Some Guiding Convictions coming out of Covid-19 Quarantine

I tested positive for COVID-19 after experiencing flu-like symptoms about 12 days ago. Rynelle and Sophie tested positive a few days after me. Thankfully, our symptoms have been relatively mild. We are over the worst and grateful for people's concern, care and prayer. 

As I write this I'm beyond my official quarantine period, but am remaining in isolation for another few days, wanting to make sure that our whole family is in the clear before we come out.  I'm coming out of quarantine with some guiding convictions that are clearer and stronger than before I'd contracted the virus, having had some time to reflect. I write these not as a medical expert, (although I have consulted experts extensively) but rather as a father and a pastor trying to guide a family and a church through a very strange pandemic, especially in light of the new stay-at-home orders that we face in Southern California. 

 1. This Pandemic is Real

 I've been wary of the fear-mongering that seems so rampant in our culture at this time and have wanted to lead the church with courage, even as we've taken necessary precautions around gathering. But courage need not be reckless. Courage certainly should not be denial. All of us now have close friends or family who have suffered from this virus. Some of us have tragically lost loved ones. It is no longer 'the disease out there.' It has come near, and if hospital ICU rates are below 15% it means that many people are not getting over it just like a flu bug.  Of course, we may suspect the numbers are exaggerated and that the government has overreached in the way it is trying to control infection rates. But let's not allow our suspicions to deny that we have a problem on our hands. That would be neither wise nor loving. This pandemic is no joke. 

The fact that my symptoms have been mild has not made me cavalier. I know enough people who have experienced severe symptoms to realize the virus is random in the way that it affects folk, even young, healthy people. What has made me more respectful of it is realizing how contagious it seems to be. Even though I worked hard to isolate from my family, my wife and daughter caught it in the couple of days before I had tested. It's highly contagious. If you have watched a loved one suffer or lose their life, or if you have suffered yourself, you will attest to the fact that it can be brutal. So, let's mask up, maintain social distance, wash our hands, stay home if we have symptoms and pray that the vaccines work effectively. 

2. Social Isolation is also a Pandemic.

Held in tension with my conviction that the pandemic is real, is the conviction that social isolation is also a pandemic. I've taken time during isolation to read up on statistics around depression, addiction, anxiety, unemployment and suicide rates. The statistics are dizzying, but suffice to say, they have all sky-rocketed during this pandemic. Someone said that we are essentially battling two pandemics; the disease and the dis-ease brought on by social isolation. Sadly, I've had a front-row seat to the effects of isolation on those I lead, even upon my own children. It's evil. While some have enjoyed quality family time and working remotely, I'm concerned about the long term effects on social distancing and stay-at-home orders. necessary though they may be. I already see an alarming trend of people cocooning amidst growing social anxiety, even as restrictions ease. We are becoming reclusive and anti-social and it is ravaging our souls and our social fabric. 

About three months ago I was praying for wisdom on how to fight social isolation in the midst of the danger of a pandemic. I sensed the Lord speak to me about cancer in a body. If someone has cancer in their body they will willingly subject it to the danger of chemotherapy or radiotherapy in order to heal it from the greater danger of cancer. Gathering in-person has some degree of danger associated with it. But it is less dangerous than the cancer of social isolation to us, and also to Christ's Body.

As J.D. Greear, president of the SBC recentlywrote, "COVID is real. So are the devastating effects of isolation, loneliness and the inability to make life work. Both should be taken seriously. We have to keep these things in tension. Pray for our government leaders that they would be able to do this wisely."

We are communal creatures, created in the image of a communal Creator. It is not good for humans to be alone. I am adamant that we are to continue to fight for community, even in this second wave of stay at home orders. This means that we will keep taking precautions, but will keep emphasizing the healing power of in-person worship and small group gatherings, even as we continue to serve and care for our online community. 

3. The Future of the Church is not Digital.

We've loved investing in ways to serve our online community, many of whom have very good reasons to be staying home. We've loved experimenting with ways to foster digital community and have been so encouraged by people's response and commitment. We've also been pleased by the growing digital footprint we've experienced through the various social media platforms. I and my family have been personally blessed these past two weeks being able to worship online and join the post-sermon chat. Our online crew is doing a phenomenal job! I refuse to make our online community feel like second class citizens when many are serving on front lines, are immuno-compromised or elderly. If the risen Christ moved through walls to meet his disciples, he can certainly move through media platforms to meet his people today. We will continue to use online forums for the foreseeable future. 

 However, I do not believe the future of the church is digital, as some have said. There are still real limitations to building community and making disciples digitally. Congregational worship, communion, prayer, nuance, atmosphere and relational depth are severely limited in an online forum. So many of the New Testament's one anothers require embodied presence. Thus, while we will remain agile in ways of meeting, we will continue to emphasize the call people to embodied gatherings. 

