It is a strange morning. Unlike any Sunday morning in my life. This is the first Sunday of our COVID-19 closure. I am at church expecting no one to come. No classrooms will be filled, the sanctuary will remain silent. I am missing the happy greetings of friends arriving at church together, the purposeful scurry of leaders doing the jobs they have committed to accomplish, and my anticipation that soon I will be preaching to a people who have graciously come to listen.
I know there are many pastors who are having the same experience today. Like me, they have spent the week carefully listening to government proclamations, contacting health agencies, finding the best medical advice, talking to other clergy and church leaders, considering options, and most of all, praying in order to make the difficult decision to suspend services.
It is not an easy decision to ask the church not to gather as the Body of Christ on our chosen day to study, worship, pray, and share the love we have for God and for each other. Coming together is so central to being the church that we cannot imagine not spending the first day of each week with fellow believers. So why take such a dramatic action?
I understand the epidemiological and medical reasons for the large-scale cancellations we are seeing. We are at a critical juncture when this virus becomes a community-spread germ instead of an infection traceable to specific encounters. Public health agencies are asking for social distancing at this point to prevent an explosion of cases severely impacting medical facilities as seen elsewhere in our world.
But there is another layer of consideration that is more significant to our core values as a community of faith. We are cancelling services as an act of love. First, it is a loving act for our fellow believers in our community of faith. We can say, “Don’t come if you feel ill, are over 65, are in a high-risk group, or have been around sick people.” But the desire to see friends, fulfill obligations, a sense it can’t happen to me, or just plain good habits often overrule thoughtful decision making. Sometimes collective wisdom in more important that individual choice. We are loving one another by not exposing vulnerable individuals to the possibility of infection. Our care for sisters and brothers in Christ necessitates that we sacrifice in this significant way.
Secondly, canceling services is an act of love for our world. “Love your neighbor,” we are commanded by Jesus. As governments and medical institutions struggle to deal with the threat of this pandemic virus it is our ministry of loving our neighbors that leads us to step forward and set an example. We are making necessary sacrifices to follow government agency guidelines in slowing the spread of COVID-19 because we love our neighbors, our community, our world.
I don’t know how many Sunday mornings I will spend alone at church, I don’t know the impact this pandemic will have on our community. I don’t know when “normal” will become normal again. But I do know this. There is no greater force at work in our world than the love of God. And we, at First Baptist Church, are going to do everything we can to be a part of expressing that love in our church and to our world.
Category Archives: Morrow
A Strange Morning
Filed under Church, God, Grace, Love, Making a Difference, Morrow, Pastor, The Future
Home Is Where the Espresso Machine Is
Well the official day has arrived for our move to Morrow, Georgia, to pastor First Baptist Church of Morrow. While one truck is already delivered and we will be back in Madison a few more nights to deal with Realtors, this is the moment that I deem to signify the move. Why? Because I just packed up my espresso machine.
When I was a teenager we built a house in Birmingham and moved out of the church’s parsonage. Before construction was finished we started having someone of the family spend the night at the new house for security reasons. We also started a moving process that took a couple of months as rooms were finished and furniture was brought over a pickup truck load at a time. We soon were referring to one place as “home” and the other as “the house” as in,”Are you going to the house before you come home?” As more and more stuff was moved, and more of us were spending the nights at the new house, the terminology shifted to the new house being the “home” and the parsonage being the “house” as in “Are you going by the house to pack the dishes and bring them “home.” The official moment when the shift was made was clearly determined. It was when we moved the TV. (No one had more than one back in the dark ages!) Yes, for us it was, “Home is where the TV is.”
So you may have a glimpse into my soul when I say for this move, “Home is where the espresso machine is.” I take a great deal of pleasure making and drinking very good coffee. Want a Cafe Americano with an extra shot of Tanzanian Peaberry? I’m the guy to see. Espresso Macchiato, latte, cappuccino, can do. So for me home is were the Nuova Simonelli Oscar Professional Espresso Machine is.
Of course all this is a tongue-in-cheek corruption of the proverb, “Home is where the heart is.” That proverb, of course, is as true now as it has ever been. For two an a half decades home was Madison, Alabama, as Melody and I raised our family, and I poured my heart into ministering at First Baptist Church of Madison. Now our nest is empty and we are ready for a new opportunity of investing our lives and ministry. First Baptist Church of Morrow, Georgia, is now home for that if where my heart is. I am thankful to God for the calling that FBC Morrow has expended and am excited that the official day has arrived for my move to Morrow.
And by the way, I now have to disconnect and pack this computer. So, home is where my computer is as well!
New Opportunities
Last Sunday I had the very great privilege to receive a call from the First Baptist Church of Morrow, Georgia, to become their pastor. It is an opportunity that I have been eagerly anticipating. It is a marvelous thing to have confidence in having discovered and be following God’s will in moving to Morrow and beginning this new relationship.
Let me share some things that have impressed me about First Baptist, Morrow. One is a solid commitment to be an agent of change in its neighborhood though sharing the love of God in a variety of ways. This clear vision of God’s calling for the congregation, already articulated through ministries, will continue to be a guiding commitment in the future.
Another is First Baptist, Morrow’s recognition that we are all, both women and men, gifted and called into the ministry of the church. Having ordained ministers and deacons of both genders is an essential aspect of the church’s relevancy to the world in which we live, reliance on a careful reading of God’s word, and respect for the transformational grace of God express in all who believe.
I am also impressed with the church’s ongoing commitment to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship movement while maintaining historic connections with Southern Baptist life. The respectful way that Morrow deals with each members preferences for supporting cooperative relationships with other Baptists reflects a solid understanding the priesthood of the believer and the value Baptist have always found in their diversity.
I could hardly list reasons I am excited about new opportunities at First Baptist, Morrow, without mentioning the great ministerial staff already there. I know that one of my greatest sources of joy will be building new collegiate relationships with each of them as we partner together in leadership at First Baptist.
Filed under Blessing, God, Missional, Morrow, Pastor, The Future, Transformation
Quiet Faith 