A Return to Normalcy

In his 1920 presidential candidacy, Warren G. Harding coined the campaign slogan “a return to normalcy.”  The idea was to allow the country to get back to the place it was before World War One.   Although hardly the same as recovering from a world war, I think I can speak for all of us when I say we long for a “return to normalcy” for our Sunday morning meetings from our very abnormal experiences because of COVID–19.  When all of this began, we published a series of articles on how to help your local church cope with and hopefully even thrive during the pandemic.  Although there is no clear end in sight to the restrictions we are having to work with, we thought it would be good to send some thoughts on how to begin thinking through what’s next for our Sunday gatherings.

As I’ve talked to various guys, I understand that we are still all over the map when it comes to how we are thinking about and conducting our meetings.  Some churches are back to meeting all together while following social distancing and mask protocols.    Some are meeting with attendance restrictions while continuing to live stream services for those who can’t or don’t feel comfortable to return to services.  Some are meeting outdoors.  Some have gone to two services in order to meet gathering size restrictions.  Almost no one is providing children’s ministry as normal.  In other words, this isn’t a “one size fits all” season.

Unity

In past articles, we have acknowledged that there is no “one size fits all” solution to how to go about carrying out the church’s mission, especially our mission to meet.  And it remains true that there is no “one size fits all” solution regarding transitioning back to normalcy not only as churches but for individuals in our churches.  Some people won’t come if they have to wear a mask.  Some people won’t come if others aren’t wearing masks.  Some may not want to come until a vaccine is available.  Some can’t fathom a way to come with young children when there is no children’s ministry.  Some think we need to defy government mandates.  

But more important than the decisions we make as elders and our members’ response to those decisions is the heart attitude we all must maintain.  I think Ephesians 4:1-4 captures that heart attitude - “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”  As we strive to do what we believe is best for our local church in the coming months, let’s make sure we even more so strive to “maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” in both our decisions and in our attitudes.  And let’s do all we can to help our members to do the same.

2 Big Decisions

From the guys I’ve talked to it seems that there are two big and related decisions that loom.  First, when or if to stop live streaming?  Second, what to do about children’s ministry (CM)? 

First, live streaming.  I think most of us probably agree that live streaming is a temporary exigency for an unusual time and, while grateful for how it has served us, that we don’t want to continue with it any longer than we have to.  It is our theological conviction that the church is intended to meet together and in person.  So, when do we stop?  Some think live streaming should cease as soon as local restrictions are such that the church could meet all together in person.   And that is a reasonable goal.  As pastors we should graciously help our members wean themselves off of the live stream when meeting in person is entirely possible for them.

But we must balance that with consideration for those who might not feel comfortable returning to a live meeting.  Some may believe live streams are the only way to safely and fruitfully participate in the life of the church.  We certainly don’t want people to use live streaming as a mere convenience but neither do we want to cut members off from their source of participation because of a few who misuse the technology.  That lead to the second big decision, children’s ministry.

Many young families can’t envision their younger children sitting through a meeting that tests their ability to sit quietly and not distract parents and others.  They can’t imagine benefitting from the meeting because they are having to spend so much time dealing with the kids.  So they may see live streaming as their only alternative.  I frankly sympathize.

But there are some options.  Come alongside parents by providing quiet activities (coloring, puzzles) for kids to do during the meeting. Enlist the talents of gifted and creative servants in CM to create ways to engage the kids and serve the parents. Consider doing some limited CM for pre-school age kids as well as a nursery for babies.  

You might even consider offering parents “self-serve” CM: a dedicated room, perhaps with a video feed, where parents can sit with, play with, or hold their children without fearing disruption. This is also an opportunity to encourage and equip parents with school-age kids, most of whom should be capable of sitting through a normal Sunday meeting. But whatever you do make sure that you continue to keep all safety protocols in place. 

Patient Endurance

I spent a good bit of time this summer studying and preparing for a Sunday class on Revelation. I was struck by what is perhaps the main exhortation enjoined on the church throughout the ages: “patient endurance.”  I think that’s a good takeaway for us as well.  If you’re like me you thought this COVID thing would last a few months and we would be done with it.  Obviously not.  It looks like we could be facing restrictions on a return to normalcy for quite some time.  So it’s a time for patient endurance. 

When I first considered patient endurance I thought it was redundant.  But the more I thought about it the more I saw the wisdom in that translation.  Sometimes we have no choice but to endure.  But we can endure in various ways.  We can have complaining endurance where we gripe about our trial.  We can have angry endurance where we rage against it.  Frustrated endurance where we feel thwarted at every turn.  Or resigned endurance with a passive, “oh well” attitude.  Patient endurance is different.  It bears with the thing that must be endured trusting God for his perfect timing and His good purpose for the trial.

People often ask me, “What do you think God is trying to accomplish through this COVID trial.”  My stock answer is – “I have no idea.”  But if nothing else, if as individual Christians, local churches, and a denomination we learn to patiently endure our trials we will at least have learned a very valuable lesson - one that will serve us well even when COVID is a distant memory.

Responding to and Preparing for Cultural Changes and Persecution

Transcript

Benjamin Kreps:

Hey everyone. And welcome back to the Mark Prater podcast, where our aim is to connect our global family of churches with our Executive Director. Hey Mark.

Mark Prater:

Hey Ben. You're back. How was vacation?

Benjamin Kreps:

It was great. Went to the Jersey shore. Wonderful time.

Mark Prater:

Oh, I'm so glad you got away. You should know that Eric Turbedsky, who hosted last week, is now angling to get back into the host role.

