Coronavirus and The Church

God Has Taken The Church Out Of The Church

Greetings to all! I pray you and your household are well.

Sadly, within the last 24 hours here in the United States we have lost 4591 people to the evil coronavirus. As I write this article hubby and I are deep into the stay-at-home order advised by the CDC (Center for Disease Control) and many state and local governments. In fact, it’s been well over a month since we began our self-isolation. And like you, we are ready to get on with life! But I wanted to share a few things the Lord has put on my heart — things that are not necessarily easy to say, but need to be said!

Not everything Jesus spoke was well received, especially by the “religious” community. Have you ever noticed that the harshest words Jesus spoke were to those who were “churched?” In other words, those who spent their time in the synagogues, not the people who didn’t know anything about God. He often spoke to the religious folk about the sins of selfishness, pride, unbelief, hypocrisy (oh my… that was a biggie!), greed, unforgiveness, hatred, disobedience, impurity, and judging others.

Have you ever thought about the words Jesus used to describe some of those religious people? He called them hypocrites, blind guides, whitewashed tombs and full of dead men’s bones (beautiful outwardly, but filled with uncleanness on the inside), lawless, serpents, and brood of vipers! Wow. Pretty strong words, right? Those descriptive words seem like they should have been directed at the “unbelieving” members of society, and yet, that is how Jesus Himself criticized those who spent a lot of time in church (synagogues). You can read about it in Matthew chapter 23. If Jesus walked on earth today, here in the twenty-first century, He would likely be arrested for propagating hate speech. And yet He was speaking truth, difficult as it was to hear.

As Christians, we must be careful not to be guilty of those same sins. Jesus warned the religious community not to be pointing the finger at those who don’t know God, when they themselves have unconfessed sin in their lives. Here’s exactly how Jesus said it:

“Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

Matthew 7:5

During this coronavirus pandemic I’ve been thinking a lot about how Jesus would have reacted to the situation. Remember the old saying, “WWJD” (What Would Jesus Do)? Because of our national emergency I’ve asked many questions of God and have been leaning in to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit like never before. These are unprecedented times that require extra time in prayer in order to tap into the mind of Christ regarding this tragic situation. As I’ve inquired of God, here’s one of the very first things I heard the Spirit of God say:

“I’ve allowed the Church to be taken out of the church, and what have some done? Rebelled!”

Rev. Glenda Motsavage

The Sin of Rebellion

As I pondered what I heard from the Holy Spirit, the heart of God in this worldwide coronavirus pandemic became crystal clear. God did not say He caused the pandemic, He said He was allowing it! And in allowing it, the Church was being taken out of the church. What do I mean by that? As Christians we always say, “The church is not a building or a structure, the church is the people of God.”

But if that’s true (and it certainly is), why were some Christians all of a sudden throwing adult-style tantrums because they couldn’t meet in their opulent buildings and do church as usual? Some, whether through ignorance or misinformation, failed to realize the scope and seriousness of the deadly coronavirus, thereby pretending there wasn’t a problem at all. Pretending doesn’t produce anything good, and it surely hasn’t made the virus go away. Others arrogantly refused to comply with social-distancing mandates and continued having church services, defying orders set in place by the experts and authorities in order to protect American lives. I even had a very close friend who boldly and pridefully professed, “I am not going to miss church over this. Nothing will keep me out of church!”

When the unchurched community voluntarily submits to authority (which, by the way, according to the Bible has been given to our governmental leaders by God) but the Church doesn’t, what kind of example are we setting for unbelievers? When Christians rebel against authority, ultimately we are rebelling against our God who appointed them into a position of authority. Look at the strong warning the apostle Paul gave to Christians about this type of rebellion:

“Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.”

Romans 13:1-2

I’m not suggesting that all authority is godly. Clearly that’s not the case. I’m simply stating what scripture says: that all authority belongs to God, and God grants authority to men and women on this earth for the good of His people. Ultimately they are God’s servants who strive to keep law and order. Paul goes on to give two reasons why we need to obey earthly authority — to avoid punishment on those who do wrong, and to keep a clear conscience before God.

The only biblical principle for disobeying governmental authority is when we are commanded to sin, then our loyalty to God takes priority over any human authority. But in this current coronavirus pandemic we’ve been asked to shelter-in-place and exercise social-distancing, neither of which are a sin to our Christian faith. We’ve been asked to “hunker down” for goodness sakes, not burn our bibles or deny our Savior. And yet, entire churches have defied those protection orders, leaving behind a few dead pastors and some seriously ill congregants. I like the way Pastor Rick Warren from Saddleback Church in California explained it in a recent television interview. (View the entire 13-minute interview here.) He said:

“Pastors are called not only to feed and lead their sheep, but also to protect them.”

