Zoom Counseling

We’re into the second week of the Great Hunkerdown of 2020.  Most pastors I know have spent the last week reworking their churches into some kind of new virtual reality.  But we all know that pastoral counseling needs are out there awaiting our attention.  And not just a corona-related crisis.  People had problems before we went into hibernation and those problems won’t go away.  In fact, social distancing will more likely exacerbate issues.  People lack familiar escape routes that have helped them cope with stress and difficulty.  Often the people who are the most tempting to us are the people we’ll be sheltering in place with.  And ongoing isolation rarely helps anybody.

So, pastors will be counseling during the corona crisis.  The question is, how do we do it?  To quote Jeff Purswell’s excellent post from a couple of days ago,

As those who will give an account for the ones entrusted to our care, we must think carefully about how we discharge our pastoral responsibilities—and, importantly, not just the content of our ministry, but our methods—and never more so than in a time of crisis.

Jeff is talking about the public ministry of the church in its corporate gatherings.  We need to be equally as thoughtful in our personal ministry of the word in pastoral counseling.  The following are some thoughts that may help you serve your folks well in the area of pastoral counseling during the corona lockdown.

Mode

So how should we do it?  Let’s start with this: email is the worst. Don’t use email conversation for any counseling on serious or complicated issues.  This deserves its own post, but let’s just keep it simple. Don’t use email to counsel.  If somebody emails you with a counseling issue, set up a time to talk.  Texting and other kinds of real-time social media communication are slightly less unhelpful because at least you can have a real-time conversation.  But in a time where we can’t reinforce our care through personal contact let’s be careful trusting our thumbs to communicate our hearts. 

So that leaves phone calls and video chats.  Most of us have done enough pastoral care over phones to know the strengths and weaknesses of that medium.  I think people most people will extend a particular grace this season talking about difficult things over the phone.  The biggest issue I have with phone counseling is that one of our most significant face to face assets - the value of silence to let the Spirit apply truth - gets really squirrelly on the phone.  When I’m on the phone I’m more prone to fill those silences with whatever pops into my head in the moment.  Not good.  Also, the absence of visible body language and facial expressions means we are entirely dependent on content delivery.  That’s dicey. So be wise with the phone.

The remainder of this post will focus on video counseling - FaceTime, Zoom, Skype, etc.  This medium is being used more and more in the counseling world.  The jury is still out on the quality of the experience.  My guess is that the more people live interactively on screens, the more comfortable they’ll be opening up their lives this way. Don’t assume that translates into good counseling, at least as we are called to do it as pastors.  But right now it is a tool, maybe even a gift, that we can use in soul care.

Method

So how do we handle video counseling?  First, recognize the attention span limits of video.  In his Zoom talk about caring for the church on March 19, Mickey made the excellent point that attention span drops significantly after about an hour on a video chat.  So you need to plan for a meeting where you can get caught up, have good dialogue, provide care and then close in a loving, patient and caring way - in about 60 minutes. That’s a tall order. To limit the time you need to limit the agenda.  I think if we talk about this upfront people will receive it as care. Let the folks you’re counseling know you’re going to try to keep things to an hour for their sake, so you might be more structured than normal. They’ll get it. 

Second - environment dictates tone. If you are meeting with someone on a park bench in a city you may need to communicate sensitive things in loud voice to be heard. If you are in a small coffee shop with people all around you it might be necessary to communicate hard things in a very soft tone.  The point?  We need to adjust delivery for environment.  With video chats, you have two environments to account for.  You may have a real good set of earbuds and a nice quiet space. The person you’re counseling may be in an echo chamber with loud family outside and bad speakers. Ask them how it sounds.  Don’t assume they are yelling because they’re angry.  They may just feel like that’s what is needed to be heard.  Because you’re in two different environments it takes work to establish the tone you want for the conversation.  

Third - visibility matters.  I was on a call with my small group leaders and two of the couples were totally in the dark - they were sitting in a room with terrible lighting.  That can be a challenge.  Make sure you’re clearly visible to the people you’re counseling in as natural a light as possible. If you’re wearing glasses because that’s what you usually do when you’re on the computer, remember that can make it difficult to see your eyes or make them look really large and angry.  We don’t want angry eyes.  You also want to see the other people clearly so you can get at least a little of the body language communication. 

Message

Whatever agenda you've been operating on, it now needs to be shaped by present need. If you’ve been challenging a dad about weaknesses in his family leadership and he just got laid off, let God have the long term issue and you tackle the immediate trial. My approach is to let God show me counseling paths through presenting problems and not assume my assessment of the issues is always God’s priority for care in a particular conversation. 

Second, keep people wanting more, not needing more. By this I mean try to make the conversation a worthwhile experience for the people you’re counseling - especially now.  We don’t have those opportunities to ‘touch base’ at meetings or services, so we need to prioritize keeping their interest in talking.  Did you ever have that moment where a counseling conversation was going really well and you thought, ‘now’s a good time to add this little correction in as we’re coming to the end’. Resist the temptation. Don’t open up something that has to be shut down, or requires an extended time to resolve. My goal if at all possible is to make what starts as counseling end more like fellowship - shared experience in the work of Christ in our lives. With tenuous access to people that is really important right now.  Here’s a great question to keep in the back of your mind as you’re talking - ‘what Gospel truth do I want to introduce, encourage with, or celebrate as we begin to close our time together?’. 

Third - Have scripture in hand.  If I’m going to be meeting with someone on a video chat I’ll ask God to give me a passage of scripture to read aloud at some point. Maybe at the beginning, maybe at the end.  I may even print it out and put it on the screen for both of us to read.  In video counseling, the actual words of the Bible (not just sound biblical principles) can be a visceral bridge across the chasm that separates people.  Isn’t that essentially how the New Testament epistles function?  

Fourth - elevate the role of prayer. Of course, we pray when we counsel.  But prayer distinctively breaks down the distance that the video medium creates. Praying together with your eyes closed puts people who may be miles apart in the same experiential space.  We speak to a God who is equally present and active where we are and they are in the same moment and in the same way.  This is mysterious, but it is not mystical. Prayer accents our fellowship as saints, our communion with the Spirit, our mutual need for grace, our family privileges with our heavenly Father, our glorious calling as followers of Christ.  If you don’t know what to say, pray.  If you do know what to say, pray. Let’s teach our folks the value of praying together in different locations.  

Finally - is there a time when only personal contact will do?  I’m sure in some of our churches things will happen over the next few months where we’ll need to venture out and meet face to face.  I’m not sure in those moments we are counseling in the way I’m talking about here.  At that point, we’re standing with people in crisis, in abject suffering, in unanticipated personal loss.  We will still need to be wise in how we enter personal spaces, in how we love in times of coronavirus.  But as good pastors have always taken risks for their people, we must accept the risk to ourselves that comes with being physically close, even as we do all we can to mitigate the risks to those around us.  That requires another post.   