Benjamin Kreps:

Yeah. Yeah. I noticed that. And you know, it is a highly coveted and prestigious role with a very high paying salary.

Mark Prater:

Exactly.

Benjamin Kreps:

Who could blame him? On a serious note, over the past couple of weeks, because now the Supreme Court is in session, trying cases, there's been a number of decisions that affect our perspective on the biblical values in our culture and religious liberty. Do you have some thoughts about that?

Mark Prater:

Well, I'm sure our guys are tracking recent Supreme Court decisions a couple of weeks ago where Gorsuch joined sort of the liberal judges and ruled on the civil rights law of 1964 that said there should be no discrimination based on sex is what they keyed in on. They expanded really that definition to include sexual identity, gender preference. And that was a disappointing decision because it's not a biblical worldview.

The other one that just occurred this week is where they ruled, where Roberts joined the liberals, and rule to overturn a Louisiana law that restricted abortion. They had some high levels of laws that needed to be kept like doctors having privileges and local hospitals. And so they overruled that. And so that was disappointing. So in both of those, those get biblical issues that we care a lot about.

Benjamin Kreps:

What would be some thoughts or suggestions for our thinking as pastors, as we navigate through a culture that increasingly is moving away from what we hold when it comes to different views of morality and a biblical worldview?

Mark Prater:

Yeah. Obviously we're, you know guys here in the States, I think throughout the world, are seeing the cultural trend as it relates to sexual identity and sexual ethics. The abortion issue has been an issue for some time, not only in this nation, but, but many nations.

And now you're seeing the Supreme Court rule on those issues in a way, at least for Christians is, disappointing. So I think, you know, the way I'm thinking about it is that I think pastors have to begin to think about how to prepare their members for persecution. I don't think that's an overreaction because of the cultural trends and even biblically speaking, if we're going to live a godly life, we're going to be persecuted. It says that in 2 Timothy3: 12, so persecution should be expected. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:10 that he is content with persecution. He uses the plural form. So just begin thinking about how you can equip your members for persecution that I think is going to come.         

I'm more concerned, not about my generation as much, although I think we'll face it. I'm more thinking about my grandkids and pastors preparing my grandkids for persecution I think will come.

Benjamin Kreps:

That's great. Mark, do you have any practical suggestions, one or two, for how we might go about preparing our church for persecution?

Mark Prater:

Obviously preaching. You can consider the beatitudes in Matthew 5:10-12, in particular. Blessed are those who are persecuted for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. He goes on to say, blessed are those when you are reviled. That section of Scripture, I think, is a good one to preach from and to consider. You could spring from 2 Timothy 3:12. In teaching it, I would want to emphasize this persecution actually should be more of a normal aspect of the Christian life. It's not necessarily abnormal and just preparing our folks to respond in a godly way.

It's one thing to be aware of persecution, experiencing it and how to respond to it is a different thing. So you and I were talking before we hit the record button about that, that wonderful picture in Acts 4, where they're being persecuted for preaching the gospel. And they respond by rejoicing. That's a great way to respond.

Benjamin Kreps:

Yeah, I think it's a good thing to help our people know that as we increasingly face hostility from the culture, there are tears, there is sadness connected with that, but there's also joy there, in Christ, waiting for us. And also to know that the Bible, much of it, is written by people who are facing persecution and to people in persecution. So I think there are treasures for us in the Word that we are not as acquainted with as we should be, that we will become more acquainted with that will comfort us in these days ahead.

Mark Prater:

And may the effect be that the church thrives and the gospel advances. You see that not only in Acts 4, for example, or throughout the rest of the book of Acts, you see that in church history, right? The church drives in your persecution. So even though things may be more difficult culturally, as worldviews clash, may our churches thrive in gospel ministry as we face more persecution.

Benjamin Kreps:

Yes. Amen. Well, thanks, Mark, for your thoughts and thank you everyone for watching and we'll be back here next week. Lord willing, see you then.

Mark Prater is the Executive Director of Sovereign Grace Churches and has served as an elder at Covenant Fellowship Church since 2002. 

Challenges with Reopening

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Benjamin Kreps:

Hey everyone. And welcome back to the Mark Prater podcast, where our aim is to connect our global family of churches with our Executive Director. Mark, this season has been challenging for pastors. It was challenging to shut down and seek to pastor our churches remotely, unable to gather together, but it could be for some of us that the challenge of reopening and what that has been bringing into our church is maybe harder than the previous one. Do you have any thoughts about that?

Mark Prater:

I do. As I talked to pastors, and again, this is anecdotal, but consistent, I think our pastors are facing decision fatigue to say it that way, and then they have to implement those decisions. So implementation fatigue, not only in the sense that you've got just a lot to talk about, and then you've got to talk about it again. But the pushback that you received from some of the members of your church, regardless of what you decide has a unique, I think, wearing effect upon the pastor's heart and soul right now.

Benjamin Kreps:

Yeah. And I imagine most of the guys that are watching this would say, yeah, in my church, I'm facing people that are upset, people that are expressing anger, disrespect on both sides of all of these issues, as we make those decisions,

Mark Prater:

Right. You've got members who, you know, are dear Christians who at times are not acting like Christians. And I find that these few verses are bringing me perspective right now out of 2 Timothy 2:23. I'm sure verses you men know, but “Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness.”

And that seems very appropriate for this time and for what we're facing as pastors. And I think the place to start there is the reminder that you are the Lord's servant and that's important, I think, for a couple of reasons. God has called you to be a pastor, but you have got to remember who you are as a pastor. You are a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so as you fulfill your responsibilities, what you want to do is represent him.

