Lately, on social media, I have asked for churches to be allowed to re-open, or to have greater capacity. And as a consequence, I have been accused of being selfish, or unkind, or thoughtless ... or worse yet, a COVID denier, ignorant, or even immoral.
I am none of these. Oh, I admit I have behaved selfishly at times as a human being. Similarly, I have been unkind, or spoken or acted thoughtlessly; haven't we all, at one point or another in our lives? But people who know me know I am not characterized by these behaviours.
I would actually argue that I advocate for this position, in part, out of kindness and thoughtfulness, for those in my congregation and others who are suffering the often unacknowledged damages of lockdowns.
People are hurting. They are fearful, and discouraged. Depression, suicide and other mental illnesses are sharply on the rise. (See https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/david-staples-lockdowns-will-cause-10-times-more-harm-to-human-health-than-covid-19-itself-says-infectious-disease-expert?fbclid=IwAR21H_aVF3PUrsHUbpt54wWEvrM7jPTGFelxC33yTJO1-kaEJU-QBYEOiLU or https://www.sickkids.ca/en/news/archive/2021/impact-of-covid-19-pandemic-on-child-youth-mental-health/?fbclid=IwAR2KLL8p_JmacLmFYOeLVmk2ydDHL7tCe6ePg-3wHOhNo_IpgA_hBW32wDY for example). And the Bible has the ONLY lasting, permanent answers to these kinds of hurts.
As a pastor, who cares not only for the people under his charge, but also for his neighbours, family and friends, I believe we as a nation need ready access to a faithful, Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. But first, let me clarify that I am not advocating for unbridled, unmasked, throw-caution-to-the-wind gathering. I believe we need to be wise and careful, and I believe we can do that through masking and sanitizing. It is a risk assessment, based on a number of items, where the benefits far outweigh the risks. Our church group is not a congregation of elderly; my wife and I are the oldest there! Were our congregation one of mostly elderly members, we might very well lead them differently. But COVID-19 is not our primary focus.
Here are my reasons why I, as a pastor, believe church gathering is essential:
1. God commands it for His followers. Hebrews 10:24-25 states “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” God has earned my love, loyalty and obedience. He comes first above all else; government, friendships, even my own life. I have to have a really convincing argument to go against an explicit command, and I haven’t yet heard one.
2. God commands it for our good. People often like to believe they know the mind of God, and they say things like “I’m sure He will understand if you don’t come to church, given the circumstances. He’ll hardly be angry with you over it ....”. What that reveals is a mindset that “going to church is a way I win favour with God”, which is completely false. Some will attend church every Sunday that it’s open and still go to hell in the end, while others may never darken the door of a church and go to heaven. That may seem odd for me to say but it’s biblical truth; eternal life is not earned by our performance, but is a gift of God’s grace through Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:8-9 says “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
It isn’t a “Do this or God will be angry” thing. It’s a “Do this because God has designed the life of His followers to be lived in community, not in isolation. Gathering together is life-giving; it’s for our good.” So that’s the underlying foundation: God instructs us to keep gathering because it is for our spiritual good, our spiritual health. And it’s meant to be not simply reserved for Sunday, but part of our whole DNA as a church. As a church family, we literally have meals with one another through the week, and talk/text, and hang out; it’s a family. And just as I am unwilling to isolate myself from my parents on the one hand, and my granddaughter on the other, for an entire year (and who knows how much longer), I am also unwilling to isolate myself from my church family for that time. I benefit from it and they benefit from it.
3. There are frightening consequences to lockdowns that are far more costly than the risk of contracting COVID. We have been collecting research on the consequences of lockdowns in the form of mental health decline, depression, suicides, overdoses, domestic abuse, etc.; the results are greatly disturbing, and reinforcing what we have already been seeing even in our own congregation with the initial lockdowns. I’m not talking about collecting YouTube videos of conspiracy theories; we have medical journal after medical journal reporting these findings. I personally know of one person who tested positive for COVID; he recovered. I know of two who have committed suicide; they obviously did not. I’ve been counselling several who have been battling severe depression, referring them to qualified professionals for help. Church gatherings are not the source of super-spreader events. The contribution of church gathering to COVID-19 infection is minuscule. Our church gathering is life-giving and essential to our group, at the very least.
4. Without the gospel both preached and lived out, a person could live their whole life free from COVID and spend an eternity in hell. In Matthew 16:26, Jesus asks “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” We could ask “What will it profit a man if he protects himself from COVID but never hears the gospel and forfeits his soul?” If church is simply a group gathering for social reasons, or for social justice issues, or for some other cause, then sure, it’s not essential, although it might be important. But if the goal of God’s followers is to be witnesses to the essential need of every human being to be right with God, to worship Him with every aspect of their being, and to lovingly model a life lived for Him, then church is essential, church is a priority.
The sad reality is that many churches do NOT embody these truths. Perhaps if the followers of Jesus all lived this way, things would be different; the world would say “We NEED this; it is good for us.” I can’t take responsibility for all of that, but I do know that our little church lives their faith differently, and it’s something I am fully invested in. And they are, incidentally, a very generous group, looking constantly for ways to love their neighbours, friends and relatives in very practical ways through this difficult time. And I firmly believe that, if the need were there, they would put themselves at physical risk to care for someone who was sick and in need.
If you asked me “Is opening churches in the middle of a pandemic in keeping with what God would want?”, then I would answer with this: Jesus said that the two most important commandments were “to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself.” (Matt. 22:37-39) I believe that when the church functions as God intended, God is worshipped as He is worthy of. And the most loving thing I can do for my neighbour is to tell them honestly about the eternal doom they are facing and the God who loved them enough to give His Son’s life to rescue them from that doom, because 70, 80, even 100 years here on earth is still a blink of an eye compared to eternity. I’d want them to be where I am, worshipping God and being loved by Him forever.
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