Andy Farmer oversees the singles and counseling ministry at Covenant Fellowship Church in Glenn Mills, PA. He is also a regular contributor to the Biblical Counseling Coalition.

To Stream or Not to Stream: Considering Sundays in Seclusion

It’s become clear over the past couple of weeks that the COVID-19 pandemic would leave nothing in our lives untouched—including our Sunday gatherings. Since our pastoral team’s decision to live-stream a time of singing and teaching for our church, I’ve heard concerns about this practice from both friends and at least one well-known podcast. As those who will give an account for the ones entrusted to our care, we must think carefully about how we discharge our pastoral responsibilities—and, importantly, not just the content of our ministry, but our methods—and never more so than in a time of crisis.

The question of live-streaming in the church touches upon a number of important issues ranging from ecclesiology (the nature of the church and corporate worship) to anthropology (the nature of humanity, how we experience reality, the nature of relationships) to pastoral ministry (how we care for the people of God). In this post, I’ll more modestly seek to answer three questions that impinge upon a pastor’s decision to stream (or not to stream).  

Is it Worship?

This seemingly simple question actually unearths issues that strike at the very nature of the church. In a broad sense it surely is, just as under the new covenant “worship” language moves away from a special time or place to embrace all of a Christian’s life (Rom 12:1; Heb 13:15-16). If all of life is “worship” in this sense, then it’s a mistake to exclude our live-streams as a potentially God-glorifying response to his grace in Christ!

More to the point, is it corporate worship—that is, a reasonable approximation of the gathered worship of the local church?  Here we need quickly to say no, for a cluster of reasons. 

Beyond the broad sense of worship, the New Testament highlights the importance of the local church gathered for corporate worship. Profound and powerful things are happening in our Sunday gatherings that do not happen when we are apart, or when we are “virtually” together on-line. It is in our gatherings that we give concrete expression to the true nature of the church as a body (1 Cor 12:12ff.) and as a temple (1 Cor 3:16f.)—a dwelling place for God himself by the Spirit (Eph 2:22). Indeed, the church, as the ekklesia of God, the successor and fulfillment of the “assembly (qahal) of Israel,” by its very nature assembles before the Lord—and the entailments are breathtaking. Through his word and the work of his Spirit God presences himself in a unique way among his gathered people (cf. 1 Cor 14:24-25).[1] Christ himself ministers among us as each member, indwelt and gifted by the Spirit, serves and encourages and stirs up one another to love and good works (1 Cor 12:4-13). Through the preaching of God’s Word by an appointed shepherd who faithfully expounds Scripture, God himself speaks again, addressing his people, binding them together in community, and building them together as his dwelling place. 

Undergirding all of this are creational—and new creational—realities that imbue our gatherings with special significance: the “incarnational” dynamic of preaching whereby the preacher models and embodies the message in such a way that enhances its credibility and power (it’s astonishing that, in Rom 1:11, Paul apparently attributed to his personal ministry a unique role that even having the letter to the Romans didn’t seem to fill!); the embodied nature of our humanity and relationships that technology cannot approximate—not to mention the embodied nature of our union with Christ which binds us together and through which we encounter Christ in each other. The Christian has far more reason than the psalmist to exclaim, “I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD!”” (Psalm 122:1)

None of this is intended to minimize the potential blessings that can flow through our live streams. It should, though, give us a fresh appreciation for what happens when we gather—and to whet our appetites for the moment when we’re able to do so again.

So no, our live stream is not the same as our Sunday gathering, and when we live-stream songs and teaching from an empty auditorium, it is not our “Sunday worship” that comes through our people’s video monitors. But this is not the only question to consider.

Is It Fruitful?

This is more than a pragmatic question. Perhaps it’s better to frame it this way: “Can a live stream of singing and teaching accomplish certain pastoral priorities during this period of social upheaval?”

Our judgment as a pastoral team is that it indeed can—and our experience after two weeks of experimenting is that it has.

Every faithful pastor is seeking to care for his people in this unprecedented cultural moment. We have our own growing list of tactics to do so. But our live stream has had a number of particularly fruitful effects:

• It has enabled us to deliver pastoral care in a way that is consistent across the majority of our membership in a single moment;

• It has provided a platform by which to accomplish the biblical imperative of teaching God’s Word to our congregation—and in a way specifically applied to the current season of fear and uncertainty;

• It has enabled our pastoral team to maintain “contact” with our church as a whole as a supplement to the individual contact we’re seeking to maintain;  

• It has provided families a context to worship together, under the leadership of their pastors, in knowing solidarity with their friends. 

To be clear, I’m not suggesting that every church should be live-streaming on Sunday mornings. And there are certainly other ways to meet the needs of this moment in your church. Yet, when rightly conceived of and communicated, this tool has the potential to accomplish certain pastoral priorities, however imperfectly, in this unprecedented time of crisis. And I believe it can do so without doing damage to one’s ecclesiology, one’s perception of pastoral care, and one’s love for the local church. Which leads to a final question:

Is it Dangerous?

I’ve heard this concern raised in various forms by some very thoughtful friends. Here are a few of the most important ones:  

• Will this distort people’s doctrine of the church?

This is a fair question, and I suppose this would be possible in the absence of a number of factors. But when a church (or a family of churches) stresses the preeminence of the Sunday gathering in its life together, specifically as it shares the sacraments and sits under the right preaching of God’s Word; when vibrant relationships characterize a church’s fellowship and enhance its application of Scripture to its common life; when a church’s members are devoted to one another in love and committed to reaching their community with the gospel—I have little concern that a temporary live stream is going to distort a church’s understanding of its nature or diminish its members’ participation in its common life. 

In the presence of solid ecclesiological convictions such as these, my guess is that, in the vast majority of cases, if a person’s commitment to the Sunday gathering erodes following this unique season, live-streaming would simply reveal a heart issue already present, not create it.

• Are we setting a harmful precedent?

Again, a fair question, but I think it misses the fact that our current moment is unprecedented. There is no parallel in any of our lifetimes for the cultural upheaval we are experiencing. I’ve heard many comparisons with 9/11, but they miss a fundamental difference between that attack on our country and COVID-19 virus: in the wake of the Twin Towers attacks, our country pulled together—in concerts, rallies, and street parties. The coronavirus is pulling us apart—isolating us, erecting barriers, removing all contexts for community. We as pastors must do all we can—within the constraints placed upon us, applying wisdom, exercising love, and respecting civil authorities—to move toward our people, to know their condition, to keep watch over their souls, to facilitate interactions among them, and, above all, to provide what they need most of all—the Word of God, faithfully proclaimed and wisely applied to their lives at this moment of crisis. 

As for our eldership, we believe that this technology, in the present moment, helps facilitate at least part of this pastoral obligation when other Biblical means are simply not possible. Providing pastoral care is never more important than in a crisis, and people are especially attentive to their pastors in a crisis—making it critical that we do not miss this moment to come alongside our people as intentionally as possible. We’ve been stunned by the gratefulness our folks have expressed at our efforts to this end.

