COVID-19

7 Ways Our World Has Changed, But God Hasn’t

/ Peter Mead / 2 Comments

We are gradually coming to terms with the massive changes that have gripped our world in the last few weeks.  I have written about 7 temptations we will face in isolation, 7 spheres in which we should be confident in God’s Word during this time, and 7 tips for preaching online.

Now, here are 7 changes that we should pray through at this time:

1. New restrictions on travel– My calendar has suddenly cleared for several months. It used to be so easy to jump in the car and drive, or to book a flight and visit another country.  Hopefully this restriction will ease in time, but let’s not simply focus on what we are missing.  God remains omnipresent, even if our attempts to be omnipresent are thwarted.  Maybe this change can stir us to pray more fervently for situations we would love to influence, and to be more present where God has put us (our families are our primary ministry, after all).

2. New humility in plans– Will we be able to hold that conference next year? Will we be able to fulfil that preaching commitment in October?  We don’t know. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring.  So we ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will … do this or that.” (James 4:13-17) God knows what is coming; He always has, and we never have.  Maybe this can stir a greater humility in us all, even when restrictions ease.

3. New uncertainty of life– What James writes in 4:13-17 includes reference to our lives being like a vanishing mist:  “If the Lord wills, we will liveand do this or that.”  When this crisis started, so much was said about only the over-70s or people with underlying health issues dying from COVID-19.  Somehow many people felt relieved, until they started to think about who that might include.  Now we are hearing more stories of younger, healthy people dying from it.  In actuality, death has always been a real and present threat for us all, even before this crisis. And God has always been God.  We may well be immortal until His work for us on earth is finished, but it probably doesn’t hurt us to feel our mortality more and to let that drive us to our knees.

4. New concerns about money– Will we be able to survive these next weeks?  Will our income disappear?  Will government help be enough?  Will our countries recover after this?  The certainty we felt financially just a few weeks ago has evaporated for many of us.  Whether we have a stable salary, or live on completely unpredictable support from others, let’s remember that God is our provider.  He always was, and He has not changed.  Our lives may change.  Our fervency in prayer may change.  But remember John 21, when the disciples were getting used to the fact that everything had changed for them following the death and resurrection of the soon departing Jesus, and then Jesus cooked them a breakfast of bread and fish beside the Sea of Galilee …I provided miraculously when we fed the 5000 here, and I continue to provide for you now.

5. New recognition of need in our churches– I remember a few weeks ago when I could say, “Things are going well in our church … of course there are one or two difficult situations, but generally things are going well.”  Seems like a long time ago now.  Now every family unit that I think about is facing threat of death, loss of income, no work or overwhelming work, marital tensions, parenting complexities, loneliness, etc.  God has always seen our need as it really is.  Maybe this crisis is making vivid to us all just how needy the flock of God’s people really are.  Perhaps this insight should go with us as we carry our people before God in prayer, whatever a future newfound cultural complacency may suggest.  Our people need God.  So we pray.

6. New feelings of restriction and inadequacy in ministry– As the five previous changes hit us, we realise not only the difficulties of those we serve, but also our own inadequacy to really help.  We don’t even have regular church meetings for face-to-face fellowship and those opportunities to sense that someone isn’t doing so well.  As people who minister to others, we should be feeling a profound sense of inadequacy at this time.  We can’t protect anybody from the virus (although we can help by not breaking government guidelines).  We can’t financially carry every situation in our church (although we are called to stand together and share what we have).  We can’t do the job of doctors, nurses, vital delivery drivers, etc. (although we can support them in prayer and encouragement).  We are significantly limited.  But our God is not.  He never was.  He hasn’t changed.  Our experience has just clarified to us that we are not God.

7. New awareness of gospel need all around –Remember when people were comfortable, secure, invincible, and happy in their hobbies?  Now we are surrounded by people with a genuine fear of death, combined with genuine concerns about how they will provide for their families in the coming months.  Our continent is humbled.  And we are stuck in isolation with some restrictions on spreading the gospel.  But God’s Word is not chained.  Over the garden fence, through the internet, by phone call … the good news of Jesus has always flourished most in times of real struggle.  God has faithfully carried His people through pestilence, plague, persecution, and war all through history. And all through history it has been the most difficult times that have led to the greatest growth in the church.  It feels like we are living a key moment in history right now – may it be a key moment in the history of church growth too!

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During this Coronavirus crisis I have started making short Bible reading highlight videos. If you find these helpful, please share them with others.  Thanks.

7 Temptations During COVID-19 Isolation

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

The vast majority of us have no experience of living in these new and challenging circumstances, and as church leaders we have to figure out how to feed, lead, care and protect our flocks on the job.  To begin with there is a novelty element, and also the sense of focus that a crisis generates in us.  But there will be temptations and we would be wise to anticipate them for ourselves, as well as for others:

1. Despair – For many of us, words like, “give us this day our daily bread” have always been somewhat theoretical.  Suddenly our vulnerability as humans is vividly real.  For some the virus itself is a fear, for all of us the impact on society and life is challenging.  It is probably not good to develop an obsession with news updates and constantly refreshing the global death count.  Be informed, but be far more hungry to fill your heart with hope from God’s Word – you need that, and so do those around you.

2. Depression – Don’t let the initial social media enthusiasm for “time to do odd jobs” fool you.  Life on lockdown will quickly become very challenging.  Even with the blessings of video calls, the reduction in face-to-face human interaction is not something we are created to enjoy.  As Christians we may not realise how much meeting together each week matters until we can’t (and churches that plan to meet against government advice need to seriously consider the damage this will do to our shared witness!)  Carrying the weight of a crisis for yourself, your family, and others, will be more than you can bear and depression in its various forms will be a very real and present danger. We need to learn to find strength, hope, rest and wisdom in God.  And remember: technically depression is not a temptation because it is not a sin – be sure to seek help from other people too, God often works best through others.