I think the other thing that just helps me is that even though I'm an under shepherd of the Shepherd and I serve him and I have responsibility for the folks he's given me and I'll give an account for their lives. Ultimately, wherever they land he's going to be responsible for. I can unburden myself knowing that the great servant, the almighty servant, and the Great Shepherd rules and reigns over church. So that's the place to start, I think.

Benjamin Kreps:

I've been saying to Living Hope that this is a moment that calls for our best theology to bring the gospel to bear into disagreement is one of the most important things that we need to do. And that the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome. That has been a mantra. I repeat to myself regularly as I interact with others. Any final thoughts?

Mark Prater:

Well, I think that, you know, thank you for patiently enduring evil. And you know what I mean by that is patiently enduring criticism right now. Because you're going to get critique and people unhappy with you regardless of how you decide to reopen or implement those decisions. So thank you for that. I think, secondly, keep in view, you're not just hearing the input. There are going to be moments at the right time, and timing is very important, when you need to gently correct, whether that is the speech and emotion that maybe the input is brought with. Or it may be in areas where people might not be thinking clearly doctrinally and you need to help them as you're trying to help your church think theologically.

So look for those opportunities to do that because God's using all of this ultimately for his bride and to strength in this church.

Benjamin Kreps:

Amen. I am reading Dane Ortlund’s book, Gentle and Lowly, and was struck by his reminder that Jesus gives rest to those who are heavy laden, which is outside pressures coming down upon us. And so we have a Savior who is eager and open to care for our souls in a difficult season. So thanks for the reminders and the encouragement, Mark. And thank you everyone for watching. We'll see you here next time.

Mark Prater is the Executive Director of Sovereign Grace Churches and has served as an elder at Covenant Fellowship Church since 2002. 

Pastoral Encouragement

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Benjamin Kreps:

Hey everyone. And welcome back to the Mark Prater podcast where our aim is to connect our global family of churches with our Executive Director, Mark. As we continue to navigate through this pandemic, as pastors carrying various burdens hearing a diverse collection of voices and perspectives from our church. What thoughts, what suggestions would you have to encourage us to prepare our hearts and our minds as we communicate to our churches?

Mark Prater:

Yeah, it's a good question. I've been thinking about this because I think our pastors are feeling the need to communicate effectively and consistently to their church knowing that their members have different comfort levels and different perspectives regarding the pandemic and how reopening should even occur. I think a pastor has to kind of do work in his own heart first so that it affects the tone of his communication and do some thoughtful theological work that informs what he does communicate.

Benjamin Kreps:

So what kinds of ways might you suggest some approaches to think about preparing our hearts in that way to be theologically informed and ready to communicate in that way?

Mark Prater:

Well, here's what I would recommend is as you sort of just listen to all of the noise out there. Well, one of the things that I've had just a growing concern about is more of a cavalier attitude that people bring towards this. And I don't think that should mark God's under shepherds.

I think the place to start for us as pastors is for 1 Peter 5 where Peter is writing to elders and he says there, “Clothe yourselves.” Then he adds that phrase, “… all of you with humility toward one another because God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble.” So we should wear humility in that sense. And I'm not talking about weakness when I say humility, right? I'm talking about humility that also includes a Christlike strength. And I think our humility must begin vertical so that we are men who fear God in this. And that's a part of Romans 13 actually, that we're called to follow civil authorities because there is a judgment seat that awaits us that we have to give an account for. Just that fear of the Lord should engender and should stir humility enough.

Benjamin Kreps:

Yeah, I mean I'm working through that text right now and it just is clear that even if we agree or disagree about the application of what it means to submit to the government, because there's certainly situations where we won't. And where that is, people might have different perspectives on that whole respect and honor must be present in the middle of all of that I think speaks to exactly what you're talking about.

Mark Prater:

Yeah, that's exactly right. And it's the tone of a pastor's communication is one of humility, clarity, theological clarity, in particular, the sermon and yet strength. And so I think take time to just to wrestle with your own hearts and make sure that you're pursuing Christlike humility. That's the place to start.

Benjamin Kreps:

That's great counsel preparing the heart when it comes to preparing the mind. Any resources that you might recommend to aid are thinking.

Mark Prater:

Yeah. And as I recommend resources, let me just say this, that I want to keep saying this over and over again. Because these are my thoughts. I'm on the Leadership Team and so yeah, guys interpret them as leadership team thoughts, which is understandable.

Every situation is going to be different locally. That's because different governors in the States, anyway, are making different decisions and even within States, different County Commissioners are making different decisions. So it really depends on what's happening locally. And it also depends on your church. You know, your church best, so make decisions that are best for your church. So these are just thoughts. These are not mandates.

Benjamin Kreps

Everyone, hopefully we all understand, hopefully everyone watching understands this is a podcast to help us understand what's going on in Mark's mind and heart and encouragement. These are suggestions.

Mark Prater:

Right, exactly.

Benjamin Kreps:

And you may differ in your perspective.

Mark Prater:

Yeah, I think one of the most I think, well first of all I would do what you’re doing. Study Romans 13. I think that's a good place to start. Make sure you've got a good theological baseline on what Scripture says there. A helpful resource I found was Jonathan Lehman's article where he wrote, I forget the title, but you know, when should churches ignore guidelines and engage in civil disobedience.

Benjamin Kreps:

It’s on the IX Marks website. So you can find it.