I would add that, for us, this is a temporary means which we plan to discontinue when the crisis passes. And if we perceive that it is having deleterious effects, or that the benefits do not justify the efforts, or if we conclude that there are better ways to accomplish similar priorities, we will happily cease this practice. We are in no way enamored by or wed to this particular mechanism.

It’s Not the Same, But . . .

For anyone concerned about negative effects from a live stream, I’d offer this, admittedly imperfect, analogy. When I am away from my wife on a trip, I gratefully have the option of talking to her on the phone. It’s not ideal. I’m not present with her. It doesn’t communicate the whole-soul-&-body union which is of the essence of the marital relationship. Yet, I’m grateful for the inferior, temporary, yet meaningful interaction my iPhone offers. Moreover—and here’s where the core of the analogy kicks in—it does not change the nature of my marriage. After a few weeks on the road, with two dozen+ phone calls under my belt, I’m not less eager to be with my wife. I’m not tempted to think, “You know, being physically present with Julie is really not all that important. FaceTime suffices quite nicely.” Nothing about our marriage has changed, not least my desire to be again with my wife. Yet, I’m grateful that FaceTime has allowed me to talk to Julie, to catch up on home-life, to learn of things needing my attention, to be warmed and encouraged by my dear wife’s expressions of love and concern. It’s no substitute for being home, but it’s a blessing when being together is impossible.

That’s how I view our live streams. It’s not a Sunday meeting. It does not afford all the divine blessings God purposes for the gatherings of his people. Nor is it sufficient for the life of any church. Yet, when rightly conceived of and communicated, it has the potential to accomplish certain pastoral priorities, however imperfectly, in this unprecedented time of crisis.

Considerations Thus Far

We’ve only been at this for two Sundays—and we pray this will not last much longer—but here are a few considerations we’re trying to factor into our live stream.  

The Word of God is central.  Live-streaming has obvious limitations, but it is a means by which we can fulfill our chief responsibility to our congregation of feeding them God’s Word—faithfully exposited, personally applied. And we’ve been greatly encouraged by the galvanizing effect of providing our folks a common diet from Scripture during this season. Although it may not have all the dynamics that live preaching in the presence of one’s congregation has, preaching in this form is still the proclamation of God’s Word, which is powerful to open eyes, strengthen hearts, and transform lives—and extend meaningful pastoral care during this time of pastoral isolation.

It’s not our “Sunday worship.”  For reasons both theological (see above) and practical, we’re not equating our live stream with our gathered worship. Even though they share certain elements, we want to honor the unique characteristics of each. 

Some considerations are practical: e.g., we’re not singing as many songs as we would on a Sunday (however, we’ve had some families request more music, as their children join in with instruments and dance!). We’re trying to be sensitive to the dynamics of on-line communication. As much as possible, we also want to engage those listening in—we try to address those at home and avoid the impression that they’re merely observers of a “service” that’s happening elsewhere. 

It can create a longing for our Sunday worship. Far from being a detriment to our Sunday gatherings, we’ve sought to seize these moments as a means of instructing our people about, and creating an appetite for, our Sunday gatherings once they resume.  For example, on this past Sunday our opening instruction (akin to a Call to Worship, although we did not use that precise language) consisted of the following:

“We begin our time this morning—as we do when we gather as a church—with God’s Word—this morning from Psalm 122:1: “I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD!”” The psalmist remembers that moment when it was time for him and his fellow pilgrims to journey to Jerusalem. He was filled with joy at the prospect of going to the holy city—the location of the temple—the symbol of the presence of God on earth, and all that implied: protection, refuge, blessing, joy.  Christians experience a similar joy at the prospect of gathering together. We’re not able to do that this morning. While we are grateful for this format and what it can accomplish, it’s not the same! It’s not what the NT envisions for the gathering of God’s people: where we experience God’s presence & grace together; where Christ Himself ministers to us through each member as they are indwelt and gifted by the Spirit; where we experience the personal, powerful effect of God’s Word as it addresses us & binds us together. And so, we can relate to the longing in the psalmist’s words, for the time when we are again together. Yet until that time we rejoice!  This moment whets our appetite, for that moment. And until that moment, this remains true:  Because of the cross, God’s presence is not relegated to a building: by the Spirit, He’s come to dwell with us. And because He has, we can live every moment—especially moments of unprecedented uncertainty and fear--strengthened in Him; protected by Him; relying upon Him; rejoicing in Him.”

It affords an unusual evangelistic opportunity. We’ve been surprised to hear from our members that unsaved family members and friends who haven’t accepted an invitation to visit have chosen to join the live stream. Although we’ve not given evangelistic messages, this has proven to be a unique opportunity to offer non-believers the only true source of comfort and hope in a world turned upside down. 

Our Only Confidence

I’ll say it one last time: I’m not suggesting that every church should be live-streaming on Sunday mornings!  A pastor may choose other means of caring for his people. This method might not be conducive to a particular church’s “culture.” This technology might be beyond the reach of a particular church. You may even conclude that live-streaming is either unacceptable or unwise. The point of this post is not to advocate for this mechanism, but to explore its biblical fidelity and potential fruitfulness as one means among many.

One thing is imperative. The current moment is forcing every pastor to prayerfully consider how best to “pay careful attention” to God’s flock and “to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). The inestimable price Jesus paid for his bride calls for our most prayerful dependence, careful thinking, and vigilant labors. Regardless of our response to the unique challenges we face, may our confidence never be in the methods we choose, but in Christ’s unshakable pledge: “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt 16:18).

[1] See David Peterson, “Worship in the New Testament,” in Worship: Adoration and Action, ed. D.A. Carson (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2002), 77.

Jeff Purswell is the Jeff is the Director of Theology and Training for Sovereign Grace Churches and the dean of the Sovereign Grace Pastor's College. He also serves as an elder at Sovereign Grace Church in Louisville, KY.

How Do We Pastor in a Pandemic? An Interview with Mark Prater

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Benjamin Kreps

Hey everyone. Welcome to the Mark Prater podcast, where we aim to connect our global family of churches to our Executive Director.

Mark, a couple videos ago, we talked about the COVID-19 pandemic. It was just really starting. So perhaps some of our reflections on that weren't reflective of what is actually happening around this. Things are developing every single day. Things are changing. So, continuing to process through this pandemic, through this crisis, really, culturally, what thoughts do you have as you continue to think about this for us as pastors and when it comes to us pastoring our churches?

Mark Prater:

Thanks for asking. It is changing almost hourly, isn't it? A pandemic is something we've never faced before. So it presents leadership and pastoral challenges. We feel like we're in uncharted territory. I mean, my very first thought is, with all that's coming at our pastors in Sovereign Grace, the main thing I want them to know is the Leadership Team is praying for them and exists to serve them. And as we just watch what our pastors are doing, they seem to be leading and pastoring so well. So that's my very first thought.