3. Blame – When the personal comfort of humans is challenged, blame tends to spill out. We can see it already on social media. Remember that Churchill was widely criticised early on, but lauded for his leadership with hindsight. I don’t know if this generation will fully unite under crisis – the early signals are both yes and no. But let’s be sure that we don’t join in and make this about politics. Let’s set a different tone and show how good is the God who sits on the ultimate throne (and humbles himself to suffer life, with, and for us).

4. Distraction – For decades our western culture has increasingly found sophisticated ways of distracting itself and numbing the routine of a dull reality.  This crisis will initially flag the insignificance of much of that distraction.  There may be a sense of relief at the sudden lack of appetite for unimportant things that felt too important a month ago.  But our human nature will crave distraction … binge watching TV series and sports highlights, numbing fear and loss through alcohol and substance abuse, and the temptations that we struggled with before all this are not yet gone for good.  Don’t run from the situation before us, run to the throne of grace to find help, and be sure to be open with your sympathetic high priest about your own struggle with distraction – whatever form it may take under pressure.

5. Compromise – The added pressure of isolation, or of extra time with your family (which can also be really difficult), or of grief, fear, uncertainty, loss of income, etc., will potentially cause us to consider compromises that we would not have considered when life was the old normal.  Typically civil people have become aggressive in supermarkets.  Typically honest people are out there trying to make dishonest gain by selling their vast stocks of toilet rolls online at a high mark-up.  Typically kind people are and will be tempted to steal, to lie, to cheat and to look out for their own interests as their top priority.  And before we simply condemn sin in others, let’s be sure to recognize that we may feel a pressure to compromise that we have never felt before.  Again, read the Bible with open eyes and an open heart – seek the Lord before the pressures ramp up higher.

6. Burnout – Most of us are used to a certain level of stress from family and ministry life.  But doing family and ministry in an ongoing crisis situation is a whole new level of pressure.  You will be tempted to burnout by giving, giving, giving and not letting God refill your tanks, not looking after yourself with rest, sensible food, etc.  Our inner Martha will rear its head in this time.   That putting others first mentality that is so needed for the church to exist and for ministry to happen.  But when our attitude starts to reveal an empty tank, then it is clear that we have not heeded the Mary example: be sure to sit at Jesus’ feet and let him minister to you before you then pour out to others.  Martha service will prove to be important, but lest we let that Martha tension undo the good, let’s be sure to keep the Mary style devotion as a first priority.

7. Retreat – When everyone is socially withdrawing, it will be tempting to retreat into our own homes and look out for family and church family.  Remember the rest of the world needs Jesus, and many of them have never been this close to realising it!

What else would you add to this list? What other suggestions would you offer?

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Youtube – I have decided to use Youtube for no-frills video versions of some blog posts.  I don’t read the post, but follow the same structure and offer it in spoken form.  To take a look at the video, please click here (and thank you for engaging with either the blog post here or the video there … and I appreciate any sharing of either format to help others find the content.)

A New Not New Experience – COVID-19 Response

/ Peter Mead / Leave a comment

There have not been many times in my lifetime when things have been changing so quickly.  Maybe around 9/11.  Maybe when the Iron Curtain fell apart.  But this week the spreading realisation of the seriousness of the Coronavirus situation has been striking.

One day I am seeing Christians on facebook moan about college sports being suspended due to “a silly virus” and the next day they are commenting about the seriousness of the situation.  (Maybe some people should go back and delete some comments that could soon look very uncaring?)

What we are facing is new to many of us.  Uncertainty from one day to the next; travel being complex and restricted; health being under threat; questions over personal income; inability to gather freely for church; potentially inadequate access to healthcare; neighbours living without confidence; people worried about being able to get basic supplies and so on. 

This may be new to most of us, but it is not new for most people, in most of the world, for most of history.

And what does this mean?  It means a unique opportunity to shine like stars in a dark time.  The Roman Empire was all this and more, but the gospel spread like wildfire.  Living under communism with all its restrictions, such as in 20th century China, had many of these features, and unprecedented church growth.  Whether we go back centuries or think more recently, difficult times make for wonderful opportunity for Jesus followers to spill the love of God into a needy and disrupted world.

So what will this season look like for you and me?  Will we mourn the loss of sports, indulge in comfort binge watching of Netflix, complain about all the inconveniences to our usually so comfortable and indulged lives, pour energy into hoarding random grocery items?

Of course it will be a genuinely difficult season for many of us.  Loss of income will hit many. Loss of loved ones will hit some.  But what if we make this unique season an opportunity to proactively love God, love one another and love our neighbours?

Love God – Time in the Bible and prayer can become so routine when life is normal.  Why not let this time stir a greater appetite for time with our God?  Let’s get to know Him more, trust Him more, love Him more.

Love One Another – We may not be able to meet on a Sunday and in home groups, but church is still church even without the meetings.  In fact, it is a great opportunity to think through how we can love one another, shepherd one another, support one another, look out for one another, etc.  The way the church loves is supposed to be noticeable to a world full of people living “me-first.”  This is an opportunity for us to really look different.

Love Our Neighbours – The government will do what it can, probably.  Community spirit may kick in and be helpful.  But the greatest force for on-the-ground love and selfless care should be the followers of Jesus.  A confused, disrupted and increasingly hurting community is what we are here for – what can we do to be ready?  What steps can we take to be bold?  Wash your hands, wash their feet, and tell them the good news about Jesus.

This situation is new to us, but it is not new to God’s people.  Let’s fix our eyes on Jesus and embrace this taste of a more normal life in this broken and hurting world.