Pastor Rick Warren

Rather than rebel against authority and spend countless hours strategizing how to “get around” those temporary protection measures, the church should be rejoicing that God has chosen us as His representatives in these unprecedented times. No other generation has been this close to the end-time harvest. What if we shook off the sackcloth and ashes, stopped having our religious pity parties and consider that God may have us exactly where He wants us… right in the middle of hurting humanity! You and I have come into the Kingdom for such a time as this!

Welcome to the Mission Field

I’m continually impressed with how some churches have risen to the occasion and embraced their role during this coronavirus challenge. Rather than buck authority they have come up with amazing ways to continue to feed and minister to their sheep, as well as serve their communities. God is releasing incredible gifts of creativity for pastors to preach and teach the Word of God through a plethora of online outlets. At the same time, spiritual gifts abound as the Church has been dispersed throughout neighborhoods, cities, states, America, and around the world to help and serve like never before.

Church, this is what we have been training for! This is why we filled the pews every time the doors of the church were open. This is what the five-fold ministry gifts (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers) have been equipping us for — to do the work of the ministry! We have the greatest opportunity to build bridges into the lives of unbelievers than most of us have seen in our lifetime. Kudos to the remnant of the Church who have acted on this golden opportunity. Welcome to the mission field!

I learned one of the best keys to effective ministry over 30 years ago as a baby-Christian — servanthood! Back then, as I went through many weeks of training for a mission trip to Guatemala, the number one thing the leaders stressed (apart from being prayed-up) was the fact that we were going there to serve the precious people of that country. We were there to do whatever they needed us to do.

We did everything from medical clinics to harvesting fruit from trees to picking up trash, and everything in between. One day, as we were on trash duty, one of the young men in our group (not from my church) became very vocal about his dissatisfaction with having to do such a “menial” job. One of the leaders heard him and asked him this question, “What did you think you would be coming here to do?” The man replied,”Well preach, of course!” The leader then asked, “Oh, is that what you do back home in Georgia… preach?” The man said, “No.” The leader replied, “Then what made you think you would be coming here to preach if you’re not doing it back home?”

I learned a lot that day, being a witness to that conversation. I realized that oftentimes we mistake “ministry” as preaching. We erroneously think that when we have a captive audience (like a needy group of desperate people), we have to preach to them. When in reality God is asking us to build bridges, become relational, and serve them. Then, at the appointed time, when trust has been cultivated, God provides an open door to share the gospel with them. In other words, serve their physical needs first which will cause them to be much more receptive to the gospel truth. For example, in Guatemala we always held medical and dental clinics first, prior to any preaching, in order to alleviate physical pain and suffering. Or sometimes we would provide feeding stations within a community where starvation was rampant. Then, after attending to the physical needs, we offered them spiritual food. Day after day, we were blown away by the overwhelming response to accept Jesus into their hearts. Servanthood is a great catalyst for salvation!

My friends, there are so many things Christians can be doing right here in America during this pandemic — things that don’t require preaching and hitting people over the heads with the Bible. In fact, I personally know someone who delivered bibles to everyone on their street at the onset of this pandemic, and one neighbor brought it back to them and said they didn’t want it. It was literally returned to sender!

The coronavirus pandemic is a huge opportunity to practice lifestyle evangelism. Let the light of Jesus shine bright through your caring actions and servanthood. Then, at precisely the right moment, God will allow you to share your faith with those who are spiritually lost. There’s an old saying… “people don’t care how much you know, they only want to know how much you care!” That’s never been more true than right now. Welcome to the mission field, Christian.

Coronavirus — A Season for Serving!

Remember, social-distancing is not the same as abandoning your neighbor. One of the things I’ve been doing is calling my [un-saved] neighbors to check on them and see if they need anything. It’s something I can do from the safety of my own home. In the early stages of this pandemic, when toilet paper and other paper products were difficult to find, I wanted to make sure my neighbors had enough. Sharing is caring — that’s what my 6-year-old grandson always says. I didn’t have much myself, but I was willing to ration and share if needed. Little is much when God is in it! I knew that with God as my provider there would never be lack in my house.

Additionally, I contacted my local chapter of Meals on Wheels and asked if they needed help delivering meals to seniors in my county. They emphatically replied with a big YES! Many churches, including my own, have been delivering food and goodies to hospital staff, delivery truck drivers, and the most vulnerable in our community. Others are making face masks and distributing to the medical community and those on the front lines. You don’t have to look far to see opportunities to serve. Ask God what you can be doing to help (while at the same time practicing proper protection to keep you and your family safe). As Christians, wouldn’t it be wonderful if our generosity spread faster than this virus?

We may be stuck in our homes currently, but government officials are already brainstorming a plan to open the country back up. But unfortunately, long after that happens, the negative effects of this pandemic will live on. In the words of Pastor Rick Warren, “When this ‘curve’ is finally flattened, there will be a tsunami of grief people will need help dealing with.” Will we be ready?

Question: I’m curious how some of you have been “serving” through this pandemic. Please take a moment and share with our readers in the reply box below.