Mark Prater:

You know, he sets it up there. There's the government responsibility basically to protect life. That's one of the God given mandates. You see that throughout Scripture, which is in play right now during a pandemic. And that comes in meets with the church’s freedom and obligation to gather together, certainly here in the States. And so how does a church think about that? He gave a couple of really good thoughts, which I'll give to you. Is the government presenting a reasonable argument to protect life and if they're presenting a reasonable argument to protect life, I think you've really to consider that and follow that.

However, if they begin being unreasonable, then you've got to ask the question, do we have to follow those guidelines? The other one that he said, which I thought was really good is, is the government at all singling out churches and preventing them from meeting. So if they're opening up all different other kinds of venues, like big concerts and certainly obviously malls and shopping malls and that kind of thing, and there's still restricting churches. That would be another occasion where you've got to wrestle through, do we meet anyway?

But I think what we're finding overall is there's no, at least in the States, I'm not aware of any mandate that's keeping a church from preaching the gospel right now. You can do that live stream, you can do that through video, through other means. They are giving guidelines for gathering depending on the state. You and I were talking earlier here in Pennsylvania, churches could gather. They're just recommending that they don't. So again, it's a local issue,

Benjamin Kreps

Great thoughts. And I think there's, in the middle of all of this, there's a lot of gray for us to navigate through as pastors. There's wisdom calls and your expectation to be thinking theologically and also be processing this humbly is a helpful one. So thank you Mark, and thank you everyone for watching the podcast and we'll see you again right here soon.

Mark Prater is the Executive Director of Sovereign Grace Churches and has served as an elder at Covenant Fellowship Church since 2002. 

Thoughts on Reopening

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Benjamin Kreps:

Hey everyone and welcome back to the Mark Prater podcast where our aim is to connect our global family of churches with our Executive Director. Mark, we're talking about reopening as the conversation continues and we navigate through this pandemic. There are some Sovereign Grace churches that have begun to gather again. Why don't you tell us about that?

Mark Prater:

Yeah, I'm only aware of a couple, but I think that number is going to grow, obviously, in the coming months. So Emmaus Road Church in Bozeman, Montana. The restrictions in that state are a little bit different, obviously. Joel Carlson has begun to gather his church and then I'm aware that Cornerstone Church in Knoxville, Tennessee, held some services on Sunday where they limited it to 100 members that they had by invite, partly to give them a bit of a trial run for what it could like look like as they expand that number.

Benjamin Kreps:

And what did it look like when they gathered? There were some sort of precautions that they were taking? Correct? Masks and some things like that.

Mark Prater:

Right. I was aware of precautions that Tommy Hill was sharing with me. I haven't talked to anyone from Cornerstone since Sunday, so I don't know exactly what they did, but they were obviously going to have disinfecting stations with hand sanitizer. The building had been sanitized. They were going to use social distancing, allowing family units to sit together since families are quarantined together. That makes a whole lot of sense.

Limiting the service to 100. I believe they were talking about folks wearing masks but not during the preaching, at least these were ideas they were kicking around. And I just mention all of that because I think that this is one of the ways, again, that we benefit from our partnership with Sovereign Grace. As churches go before us, some churches go before us and reopen, we can really learn from them.

And I like that because all of these thoughts about reopening don't have to come from the Leadership Team. They can come from our pastors and what they’re actually learning. So we'll try to keep you updated on who's reopening first.

Benjamin Kreps:

Yeah. Wonderful. So in the middle of all this, while we're making plans, many of us without any certain plan from the authorities, but attempting to make plans as much as we can, how do you view the way we should be communicating to our churches throughout all of this?

Mark Prater:

Yeah, it's a great question and it's one of the questions we plan to discuss on Thursday. This podcast will drop into the guys boxes on Monday the 11th, and on Thursday May 14th at 2:30 Eastern, we're going to have another quarterly zoom meeting that all of our Sovereign Grace pastors can voluntarily participate in. Mickey and I will be leading that. So please join us for that and you'll be getting information soon and Zoom information in particular.

But one of the questions we're going to kick around is how do you communicate effectively to your church about reopening, knowing that you've got members who are going to have different levels of comfort about gathering together again.

Benjamin Kreps:

And any thoughts about how to navigate around the expectations of folks in the church, the way that they are processing? It's a mixed bag. I know it is in my church. We have people who are talking about how they would like to begin civil disobedience. We have others who have informed us they will not be leaving their home for a long time. So any thoughts about managing expectations and actually encouraging people as we communicate about whatever our plan will be connected to the guidelines and the regulations?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, my thoughts. I've got some thoughts, but any pastor knows his church best. So my thoughts may not be helpful. You're going to have to really communicate in a way that you think will best serve your church. But I would guess most churches are going to have a mixed response to this.

So I think I'd be really upfront. I would just be saying things like, we're going to have members who have different levels of comfort about gathering together again. And those who may be reluctant to gather sooner. We don't want to make judgements about their maturity. We don't want to use that as a litmus test for their maturity. Rather, we just want to relate to them in charity and in love. And it's just a great time for the church to be patient with one another as God's patient with us.

Benjamin Kreps:

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, here where we are, we have just regularly been telling the church even as we begin to gather again, and we're a long ways off, I think, in Pennsylvania, but we'll see. We don't have actual guidance about when things are going to be opening up. But just regularly communicating that we understand if you need to stay home, if you want to stay home, if it's wise to stay home, even as we gather, even if we can all be together again on a Sunday morning. No condemnation, extending grace, totally understand. We're keeping the live stream going so people can participate that way. So I think that's really important.