The second thought is, pastors shouldn't feel pressure to try to apply all the practices that are being passed around on media in particular. I think the main thing a pastor needs to do is obviously know his theology (and his ecclesiology in this case in particular) and then to know his church and then determine based on those two things what will best serve his church. Pastors shouldn't feel pressure to do livestream for example (which isn't wrong to do, but you shouldn't feel pressured to do it if you can't pull it off).

Benjamin Kreps:

We didn't learn about pastoring through a pandemic in the PC, but your encouragement is helpful because what you're saying is there's grace actually for pastors to navigate through this when it comes to practice. What kinds of things have you seen that you think do serve principally during this season?

Mark Prater:

In terms of just talking about a Sunday service, for example, obviously there are churches that have the ability to livestream. I don't think churches or pastors should feel the pressure to do that.

You could record a sermon and put it up online as an option and ask your folks to watch it on Sunday morning. You can record that anytime during the week. If you're not able to do that, you could create a devotional of some kind or find devotional resources and send that to your folks and ask them to worship at home. I think that's an option.

You were telling me, Ben, I think you're recording your service on Saturday. Is that right? Tell me what you're doing.

Benjamin Kreps:

We did last week and we're looking to do that this week. It's not a rule. We'd actually prefer to livestream. It would just seem a little bit more connective. But our tech guy had some concerns. 

So yeah, we're recording tomorrow, mid-morning, and then later we'll put it up for our folks to watch together. We are inviting people at the regular time around 10 o'clock to gather as families and to watch together.

We did that last week with Dave Odom and it worked well. We had a lot of people that got back to us and said they in fact did gather as families right around the time we normally meet (about 15 minutes late, because that's the normal way that we meet) and it served folks.

Mark Prater:

That's great.

Benjamin Kreps:

Here's an issue that guys are thinking through: What do you think about having Communion during this season of social distancing where most of us, I imagine, (basically all of us) have suspended our Sunday gatherings? What do you think about an idea that I've heard some guys kick around of passing out the elements perhaps at a different time during the week and then leading through Communion in homes through the video or livestream?

Mark Prater:

I actually hadn't thought about it until yesterday when that question came up. And as I've thought about it just a bit more (and I want to study this more myself in terms of what is my sacramental theology), I personally would not recommend doing it that way, for this reason: The two sacraments that our Savior gave His church (water baptism and communion—the Lord's Supper) are meant to be shared in the gathered church when we are together.

The Communion or the Lord's Supper certainly is a meal. Obviously, He instituted it at a Passover meal where people are present. So there's something that we want to preserve there and there's something that we experience together in the gathered church that's unique in that moment that we want to preserve. So where I'm at personally is I wouldn't recommend doing Communion via livestream.

Benjamin Kreps:

Well, Mark, thanks for calling us to prayer, which is our first and most important work. I don't think this video will be posted today, but March 20th is a day of prayer for Sovereign Grace Churches. Thanks for leading when it comes to helping Mickey get the church development website up (I would encourage guys to look at their resources there as you lead through these things), and we trust that God will in fact lead us and strengthen us through these confusing days ahead. So thank you, Mark.

Mark Prater:

You're welcome. By the way, the church development website address is sgcleaders.com. And that's available to pastors both in and outside of Sovereign Grace.

Benjamin Kreps:

Wonderful. Thanks, Mark. We'll see everybody next time.

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

Reaching Out While Staying In

When my sons were young, I would sometimes take them to construction sites on my day off so we could watch the big trucks and loaders do their thing.  One day, we pulled up to a busy site and my young son jumped out of the car and yelled, “Wow!”  His brother jumped out right behind him and shouted, “Wow! Wow!” We called it a Double Wow Moment.  The pandemic that has come upon us deserves a Double Wow. 

This unique time in history presents us with some great opportunities to reach out to others.  It’s often in times of crisis that people are more open to the gospel, and right now we are all in some form of crisis.  Our neighbors, co-workers, classmates, and family members are scared, and they don’t know where to turn.  Some fear the virus itself; others wonder how they’re going to make rent this month or pay for medicine they need.  

This is where we come in. As followers of Jesus, one of our main jobs is to help others become followers of Jesus (Matthew 4:19).  In order to save us, Jesus had to be outward in his focus. When we are joined to Christ through his extraordinary death for us, we too become outward in focus. We become like Him. Since our greatest need has been met in Christ, we can now turn and meet the needs of others, and there are many needs to meet!  So in times of “social distancing” how can we be reaching out while staying in?

Here are a few ways:

• Prayer - During a time of crisis, people are more open to prayer. They’re struggling with fear, uncertainty, loneliness, despair, boredom and other difficult feelings.  Let’s offer to pray for them during these months. Who can we reach out to today?

• Service - Meeting practical needs is powerful. Those who are older or in the high-risk category might not be comfortable running to the grocery store or doing an errand.  They also might need some help around the house.  How can we step in to meet these needs?

• Invitation - In times like these, people are often more open to church than usual, so why not invite them to watch your church’s service if it’s live-streamed? And if it’s not, find another that is. My wife, Trish, just posted this on our neighborhood Facebook group:

Hi neighbors,

What a crazy time we are living through! It's great to see our neighborhood caring for each other. We know lots of churches in the area are canceled. We attend (and Jim helps pastor) Covenant Fellowship Church in Glen Mills, and some other neighboring families attend as well. We are live-streaming our Sunday service through this crisis, so feel free to join us on Sunday morning at 10:00 if you are so inclined! The link is: covfel.org/live

This is a time of anxiety and economic hardship for many. Feel free to send us any prayer requests you might have, and it would be a privilege to pray for you. Also, let us know if we can help with any errands or physical needs. And for those of you with kids home from school: we hope you all stay sane!

There are countless ways to show Christ’s love to those around us, and I hope these few suggestions spur you on as you lead your church. I’d love to hear any ideas you have! Let’s be sure that we use this time, not just to pray the inconveniences away, but to reach out to those who desperately need the hope of the gospel.

Jim Donahue is the Pastor of Evangelism at Covenant Fellowship Church, Glenn Mills, PA.

Pastoring Through Coronavirus

Pastors are men with a calling from God to serve His people as shepherds and overseers.  Peter's exhortation is to "shepherd the flock of God that is among you."  But how are we supposed to do that if we can't be among the flock that God has entrusted to us?  How can we shepherd in a "social distancing" era?  How can we call God's people to gather when the wisdom of the moment is to scatter and to isolate?

Those are the questions that pastors all over this country, across the globe, are asking themselves.  Those are the questions that SG pastors are asking.  From my brief survey of SG churches, they are questions that are being answered quite well. 

This short (ish – i.e., less than War and Peace) article is intended to help you to think through how you can best serve your local church at this unusual time.  And to do this understanding that SG is a diverse group of churches.  Our churches range in size from 20 to 1000+.  Some are rural, some are suburban, and some are urban.  Some have been high-tech for as long as they can remember.  Some are having to learn a whole new world of communication technology.  So there is no – one size fits all – model to follow.  

