Shortly after His birth, Jesus’ parents brought Him to the temple to be circumcised. There was a priest, Simeon, at the temple who has been waiting for years to see the Messiah who would come into the world to rescue us. God told him he was going to see the Messiah before he died. Simeon…
coronavirus
Jesus (not 2021) Is the Dawn From on High
Post-Christmas blues are a reality every year, but I imagine that they could be especially high this year. So many people are talking about the excitement of 2020 ending, and longing for the newness of a fresh start on the calendar. While I understand the longing and the hoping and the hunger for a new…
A Tale of Two Pandemics (And Being Compassionate About Both)
The definition of a pandemic, according to the dictionary, is a “disease that occurs over a wide geographic area.” CoVid clearly meets that definition as the virus has spread across the globe, and over 200,000 people in the US have died. And as we all have recognized, CoVid is not the only struggle that people…
5 Thoughts from Gathering in the Middle of a Pandemic
The church I serve gathered again last weekend for large gatherings – outside with chairs set up in a physically distanced format. It has been a progression for us. In June we began gathering in homes. In July we launched smaller gatherings in neighborhoods throughout Orange County. In August we started using our largest campus…
Church is Essential. Your Form of Church is Not.
Church is absolutely essential for the follower of Jesus. When Christ called us into relationship with Himself, He also called us into community with others. A Christian not committed to Church is an oxymoron and a confounding contradiction. Christians are commanded to “not neglect gathering together as some are in the habit of doing but…
6 Surprises About Church Gathering Again
Our church was not the first in our county (and definitely not in the country) to start holding worship gatherings again, and I am thankful for those who began worship gatherings before us as we were able to learn some lessons from them. But as we have begun outdoor gatherings, I am getting emails and…
Your Online Worship Services AFTER Live Gatherings Resume
This is NOT a post about when live worship gatherings should resume, which is a highly debated and increasingly divisive topic. Data, depending on which data one is looking at, can actually inform two very different conclusions. When one looks at data surrounding the spread of the virus, one can conclude that churches should not…
How an Ice-Age Context Impacts One’s Approach to Leading
When the pandemic began, Andy Crouch, Kurt Keilhacker, and Dave Blanchard insightfully gave leaders categories for how they were viewing the pandemic — as a blizzard, winter, or the beginning of a little Ice-Age. The imagery is helpful. You hunker down and wait it out in a blizzard, expecting things to return to normal pretty…
WHAT!?! Instructions to Not Sing at Church?!
On Friday my phone started blowing up with text messages from friends, both in and outside of California, sending me links to articles where Governor Newsom, California’s governor, issued instructions banning singing and chanting in churches while continuing to limit attendance of indoor gatherings. The orders immediately resulted in divergent viewpoints, adding to the increasing…
Colliding Data Points and Why Your Church Leaders (Likely) Aren’t Idiots
Your church leaders are likely not idiots. Yes, of course, that is possible. There are foolish leaders in all types of roles, and all of us are fully capable of making unwise choices. But just because your church leaders are not making the same call you would make does not mean they are idiots. When…