Mark Prater:

I think the other, you know, communication issue that guys have to think through is how do you set, how do you communicate, the right expectations for that first Sunday or first Sundays when you gather together? Because I think it's going to feel a little bit different. And how do you do that without diminishing joy or the enthusiasm about gathering and yet setting expectations right? I’ve still got think through that question a bit more, but we hope to discuss that on our Zoom meeting next week.

Benjamin Kreps:

Excellent. Any other thoughts about reopening?

Mark Prater:

I think the other thing I've been thinking about, and this would depend on your state and the restrictions, but as the weather gets warmer, small groups could meet outside. You know, if you've got somebody who's got a yard that's big enough, you could bring lawn chairs and spread out and keep social distancing and still have great fellowship together. So I think the warmer weather will actually help us begin to enjoy fellowship actually being together rather than over Zoom.

Benjamin Kreps:

Yeah. I like that letter that you sent to me from the president of Purdue University where there was a line in there that said something like: this is a serious and sobering challenge, but this calls for leaders to think courageously and creatively about the way forward. And so I think that certainly applies to the pastors as well. We’ve got to get creative, I think, even as we're being faithful and I'm being careful. Well, thanks for your thoughts, Mark. I guess we'll see you on the Zoom call Thursday afternoon.

Mark Prater:

Great.

Benjamin Kreps:

And thank you everyone else for watching and we'll see you next time. Right here. Bye for now.

Mark Prater is the Executive Director of Sovereign Grace Churches and has served as an elder at Covenant Fellowship Church since 2002. 

PPP Loan Guidance Update

You likely have seen recent updates on Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan Guidance.  But I want to make sure you are aware of this important update. 

The Small Business Administration (SBA) released FAQ #46 addressing how they will review whether a borrower’s good faith certification concerning the necessity of their PPP loan request.  The key point that affects all our churches is that PPP loans of less than $2,000,000 will be deemed to have made the required certification concerning the necessity of the loan request in good faith.  Their reasoning is primarily that small businesses and non-profits whose loan amount is less than this don’t readily have access to alternative sources of funding and financing and are presumed to need access to these funds.

For all our churches that received (or in the process of receiving) a PPP Loan, I would consider the following:

• Make sure that you continue to involve your local leadership and financial advisory teams and make them aware of all matters pertaining to this loan, including this update, and involve them in any decisions made with respect to the PPP Loan.

• Make sure that you are accurately tracking your expenditures on payroll, mortgage, and utilities for your eight week period from the receipt of loan proceeds to help you calculate your potential loan forgiveness.

• Given that certification is no longer an issue, I would recommend not trying to make any determination at this time whether you believe your church needs to accept forgiveness of the loan at this time.

  • Processing of forgiveness doesn’t begin until after June 30, and just like this guidance, many changes can take place over the next six weeks.  I would just keep a close eye on what further guidance may come.

  • In this season of economic uncertainty and delayed effect of job losses, churches that were doing well in March and April could see larger declines in their giving this summer or even into the fall.  The intent of these programs are to maintain full employment.  My hope would be that a local church could make this final evaluation of whether to benefit from the loan forgiveness at the end of 2020.  This further guidance from the SBA that automatically confirms certification of the need (assuming none of our churches received a $2 Million loan!) makes that more possible to wait until year-end.

• I understand that there as some who still question the wisdom of whether to receive financial aid from the government at all.  Each local church should discuss this matter and how to explain to your church your position on this if necessary. I have discussed this issue extensively with the leadership team and a number of pastors have reached out to me for counsel.  I am available to discuss with you if you believe it would help your team.

Please feel free to contact me personally if you have any questions on this or any other financial matters that may be affecting your local church. It is my great privilege and joy to serve you all!

Tommy Hill serves as the Director of Finance for Sovereign Grace Churches. He is also the Administrator for Cornerstone Church of Knoxville where he lives with his wife Elizabeth and their children.

Loving Our Neighbors

 VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

 Benjamin Kreps:

 Hey everyone. Welcome back to the Mark Prater podcast where our aim is to connect our global family of churches with our Executive Director. Mark last time, last week, we talked about how Sovereign Grace Churches has been stepping up to embrace the privilege of financially providing for partners globally who are really struggling even more than we are when it comes to food shortages and things like that. But, apparently the rest of Sovereign Grace and some we didn't know about at the time that had already happened, you know, basically said, hold my beer. And all kinds of things have happened giving wise since then? Can you tell us about that?

 Mark Prater:

Yeah, it's so encouraging. I want our guys to hear there's been this explosion of generosity and let me say it that way. Within the last week, we've now raised over $90,000 that's making its way, if it's not there already, to two nations that have real needs of people that basically need food during this pandemic. So, I'll just give you a little bit of an idea.

Liberia at least $10,000 your region gave to that and Sovereign Grace Church in Sydney, both churches in Sydney, gave to that. In the Philippines, well over $22,000, Sovereign Grace Church of Orange, Covenant Life Fellowship in Roseburg, both churches in Sydney, Rich’s church, Center Church in Gilbert, Arizona and Sovereign Grace Church of Pasadena. And then we gave some money out of the central budget. We sent money to a closed nation where Scott Crook has taken initiative to train pastors theologically from that nation. He's from the Midwest-Northwest region. So, churches in that region have given.

Again, the Roseburg church gave $8,000, Bolivia, almost $20,000. An individual donor gave $5,000. Center Church in Gilbert, the church in Richmond, Kingsway, Grace Church in Clarksburg, the Mid-South region. And then there's some needs in Mexico that's emerging. So Rich’s church gave money there. And then Ricky Alcantar’s church, Cross of Grace Church in El Paso, gave almost $1,900 to a pastor by the name of JP. He was at our conference a couple years ago and I've already received pictures back where he's distributing food to people in their area. So there is a strong global partnership right now that's functioning in this pandemic.