Given this, let’s cover three areas of shepherding care: Sunday morning, ongoing pastoral care, and giving and benevolence. And we'll also explore some ways diverse churches can pastor through coronavirus.

I.  Sunday Mornings

Before talking about some ways to do this right now, let's remember that, as Jay Kim said in his recent TGC post that going to virtual Sunday mornings is to be “a temporary compromise rather than an ongoing convenience.”  Our members must be taught that the church gathering in person on the Lord's day is and has always been God's plan for His people.  We can't predict how long there will be restrictions on gathering, but we must be clear that as soon as we can, we will be ceasing virtual meetings and returning to Sunday gatherings. 

But in the meantime, there are ways to "gather" God's people, not in place but in time, to experience worship together. (I don't think we can make this an iron-clad rule, but I would encourage people to participate at the designated time and not watch a recording later.)

Live streaming services seem like the most common method.  There are various ways to live stream, e.g., on Facebook, Youtube, and other platforms.  If you have no idea how to do this, I'd suggest you check with some tech-savvy person in your church or another church in your region that you think may be doing this well.  I’ve included a couple of tutorials at the end of this paper. (Just don’t bother checking with me because I have no clue!!!)

I'd encourage you to do the best you can, but don’t obsess about high-level production value – the most important thing is to be able to care for people.

I wouldn’t advise trying to do more than 1 hour.  Experts I have talked to say it can be hard to stay attentive to this kind of communication much longer.  Watching a live stream isn’t the same as being there on a Sunday.

It seems like a good idea to send out an order of service, song lyrics, etc. in advance to help people more easily follow along.

A typical schedule many of our churches are using is… 

•  Call to Worship

• 2 songs

• Pastoral prayer and announcements

• Offering – with options for giving

• Sermon (30 minutes or so)

• 1 song

• Benediction 

As far as preaching content, most guys have continued the series they were in (with maybe a one-off message to address the situation) thinking that continuity and at least some sense of normalcy were important.  Even with that, they have tried to be sensitive to the application to our particular time. 

Some are taking a break and do a topical series on issues related to the current crisis covering topics like – anxiety/fear, faith, loving neighbor, mortality/death, evangelism during a crisis, etc. 

Some are close to ending a current series and are considering not starting a new series until the church can regather.  Some of our churches have historically used the break between series to do a few messages from the Psalms or to do a short topical series.

Some churches have decided not to try to do a full (albeit shortened) Sunday service.  These would include not singing, or only showing a sermon.  Some have pre-recorded the sermon on either video or audio and made those available for people to listen or watch.

One church told me they were doing a 2-3 minute message addressed to kids as a way to help them be included in the service.

Another thing that has come up is communion, and whether we should do that "virtually."  I wouldn't for a couple of reasons:  First, Jesus said "as often as you do this" meaning there is no mandate to celebrate at any regular interval. Second, and more importantly, theologically the Lord's Supper is intended to be celebrated by the gathered church and being scattered as we are the thing represented is diminished.  But I would certainly create anticipation for when we can regather and plan to celebrate the Lord’s Supper as a part of your first meeting back.

The point is that there is no right or wrong here.  Your team must decide how to best serve for the moment.

One more thing  - several guys have told me that unbelieving family and friends have been tuning in to their live streams.  So encourage your members to invite and think about how you might conduct your service with that in mind. 

II.  Pastoral Care

Before dropping into particulars, I'd encourage two things in general: Lots of communication – people need to know what’s going on and why.  When people are isolated like we are, hearing from their pastors, small group leaders and friends keep them/us both encouraged and united. That might involve lots of prayer, sending out weekly prayer points, holding on line prayer meetings, etc.  These unite your church as they cry out to God for His mercy and grace. 

The wisest course seems to be to shrink everyone's lives for the time being.  I think the less contact, the better, especially since people are contagious before any symptoms show up.  So most of the guys I have talked to have canceled small groups, Bible studies, prayer meetings, etc.  But like Sunday mornings, there are viable ways to keep groups connected. 

The number one way churches have been doing this is through Zoom Meetings.  If you aren’t familiar with Zoom, it's a video conferencing platform using a computer, pad or phone. The blessing of Zoom is to be able to hold smaller group gatherings where you can both see and hear and thus interact with each other.  At the end of this document, I've included information on how to set up a Zoom account.  There is also a link to a similar Skype service.

For most of our churches, you will probably need more than one account so several people can do zoom meetings at the same time.  Zoom is free for meetings of up to 100 people for 40 minutes.  Zoom pro costs $15 a month and is an excellent choice for you as elders.

Almost all the guys I talked to are using Zoom or some other platform (face time, free conference calls, Skype, private Facebook pages) to help people, especially their small groups, to stay in touch.  It’s a great way for groups to keep up with each other’s lives, to discuss the Sunday message or other content, and to pray for each other.  Pastors would be wise to regularly communicate with their small group leaders as well.

Although it's pretty tricky to have two-way communication with a large number of people (maybe 20+), Zoom can be useful for getting the entire congregation together for family meeting type communication.  And of course, there is good old email, text, website, and church connect applications. 

We could also encourage pastors and small group leaders to stay in touch with members through phone and face time.  Most guys I’ve talked to are trying to continue counseling appointments using the phone in this way.

In addition to these types of communication, many churches are providing other teaching contexts for their folks.  These could be anything from daily written devotionals to weekly 5-7 minute video devotionals for people.  Smartphones make it easy for anyone to record and distribute these types of communications.

III.  Giving and Benevolence

1.  Giving

It may seem crass, but you have to pay the bills.  So I think you must hit this issue head-on by finding ways to remind people about the importance of giving.

If you don’t already have something, create ways people can give online (e.g., bill pay with their bank, giving by credit card or text to tithe) or provide a place where people can drop off checks. Mark Donovan has kindly offered to help your church if you need it (see below).

2.  Benevolence

There is almost certainly going to be needed for benevolence both within your church and in your community. 

Some already have a benevolence fund and are encouraging people to give to that fund at this time.  A couple of things to think about… 

Galatians 6:10 “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

Unless you have unlimited funds, you are going to have to make decisions on how and where to give benevolence.  While we certainly want to help in our communities, I think the Bible calls us to help our members first.  Given the impact of COVID-19 on the economy, some of your members are probably going to lose jobs or at least have hours cut back.  I think before we start making decisions regarding giving to the community, we need to determine a strategy for serving our members.  Small groups and families can certainly help in this regard.

I’d also encourage Regional Leaders to coordinate help within the region if necessary.  Some regional churches may be overwhelmed with a need, while others may not. 

Have a correlated strategy on how to help in the community.  I anticipate that there will be a multitude of needs, so decide where you can best help in your community.

In addition to monetary help, see if there are ways you can serve your community/neighbors in other ways.  You will particularly have elderly and infirm folks who will need practical help.  E.g.