4. God can use unjust laws and leaders to refine His compromised Church.

Some of us may feel that all these restrictions are an unjust infringement on our freedom of worship. I empathize with these feelings. As you know, we have exercised civil disobedience on occasion and may do so again if we feel we must. I do desire consistency from government, and am concerned when churches are treated as less essential than casinos, for instance. It is not about meeting in a specific building. It is about churches being able to gather in-person in some way to worship, and I am heartened that there is current provision made for this. This is why we are investing a significant amount of money in a tent. We sense that there is still a significant season of out-door worship and we want to help keep people sheltered from the elements.  

Is having to meet outdoors when we have a perfectly good building, unjust? Perhaps. But we have seen some amazing gospel dynamics at work as we've gathered in this way. Our visitor engagement and the curiosity factor from outsiders has increased. We've grown in boldness and flexibility as a church because of it. We also see in Scripture that God often used unjust leaders and laws to refine His people when they had become compromised. I am persuaded that God is at work in these difficult days to produce more rugged, agile and sacrificial disciples of Jesus who bear greater resemblance to the first disciples of Jesus. If this is what He is doing, then I'm all in! Can we be all in, together?

The Class of 2020 is going to produce formidable disciples, I'm sure of it. 

So, let's not shrink back, be strong in His grace and receive His reward for faithfulness. 

Living with Holy Uncertainty

Unholy Certainty

There seems to be a great appetite among Americans for certainty these days. Perhaps this is because of the lack of control we all feel in these deeply uncertain times. We reach for certainty like a three-year-old  reaches for his pacifier. No doubt, certainty can be comforting. This is why we tend to stay with our trusted news channels. God forbid that any conflicting narrative disrupts our secure echo chambers of reality.  

 I have been horrified this year at people's absolute certainty around the pandemic. 

It is a hoax. It is a liberal conspiracy. It signals the end of life as we know it. It is so deadly that it is worth closing down everything for. Masks will stop it. Masks will do nothing to stop it. A vaccine will change everything. A vaccine is to be avoided at all costs. Anyone who doesn't adhere to the restrictions is selfish. Anyone who does adhere to the restrictions is foolish. 

One would think that the unpredictability of the year would have produced in us a more humble posture towards that which we cannot fully understand. Do we think we are God that we can grab this leviathan of a pandemic by the tail? But it seems the more illusive certainty becomes, the more we grasp at it.

This appetite for certainty extends far beyond the pandemic, of course. The presidential elections dripped with similar certitude. Political pundits, celebrity pastors and prophets all made such assured predictions about their preferred candidate. And so many of them seem to be wrong.  Or are they? I cannot say for sure. Does there seem to be some inconsistency in ballot counting? I think so. If there is legal proof that it did not make any significant difference to the outcome of the election, would those of us who are suspicious concede that it was a free and fair election. I think not. That would be a terrible admission of uncertainty.

There is a kind of political fundamentalism on both sides of the aisle that amounts to unholy certainty. 

Holy Uncertainty 

What we really need then is what the ancients called Holy Uncertainty.

John Mark Comer, in his recent book, 'We don't know what's going to Happen and that's Okay,' writes, "Holy uncertainty is the capacity to live with a very loose grip – or no grip at all – on our plans and, more important, on the outcomes of our plans, because our security is rooted in a relational connection to God, not in a false sense of control.   

I am no relativist. I believe in absolute truth. Still, I believe it is a virtue these days to admit, "I am not confident to predict the future. I am not absolutely sure about the pandemic. I am quite confounded by the election." You may say, "That lacks conviction. People only follow you if you sound absolutely convinced about the future." What then do we do with the words of Jesus about the mystery of His return, especially those of us who are so certain about our end times predictions? "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." (Matthew 24:36) No one knows. Not even the Son! Only the Father.  Holy Uncertainty. 

The Boy who cried Wolf

My point is, that those who are anchored in certainty about Jesus and his gospel should be more free to admit uncertainty about disputable matters. In fact, there is a real danger that if we come across absolutely certain about everything, people will not believe us on things we should be certain about. It is like the story of the boy who cried wolf. Every night he warned the village that there was a wolf on the prowl when there was nothing. Then one night a wolf did come, but the village would not believe the boy, because he had been certain but wrong so many times before. We need to learn to pick our moments and topics of certainty if people are to pay attention. If only the Church in America were as certain about the gospel as they were about their preferred political candidate, we would have  revival.