Benjamin Kreps:

So beautiful. Just the surge of generosity coming from churches in our denomination. And you had some thoughts about what's behind that. It’s not just a desire to be kind to people, but something even more substantial. 

Mark Prater:

Yeah. I think that it’s the effect of a couple of things. I believe it's the faithful preaching of the gospel week in and week out by our pastors in our churches. And it's the intentional way that we have always built a gospel culture. And we've got to credit C.J. for teaching us how to do that. We all stand on his shoulders, but we're continuing to build that gospel culture so that the good works that God's created us to do, Ephesians 2:10, really does flow from the gospel itself.

Benjamin Kreps:

The general generosity proceeding from the generosity of God in Christ.

Mark Prater:

Yeah, exactly. And by the way, we're not just seeing this globally, we're seeing it locally. So I've started hearing reports of how churches, Sovereign Grace Churches, where members are taking initiative on their own. So work with local food banks to get food and then distribute that food in their community or to members of the church in need. So that's happened in Marlton, New Jersey and Souderton, Pennsylvania. I was just up in Wissinoming in Northeast Philadelphia with Dan Birkholz, his church. They're doing that so that it's not just a global work that's being done. It's a local one as well. In fact, you're doing a similar thing there at Living Hope.

Benjamin Kreps: 

Yeah, we are. A couple of weeks ago we worked with a local food pantry, big organization, to purchase 322 boxes of food, I believe, 35 to 40 pound boxes of food. And so we had a drive through food blessing two weeks ago and again on a Friday. And we had a couple of hundred cars passing through, actually about 300 cars passing through. 

Over the course of two hours, a team of folks from a community group were out there handing out boxes and so it was something that we haven't done before. We haven't tried something like this before, but it was gratifying to see how much of a blessing it was and how much we were actually meeting the need without amount of people that were driving through. So that was the idea of a community group and in our church.

And so we're doing it again tomorrow, so the podcast won't be till Monday, but Friday we're doing another one, same amount of boxes essentially. And, again, that's community groups that are coming together to purchase many of the of food and actually to staff the handout. So the thought is a God's doing unexpected things and expanding our vision about what it means to be a blessing in our community and to reach others with the love of Christ.

Mark Prater:

So, Ben, how would you say that strengthens the gospel culture you're building at Living Hope? 

Benjamin Kreps:

Yeah. Well, you know, of course an essential part of ensuring that there's a healthy gospel culture is that we're actually, our lives are lived in accord with the gospel and we're walking in a manner worthy of the gospel. So this is just a practical way to put feet and hands on those things that we hold dearly when it comes to generosity.

And wanting to see the glory of Christ fill Middletown because of the gospel. So this just gives us a fresh opportunities to step into practically walking out the beauty of the gospel in being a blessing in our community. So it just put its put legs on it for us in a way that maybe we haven't quite done before. 

 Mark Prater:

And all of that's being done, what I've seen, is with joy. So joy marks a gospel culture, right, Philippians 4, rejoice always, again, I say rejoice. With an explosion of generosity, I think there's an explosion of joy. 

Ben Kreps: 

Yes, yes, definitely. So, well, the stories keep piling up and we anticipate that we will hear more and more stories about churches that are stepping into generosity and seeking to be a blessing and to love people, love our neighbor during this season. So, thanks for filling us in with some of those stories and we'll talk again soon. So, thanks Mark. And thank you everybody who's been watching. God bless every pastor who's watching this podcast as you seek to be faithful and love your neighbor and express the beauty of the gospel and your local context. So we'll see you next time.

Mark Prater is the Executive Director of Sovereign Grace Churches and has served as an elder at Covenant Fellowship Church since 2002.

Reopening Your Church Doors

I’ve never been one that sensed that time was either flying by or dragging along.  But I must admit that it seems like forever since we have had to begin practicing social distancing and shelter in place. And, of course, the resulting replacing Sunday gatherings with live streams and other means, conducting small groups through Zoom and dispensing pastoral care and counsel by phone or Face Time.  But for almost all of us, it’s only been five weeks.  Five weeks where we've gone from crisis mode - scrambling to put new practices into place while addressing the current crisis; to new normal – settling into new routines of local church life.

None of us on the leadership team can reflect on these five weeks without expressing deep appreciation and commendation for the way you, our pastors, have responded.  And I’m sure every pastor can shout a hearty “amen” when we say we couldn’t be prouder of how our members have rallied to support (both spiritually and materially) and encourage us and each other.  This hasn’t been surprising given the people God has been so kind as to give us, but it is certainly gratifying.  We are blessed men to serve the churches we do!!!

But this new normal won’t last forever, so the next big question facing our country and our churches is – When can we reopen?  When can we begin to lift some of the shelter in place orders?  When can we begin to ease restrictions on group gatherings?  When can we get people back to work without jeopardizing health and lives?  President Trump is convening another task force to address these questions, and many Governors are forming coalitions to consider state and regional options.  This means we will have to make a lot of decisions about when and how to resume church life as we have always known it.

The issues are complex, and answers will differ depending on one's setting.  But let me suggest three things for your consideration…

1.  Faithful for the present

It’s just human nature to respond heroically when a crisis first arises but to grow weary and impatient as it continues.  When can I get back to work??!!  When can the kids get back to school??!!  How long do I have to run around in a mask and gloves??!!  If I'm completely honest, staying in is driving me a little stir crazy!!  And I desperately miss my friends and church family.  I'm grateful for live-stream and Zoom, but… when, oh when, can we get back to Sunday morning gatherings, small groups, and times of fellowship and fun with those I love??!!   Not to mention the natural tendency of many to begin bristling against government restrictions – hey, what about the 1st amendment, the government can’t tell us whether we can meet or not, we must obey God rather than man!!!