Center Church in Phoenix created a flyer to deliver door to door offering various kinds of help to neighbors.

Brothers, this is just another of many moments when I'm so grateful that we are in this together.  Thanks so much for being shepherds "after God's own heart" that don't let any circumstance keep you from performing that holy task and performing it with such faithfulness, grace, and love!!!

Mickey

On behalf of the LT

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SOME PRACTICALS

Zoom

Go to https://zoom.us/pricing

1. There is a free Basic version that can host up to 100 participants. 1 to 1 meetings are free without a time limit.

2. But, for meetings with more than 2 participants, the time limit is 40 minutes.

3. The Pro version for $14.99 per month has all the basic features and no time limit
   Click the orange Buy Now button

Skype – offers a free video chat for groups of up to 50 people. 

https://www.skype.com/en/features/group-video-chat/

These are tutorials on live streaming that I was told were helpful. 

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/livestream-church-service-practical-guide/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwKzPMSP_Dw

 Mark Donovan has kindly offered churches to set up online giving.  He wrote…

I agree with Tommy that Planning Center Online is a great choice. The Text2Give option that SG Central recently added does integrate with Planning Center Online, as well as ACS, Church Community Builder, Fellowship One, Give. Plus, Seraphim and TouchPoint. It is quick and easy to set up but does cost $25 per month plus 1%, which is in addition to any ACH or credit card fees.

Sovereign Grace Churches Day of Prayer for the COVID-19 Pandemic

One of the ways that Scripture calls us to respond to trouble, like the COVID-19 pandemic, is to pray knowing that God will answer our prayers. David writes in Psalm 20, “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion.”(Psalm 20:1-2) God is eager to send his help when we ask him for it in prayer. Therefore, I’m asking that the members and pastors of Sovereign Grace Churches devote this Friday, March 20 as a Day of Prayer to pray for the COVID-19 pandemic. Here is a list of items you can pray for:

• Ask God to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus throughout our world.

• Ask God to protect those who are “high-risk” from contracting the COVID-19 virus.

• Ask God to heal those who are sick, especially those who test positive for COVID-19.

• Ask God to provide for the members of our churches especially those who may be negatively impacted financially.

• Ask God to give the pastors of Sovereign Grace churches wisdom as they make daily and weekly decisions related to church schedule, pastoral care, etc.

• Ask God to give wisdom and strength to our President/Prime Minister, Congress/Parliament, State, and Local Government leaders as they make decisions for our respective nations, states, and locales.

• Ask God to give us opportunities to share the hope we have in the gospel with unbelievers who are hopeless and fearful.

• Ask the Prince of Peace to give us peace as we walk through this pandemic together trusting in His sovereign rule and reign.

Thanks for praying!

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

What Should Wise Retirement Stewards Do Now?

It’s honestly hard to know what to write about in times like this.

If you are a Christian believer, I trust you are seeking encouragement and guidance from God and His Word, and strength and consolation through his Holy Spirit.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1).

Like many of you, I attended “virtual church” for the first time in my life last Sunday. It felt very different; I think that’s because God created us to be in close community with one another (Acts 2:42).

I hope this is temporary—only God knows for how long.

In these challenging times, with so much human suffering and death, the stewardship of our health and that of others trumps stewardship of finances big time. So, first and foremost, take care of yourself and your family, and do what you can for those in your neighborhood, church, and community, even if that means being more generous with your finances.

Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others (Philippians 2:4).

But we can’t take our eye off the financial ball either (especially since the media is inundating us with so much bad economic news).

This pandemic will, God-willing, eventually, pass. But it will probably leave behind some enormous problems, and some significant economic fallout as well. It is already wreaking havoc on many families’ budgets, 401(k)s, and IRAs. Consequently, many of us are wondering, “what would God have me to do now?”

Our government and health officials are giving us lots of advice on how to plan for (and hopefully) prevent the spread of the virus. So in this article, I will offer some possible answers to the financial stewardship part. But only you can decide what is best for you and your family—and that is between you and God.

First Things First

The most important thing Christians can do is pray. Pray for the containment of the virus, those working in the government, health care providers, and for the sick that they would recover. Pray for small business owners and that stability would return to the financial markets.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:6-7).

From there, vigilance is essential to understand what is happening with the pandemic and also in the financial markets.

Young people may be less concerned about the virus, and also short-term market losses. But the infection is more severe for older people, and so are significant losses in their retirement portfolios. We can’t compare financial loss with the loss of health or life, but it is something to be concerned about just the same.

Scripture instructs us on what our heart attitude should be toward loss in this life:

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ (Phil 3:8).

But that doesn’t mean that we should ignore the challenges or do nothing (although, sometimes, patiently doing nothing is the best posture, especially when we don’t know what else to do.)

Should I do Something?

An often-heard piece of advice when the markets are so volatile is, “don’t just do something, stand there.” That is difficult to do in times like this, mainly because our emotions are running high.

Those who are nearing retirement may be concerned that they may not be able to when they planned. If you are already in retirement, you may feel downright scared. In a way, your fear is understandable—we are in a perilous and unprecedented situation—and the financial threats are real. (I discussed the importance of trusting God in my last article.)

Retirees, and soon-to-be retirees, need to be able to generate income to pay the bills. I am living (partially) off my investments. The hard reality for those of us in this situation is that we are taking money out of retirement savings at the same time the value of our savings is declining. This results in a loss-compounding effect, which can be especially concerning.

Times like these can cause soon-to-be retirees or those already there asking whether we should stay in stocks at all. Is this the time to bail out and never look back? I can’t answer that definitively for you, but probably not; emotionally-driven financial decisions almost always end badly.

I can’t help but notice that whenever the stock market has a bad (in this case, REALLY, terrible) few weeks, more ads than usual show up on TV and the internet offering you the perfect “safe” investment to protect yourself from the ravages of the volatile financial markets. These are often pitches for indexed- and variable annuities and precious metals, such as gold and silver.

This is understandable—as I have observed in the past, there is a lot of fear-mongering in the financial products marketplace. These companies know how unsettling extreme market volatility can be and how good their “almost too good to be true” product offerings can sound when potential customers are confused and stressed.

Annuities and precious metals can be appropriate for many retirees’ income strategies. But the keyword here is “strategies.” Deciding based on emotion (fear, greed, etc.) in the heat of the moment is not a strategy. It’s an emotional reaction leading to behavior that may detour you from your long-term plan, which may cause you harm in the future.

The Christian’s foundation for any investment decision must be biblical wisdom combined with a reasonable understanding of what they are dealing with (or getting counsel and advice from someone who does, such as a trusted financial adviser). Always seek to understand what you are investing in and why you are doing it before you decide.

Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches (Proverbs 24:3-4).

Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety (Proverbs 11:14).

Now is a Bad Time to Change Strategies

As I wrote in my last article, the middle of a financial crisis is an awful time to realize that you have taken on much more investment risk than you are comfortable with. You may need to reassess—and perhaps change your strategy—but it would be best to do that in more settled times.

