, let us, the church, become a people who pursue a vibrant personal relationship with God and obedience to his commands above all else. As fear and anxiety in the world increase, let us, the church, become a steadfast beacon of unshakable hope and truth. As coronavirus spreads, let us be a people committed to spreading the message of Jesus.
Let every coronavirus conversation become a Christ conversation. Let every hour of quarantine become an hour to seek the Lord. Let every limited social gathering become an opportunity to share the hope we have in Christ. And let every church become a vibrant, living, organic movement instead of a Sunday service. May church become less of something we go to and more of who we are.
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