While all of these are understandable reactions (some more than others), we must be careful to resist such temptations and to help our churches do the same.  Paul’s exhortation in Galatians 6:9 is apt – “let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap if we don’t give up.”  This season will end, but in the meantime, let's not miss all the ways that God is at work in our churches in ways that we, at first, probably didn’t anticipate.  It’s been remarkable to hear of people’s appreciation or their pastors’ care, creativity, and communication – they seem more appreciative of our shepherding care than ever.  People are actually communicating with each other more than usual and are loving the experience.  Many are finding that their times of meeting with the Lord are easier and richer as their lives have slowed down. Unbelieving family and friends are tuning into live streams when they previously hadn’t considered coming to a church meeting.  And we have all been finding new ways to serve our neighbors and communities in their time of need.

Jeff Purswell said it so well in a recent Leadership Team Zoom call – "Faithfulness now will mean fruitfulness later," especially in the area of evangelism. So let us continue to faithfully serve our churches and faithfully love our neighbors and unbelieving acquaintances.  We've been surprised by some of the ways God has been at work, and I'm sure we will be surprised and delighted by some of the fruitfulness we will experience in the future.

2.  Anticipate for the future

We don’t know when restrictions will ease.  I’ve heard estimates ranging from May to September.   But whenever the time we don’t want to be caught scrambling around at the last minute to figure out how to reengage as local churches.  The time to anticipate and prepare for that time is NOW.  Every sports league is getting contingencies in place for returning to action.  We should be doing no less.

Depending on the size of your Sunday gathering, small groups, and other ministries like men, women, youth, Bible studies, etc. we probably won't be able to return to our previous schedules all at once.  So we should be asking questions like…

• If we are allowed to meet in groups of 50, what meetings will we immediately reinstitute?  What about if/when the number jumps to 250?  What about when all restrictions are lifted? And if they are different, whose standards do we adhere to – local, state, or federal? 

• Will we invite more people to participate on-site for Sunday live streams?  If so, how many, and who do we have to attend, and why?

• If possible, could we go to multiple Sunday services so that all can gather in place?  If so, how long should these meetings be – back to normal or shorter?

• When we do return, how do we set up our meeting place to maintain maximum social distancing during Sunday meetings?

• If we meet in a rented facility, what kinds of restrictions might our “landlord” place on our gatherings?  Some may want to consider looking for a back-up place, especially if they are meeting in a school that will remain shuttered longer than some other options.

• What precautions do we need to take for all gatherings, including Sunday?  Some of the same precautions we were going to take before the restrictions should probably be kept in place at least for a while – e.g., greeting with smiles and kind words instead of handshakes and hugs; suspending beverage services; suspending or finding the safest ways to celebrating the Lord’s supper; not passing offering baskets but instead providing a place to drop off checks or cash; limiting how many doors you use for public access; limiting who can check children in for CM.  

• How will we clean and disinfect the spaces we use, including homes?

• What special precautions do we need to take for our most vulnerable members – older folks (being 70 I refuse to think of myself as elderly) and those with medical issues.  Do we ask such people to wait to return?  If so, do we continue to live stream just for them? How would we be able to live stream a larger meeting?  Can we create special sections for them to maintain distancing?  Can we provide masks or other safety equipment? Can we dedicate bathrooms for their sole use?  

• Also, what precautions do we take for front line medical workers who are genuine heroes yet may be most vulnerable to passing on contagion to others?

• Children’s Ministry presents a whole category of questions, since maintaining social distancing is virtually impossible.  We need to consider when to resume children’s ministry and how to do so in a way that is as safe as possible.

• Most everyone will be able to resume small group meetings earlier than Sundays, but even then, we can't assume that every member will be comfortable attending.  Groups should make sure that all members are staying connected and cared for during the process of reengaging. 

We would also be wise to ask questions like…

• What did we learn during this crisis that may help us to more effectively serve in the future?  Two cautions are in order here:  thinking that our response needs to be some major overhaul of how we “do church” – a major crisis doesn’t necessarily demand major changes; thinking that we have to answer this question immediately after the crisis ends – it often takes distance to rightly discern what the Lord was up to and what that means for us (and that’s not assuming that we can infallibly discern what that was).

• How can we best follow up with those neighbors and friends that we were able to invite to live streams or serve in practical ways?   What kinds of evangelistic opportunities could be available as people’s lives return to normal?

• Even when people can get back out and get back to work, there will be needs that were created that will still require attention.  How can we find ways to continue to serve both your members and your communities? 

We've said this before, but it's worth mentioning again – there is no one-size-fits-all answer to these questions.  No one knows your local church like you do and so no one is able to better prepare for your particular future than you are.

3.  Communicate

As you prepare contingencies, make sure you are preparing the church to reengage.  And do that through frequent communication.  Let people know what you are thinking about these kinds of things and why.  You may not have all the answers, you probably won’t, but people need to know you are doing your best to ask the right questions.  They are getting the same news you are and are asking the same questions. At times like this, it's almost impossible to overcommunicate. Clear communication also rallies our churches to intelligent prayer.