Once the markets have settled down and start to rebound, you may even feel better about your strategy. At the very least, you can think it through without the fog of crisis clouding your thinking.

In the last article, I also mentioned using this as a time to learn. I suspect that recent market losses (including some traditionally “safe” investments like corporate bonds) have taught us some harsh lessons about hidden risks in our investment portfolios.

I have always viewed large-cap, dividend-oriented stocks as being “safer” than others that are more growth-oriented.

And I believed that high-quality corporate bond funds were even safer than dividend stock funds. But in the current market mayhem, everything is getting clobbered.

Another looming problem for retirees, which may not play out until later this year, is the possible reduction of company dividends. Stock dividends have been up as economic growth has continued, but the party may be over, at least for a while.

Many retirees have increasingly relied on dividend income as treasury and bond yields have fallen. And they just took another plunge

Companies with an extensive history of paying dividends are reluctant to cut them. That will be the case with this market crisis as well; many will go to great lengths (such as tapping cash reserves) to avoid doing so. Those of us who depend on them will have to wait and see.

I have no plans to sell my dividend stock funds. They comprise less than 30% of my portfolio (since prices are down). Because they are mostly good quality companies, I expect them to rebound when the overall market does (whenever that is).

I invested in these funds because they are successful, stable enterprises that consistently generate income for investors. I have no reason to think that won’t still be the case a year or two from now. Would I have lost a little less (on paper) if I invested instead in a total stock market index fund, such as Vanguard’s VTSAX? Yes, but I also would have received less dividend income.

Questioning Your Strategy?

Based on what you are seeing in your portfolio over the last few weeks, you may question your long term strategy. As I wrote in my previous post, this can be an excellent time to reassess your risk tolerance and reevaluate your investing strategy.

If you are considering getting out of the market altogether, just be aware of the implication of such a decision.

First, you are trading no stock market risk for potential long-term stock market returns. Many retirees will need some exposure to the markets if only to keep up with inflation.

Second, depending on what investments you choose (assuming you put your money into something other than cash), you are likely to see meager short-term returns. Especially now, when interest rates are so low (near zero!). The question then becomes whether you will earn enough income to meet your expenses.

You have options, but in the current economic situation, “safe” equates to “low yield, low growth.” There’s no getting around it. A lot of retirees consider CDs and Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) to be good alternatives. Others include bonds (U.S. Treasuries and Corporate).

If you lean that way, keep in mind that those types of investments have risks as well. The primary risk is inflation; aside from the TIPS, they are nominal instruments, and they will decline in real value when inflation occurs. And with current rates so low, your income from them will be minimal.

Are Annuities the Ultimate Answer?

You may think now is the time to listen to the ads on TV and the internet and purchase one of those annuity products that promise some market upside with no downside when everything goes south (sounds appealing, right?).

I am not suggesting that you should not consider an annuity as part of your retirement strategy. I think annuities may have a place in many people’s plans.

But annuities are not pure market growth products. There is no optimal annuity strategy where you get the potential for full market growth (which should come back eventually), with little or no downside.

Therefore, making a quick decision, or feeling pressured into one, is never the right decision. I wrote this in an earlier article titled, “Stock Market Volatility and “The Prudent Man Rule“:

The prudent don’t act impulsively when investing; they learn to control their emotions and make decisions based on wisdom and knowledge gained through experience, exercising discipline, and restraint when others aren’t. During times of market upheaval, we often act irrationally and lose sight of our long-term financial goals.

Indexed annuities will provide CD-type returns, so “market returns” is not a totally accurate descriptor. They tie indexed annuity performance to market growth, but it does not fully reflect it.

To be fair, there is downside protection—something many retirees find very attractive. There are also income guarantees, but they come with extra-cost “riders” attached to the contract.

Variable annuities typically use underlying mutual-fund accounts, so they may perform slightly better during good markets. They also have income riders (to mitigate poor mutual fund performance), but these also come at a cost.

The main thing about annuities is that they are not investments. They are contracts between you and an insurance carrier. Like other kinds of insurance, annuities are about transferring risk.

The contractual guarantees are the most critical feature of annuities. You should purchase an annuity for what it does, not what it might do.

Annuities have a place in some people’s portfolios. I like immediate income annuities as part of a guaranteed income floor in retirement. Purchasing a single premium immediate annuity (SPIA) with part of your savings can remove some market risk exposure and ensures lifetime income to pay your living expenses.

If you are looking for one that does more than that, make sure you understand what they guarantee and what they don’t.

The bottom line is that there is no perfect annuity product that will solve all of your investment challenges. Nor is there an ideal answer for market volatility. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t things you can do.

Feeling the Need to Make Some Changes?

If you “feel” like you should do something, carefully consider your options. A lot depends on your age, risk tolerance, and lifestyle. Here are some to consider. Most should stay the course; others may need to take some action when the time is right.

Stay the course.

If you have a sound strategy, stick to it. Remember, stocks were at all-time highs before this recent correction, so we are just giving back some of the gains of the last few years. Also, even retirees have investment horizons much longer than a quarter or a year. You may be able to weather this storm even if it takes a few years to get back to 2018 levels.

If you’re younger, some advisors recommend that you use available cash to “dollar cost average” slowly into stocks to take advantage of the low prices. I can’t tell you whether this is a good time to buy stocks or not. They are a LOT cheaper than they were a few weeks ago, but they may be cheaper a few weeks from now.

If you are nearing or already in retirement, and are using a “total return strategy” (mix of growth and income investments), focus on the income portion and cash reserves (dividends, bond interest, savings accounts, money market funds, Treasuries, etc.). 

Try to get through the current crisis with cash reserves, not by selling assets when they are way down. Avoid selling stocks in the short-term as they will likely recover, and you will need them to generate income in the future.

Don’t try to time the market.

I recently read that timing the market in the current environment is like trying to “catch a falling knife.”

Knowing when to buy and when to sell is a lot like that—no matter what you do, you’re more likely to get hurt than not.

Stocks are a lot cheaper than they were a month ago, but they may be less expensive in the future. Or maybe not. No one (except God, who knows all things) really knows.

Rebalance your current portfolio.

You can position your portfolio for the future by selling fixed-income investments that have held their own (or perhaps increased in value) and buying stock funds that have gotten severely beaten down.

I generally think its best to rebalance once a year or so and only if your allocation is off by about 10% or more. That may be the case now, but with the markets being so unstable, it may look very different a few months from now.

Diversify your investments.

Diversification is the practice of spreading your investment around different types of assets and securities to minimize the risk of your portfolio’s risk and volatility over time, which is the key to the long-term stability and success of your investments.

Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth (Ecclesiastes 11:1-2).

It’s too late to make changes to your target asset allocation to deal with the current correction. Now may not be the time to add more conservative investments to your portfolio by selling and therefore taking permanent losses to your stock investments. It might be better to wait until the dust settles, and the market has returned to a reasonable level.