In such dramatic circumstances, we also need to be sensitive to people with differing opinions on government restrictions and local church cooperation with authorities.  No matter what decisions we make, we should be aware that not all are going to agree.  Some will want to be more aggressive and some more cautious.  We want to be sensitive to people's wide-ranging concerns while building faith and unity for everyone.

You and your members have been in this together from the very beginning.  Let’s make sure we stay in together till the very end.

Sovereign Grace Churches Day of Prayer for Frontline Workers

Two weeks ago, our small denomination dedicated a day of prayer for healthcare professionals who are serving on the frontlines in caring for the sick during the COVID-19 pandemic. Because there are other men and women working daily on the frontline to serve us, even at their own risk, we wanted to dedicate this Friday, April 17 as a Day of Prayer for Frontline Workers.  We want to pray for men and women who transport food, stock grocery shelves, and work at checkout counters that make it possible for us to purchase food. Men and women who provide public transportation, and men and women who work in police and fire departments around the world providing essential emergency services. This is not an exhaustive list, so when you pray, add anyone you know who is serving on the frontlines. As 1 Thessalonians 5:17 exhorts us, let us “pray without ceasing” for them. Here are a few ways you can pray:

• Ask God to protect these frontline workers from being infected with the COVID-19 virus.

• Ask God to heal those frontline workers who do contract the COVID-19 virus.

• Ask God to give them strength and endurance for the long hours they need to work.

• Ask God to comfort them when they need to spend time separated from their families or need to self-quarantine because of the risk of exposure.

• Ask God to give them wisdom for any difficult situations they may face.

• Ask God to use Christian frontline workers as a voice of gospel hope for the hopeless.

Mark Prater is the Executive Director of Sovereign Grace Churches and has served as an elder at Covenant Fellowship Church since 2002. 

What Is God Working in Us Through this Season?

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Benjamin Kreps:

Welcome back to the Mark Prater podcast, where our aim is to connect our global family of churches with our Executive Director. Hey Mark, you talked a couple of weeks ago about what you saw God revealing in Sovereign Grace pastors and some of the encouraging things you saw there. I wanted to ask you today, just turn it a little bit differently, and ask you what you think God might be working in us, growing us and changing us when it comes to this season of navigating through the pandemic.

Mark Prater:

It's a timely question because God is using this pandemic to work in all of us, the pastors and members of Sovereign Grace Churches. And you know, the first response is, I don't know all that God is doing, but my faith has been stirred recently as I've observed what God is doing in us as a family of churches. It really is captured in Romans 5:3-4, “We rejoice in our sufferings knowing that our suffering produces endurance.” So there's an endurance that we are growing in as a denomination. “And endurance produces character” and there's a growing character, Christ's character, that I see in our pastors and the members of our churches. “And character produces hope.” And during this time we have the hope of the gospel and that hope is being deepened. And I just think this work in us is preparing us for how God is about to use us.

Benjamin Kreps:

I think so too. What are your thoughts about what it is that God might be preparing us for going forward?

Mark Prater:

I think God's going to use this pandemic to bring about a wonderful advancement of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Like you and like many of our pastors, and probably many of our members, we’re praying for revival. Ray Ortland encourages us that way so well. And I think we're going to participate in that, especially when we're able to gather together again as churches. I just really believe unbelievers and the unchurched are going to come out of this pandemic coming into our churches and we want to be prepared to give them hope that has been deepened in our lives.  

By the way, John Piper just wrote a book. Many guys will probably see this by the time his podcast arrives in their inbox: Coronavirus and Christ. The president of Desiring God reached out to C.J. yesterday and said, we want to give that book to all the members and pastors of Sovereign Grace Churches. The e-book is available for free, but we'll send you the hard copy as well. So, our pastors will probably have received an email by the time they get this podcast and you tell Erin how many you need and we're going to send those out.

Benjamin Kreps:

That's wonderful. I haven't read the book yet but I have seen some excerpts and I’m hearing good things about it. You had mentioned there was a quote in the book that you enjoyed as you were thinking about preparing for the future and what God's working in us in this season. Do you want to share that quote with us? 

Mark Prater:

I can't wait to share this quote because it has stirred my faith for what God is about to do through our family of churches. This is what Piper says, “We may think the Coronavirus outbreak is a setback for world missions. I doubt it.” It sounds like Piper, doesn't it? “God's ways often include apparent setbacks that result in great advances.” And I just think we're about to participate in a great advancement of the gospel.

Benjamin Kreps:

May it be so. I think that there is an opportunity here for us to sort of recalibrate, you know, as we think about (and think through maybe more deeply than we ever have) our ecclesiology and missiology and how we want to function as a church moving forward. And I think that could be a wonderful blessing for us to be forced to pause and reflect on these things in preparation for what's ahead. Anything else you want to add?

Mark Prater:

Well, as we reflect, let's do what Romans exhorts us to do. Let's rejoice. Let’s encourage one another in the growth that God is doing in us so that our joy overflows as God uses us to advance the gospel. Let's rejoice.

Benjamin Kreps:

Amen. Speaking to a friend in Sovereign Grace, another pastor, I loved what he said when it came to that category of hope that you described that God is doing where he's been exhorting his church. We're not just getting excited and hoping for being together again on a Sunday. This is an opportunity for our hope to deepen in the great day when actually we'll be gathered with all the believers throughout history, with Christ. And so, trust that God's doing that in us as well.

Mark Prater:

May that be.

Benjamin Kreps:

Thanks, Mark. And thank you, everybody, for watching the podcast and we'll be back right here very soon. See you then.

Mark Prater is the Executive Director of Sovereign Grace Churches and has served as an elder at Covenant Fellowship Church since 2002.