Consider an annuity.

We discussed this at length above, and in previous posts. You may benefit from adding one to your retirement income plan. If so, shop wisely.

I prefer immediate income annuities over their more costly and complicated cousins (indexed and variable), but I won’t tell you what you buy. Find a trusted financial advisor to assist you—one that will be entirely objective in looking at all your options.

Pursue Wisdom

No matter what, make sure you decide based on godly wisdom. Wise investing means taking risks that you understand and believe you can accept. They will take time to grow and yield an income because they never go up in a continuous straight line.

The worst-case scenario is that you feel compelled to sell investments when the market is down. That is why maintaining a cash reserve (in your retirement account if you are retired), or an emergency fund (if you’re not) for unexpected events, no matter how major, is so important.

Chris Cagle is part of the support staff for Church Development and serves as a deacon at Crossway Community Church in Charlotte, NC. He also blogs on stewardship at RetirementStewardship.com.

(This article was originally published on RetirementStewardship.com on March 18, 2020.)

COVID-19 Virus Communication from Mark Prater to SGC Leaders

The COVID-19 virus (Coronavirus) has filled the news headlines for several weeks. The World Health Organization determined this week that it is a pandemic, the first our world has had since 2009. Without a doubt, members of your church are tracking these events and responding to them in different ways. They are also looking to you to provide leadership and pastoral care.

For that reason, the Leadership Team and I wanted to pass along some thoughts that we hope will serve you as you pastor and lead your church. Keep in mind, these are only thoughts. You know your church and community best. So, only use the thoughts that serve your local church, if you use them at all.

The thoughts below are in categories of leadership and pastoral care.

Leadership

The members of your church want to know if you are tracking the events surrounding the spread of the COVID-19 virus and if you are thinking about the implications it has for your church. Therefore, consider communicating clearly, succinctly, and as often as it serves them.

Here is a list of thoughts you can consider including in future communications:

• Let your members know that you are consistently tracking the spread of the COVID-19 virus including your own locale and whether there are any confirmed cases in your area.

• Let your members know that you are tracking local, county, state and national government decisions and any potential restrictions.

• The spread of the COVID-19 virus will vary from place to place. Not every community is going to be affected uniformly. For example, if there are no, or few reported confirmed COVID-19 cases in your community, you may choose to go ahead with your Sunday meeting. Others of you may live in a community that is more affected and to hold your Sunday meeting might seem thoughtless to those most vulnerable to infection. You know your church and your community, and you are best equipped to make these weighty decisions. Therefore, communicate that your eldership continues to discuss, consider and pray about what will best serve your church as it relates to your Sun service, small group meetings, etc.

• Communicate that your eldership will follow any government-mandated ban on public meetings (Sunday service, small group meetings, etc.) in keeping with Romans 13:1-3.

• Give your members direction regarding the Sunday service including:

  •  If you are sick, even with a cold, or a member of your household has been sick in the last 48 hours, please stay home. (If your church offers live stream, then include a link to where they can watch the service from home.)

  • Inform your members that you are disinfecting the facility you meet in, including door handles, rails, and other surfaces before the church gathers on Sunday. Encourage your church to greet one another with encouraging words, but to refrain from shaking hands, or hugging to help prevent the spread of any illness.

  •  If your liturgy typically includes greeting one another, then let your church know that you plan to eliminate that greeting until further notice.

  • Let your members know that you are considering ways to share communion as a church that limits the passing of the elements (For example, consider purchasing prepacked cups with sealed juice and wafers that can be placed on a table.)

  • If you pass baskets to collect the offering, consider whether you want to maintain that practice, or place the baskets near the doors where people can drop their offering.

  • Consider asking your members to wash their hands often as a means to prevent the spread of any illness.

If you learn that a member of your church has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, consider informing your church that you have asked that member to comply with doctors’ orders for a 14-day quarantine. You will need to use your discernment on whether to share the name of the person or not.

One other important thought. As Christians, we have the opportunity to share the good news of Jesus Christ in our communities. There are people all around us that are consumed with the COVID-19 virus and they are anxious and fearful. But Jesus offers hope and peace in the gospel. Therefore, encourage the members of your church to look for opportunities to share the hope of the gospel in their neighborhoods.

I’ve pasted below a communication that our elders at Covenant Fellowship Church sent to our members this past Saturday.

Pastoral Care

Encourage your church to respond to the COVID-19 virus with faith and to resist fear and anxiety by pointing them to truth. Scripture passages to consider:

• Remind your members of their adoption by God in the gospel and therefore we are not to fear. “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!” Romans 8:15

• Help your members overcome fear with faith: “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?” Psalm 56:3-4

• Encourage your church to turn anxious thoughts into passionate prayers: “The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:5b-7

• If your liturgy includes a pastoral prayer, consider praying against the spread of the COVD-19 virus, asking God to heal those affected, and pray that you can trust God as a church.

• Remind your members of the sovereign rule and reign of God and for that reason, we can have joy in the midst of a pandemic: “Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, ‘The Lord reigns!’…Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.” 1 Chronicles 16:31, 34

• This post by Denny Burk is helpful. You can read it here.

• This post by The Christian Counseling & Education Foundation (CCEF) is also helpful. You can read it here.

• Look for ways to bring application as it relates to the COVID-19 virus in your normal preaching schedule.

• Inform your church that you are looking for ways to serve your congregation and your community who may be affected by the COVID-19 virus.

• Keep in mind that your own personal example of following God with faith and joy, absence of fear and anxiety will strengthen the saints in your church.

We hope these thoughts serve you. Please know that we are praying for you asking God to give your wisdom as you lead and care for the members of your church.

With faith in our God who reigns,

Mark

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Communication to CFC:

Dear Covenant Fellowship Church Family,

We will hold our Sunday service tomorrow at 10am. (Don’t forget to turn your clocks FORWARD.) We have been tracking the spread of the coronavirus and have been considering the steps that our church can take in response. We don’t want to react in fear, but we want to be wise. Therefore, we are taking the following precautions which may help prevent the spread of this illness and other illnesses like the flu.

• If you are sick at all, even with a cold, or if you or anyone in your household has been sick in the last 48 hours, please stay home and enjoy our service online at www.covfel.org/live or get there through the home page.

• Door handles, rails, and other surfaces which hands may touch have been disinfected for the Sunday morning service.

• Please greet one another with a kind word but refrain from shaking hands or hugging to help limit the spread of sickness should you be ill but non-symptomatic.

• We will be eliminating the “greet one another” during our service until further notice.

• Please wash your hands often. Medical professionals are all agreed that thorough handwashing is the best defense anyone can deploy to help thwart the spread of disease.

• We ask you to pray for our church and for those most susceptible to this virus. Pray that God would use this for his glory and to draw many to himself.

 If you have any concerns, please contact the pastors by calling the church office (610-

361-0606) or reach out through email (covfel@covfel.org).

 Sincerely,

 Your Pastors

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

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