Blood, Ink, Pencil

What we need then, is a hierarchy of certainty. Andrew Wilson, a friend and notable theologian, provides a helpful framework for us. He proposes that Biblical truth be given three categories of certainty; Blood, Ink and Pencil. 

 Blood beliefs are contained in our Creeds. They are foundational to our faith. The Trinity, the Virgin Birth, the Lordship of Christ, the Atonement, the Resurrection, the Inspiration of Scripture, the Great Commandment, The Great Commission. These are examples of Blood beliefs. We must be absolutely certain about these truths. They are what it means to be a Christ follower.

Ink beliefs are secondary truths that are still deeply held convictions. Believers who hold different convictions about these matters would generally not be part of the same church, but would still be part of the Body of Christ. They might include different understandings about what the Bible says regarding sexual ethics, creation, the end times, the gifts of the Spirit, baptismal practices, the role of men and women in church and marriage. If a believer becomes more certain about their end time theology than the Atonement, they have escalated an ink belief into a blood belief, which has the making of a sect.

Pencil beliefs are what the Bible refers to as 'disputable matters',  in which God gives freedom for believers to exercise their conscience. (Romans 14) They include circumcision, eating meat, drinking alcohol, watching movies, worship style, dress style, voting for a political party or our response to a pandemic. Of course, politics may be much more important to us than dress style, but it is a disputable matter. Again, if we escalate pencil beliefs into blood beliefs, we lose the gospel of grace. Each person may be convinced in their own mind, but we should not try to convince others to think our way. Unholy certainty about a pencil belief ends in the sin of legalism. This is a clear and present danger for us in our political and pandemic moment. 

So, let's continue to journey in holy uncertainty with a loose grip on the things that we cannot control. Let's not lose our grip on the One who holds us, our sorrows and our tomorrows in His nail-scarred hands.  

March Madness and the Weakness of God: A COVID-19 Reflection

March Madness, the basketball tournament, was cancelled six months ago. In every other way, March Madness trudges wearily on to this day. While we’ve begun to enjoy again the happy escape that live sports can bring, the madness of the pandemic is ever-present, picking away at the fabric of our substance and our souls. Culture and community as we know it, are at best, thread bare. At worst, they are unravelling at the seams. And it wears upon us all. 

 

I feel weary from life being cancelled by a pandemic. I feel even more weary from people   cancelling each other during the pandemic - a strange disease of its own. I have decision fatigue as our Governor changes paramaters for life, education and worship almost weekly. I have Zoom fatigue and homeschool-parent fatigue. I have homebody fatigue. In a normal year I would have done 3 international trips and numerous national trips. This year. Everything cancelled. I’m longing for a trip to break up the monotony.

 

Of course, there have been some beautiful things in this six months of March Madness. Our family have slowed down and enjoyed time together. We’ve done some satisfying house projects. Our dog thinks she is in dog heaven. She is never left home alone. Our church has been generous and resilient and we’ve experienced some gospel surprises that have come with some risks taken. Our leadership team has been brave and agile. Life rhythms have become more simplified. So, why is it then, that I feel exhausted at the end of every day?

 

I think it’s because life is more intense and uncertain than it has ever been. It feels intense because people’s opinions on everything are so strong and polarized. It feels uncertain because things seem to change almost daily, and generally for the worse. Our tendency to catastrophize is very strong as a nation. Conspiracy and end-of-the world theories abound.  Leading in this environment requires resilience. You have to listen to many conflicting and convicted points of view, receive criticism without allowing it to destroy you, search the Scriptures, lean into team and prayer, make hard decisions and then hold your line. Basically, it requires strength. I suppose I’m tired from having to be strong when I feel weak. 

 

Which is why I’ve been thinking about the weakness of Jesus a lot these six months of March Madness. The Son of God, the Eternal Creator, who never grew weary or weak, willingly embraced vulnerability to and dependence on His own creation. Jesus  was born and raised in weakness. He nursed from a mother He created. He lived under the shadow of her teenage-pregnancy scandal. He and his parents fled as refugees to Egypt from a murderous, tyrant-king. And then there was the humble monotony of learning a language and a trade while waiting for his ministry to be launched. When it eventually arrived, it began with baptism, a dove and forty days of temptation in the wilderness. Very little fanfare. Weakness.  

Hebrews 4:15 describes the why of Jesus' weakness. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin.” Jesus didn’t hold weakness at arms length. He embraced it in every way so that he could sympathize with us. Then Hebrews 5:2 talks about the beautiful power of Jesus’ weakness for us. “He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since He is clothed in weakness.” Because Jesus willingly clothed Himself in weakness, yet resisted sin, he doesn’t only sympathize with us in our weakness. He is able to help us gently in our ignorance and waywardness. 

 

The various high priests in the Old testament were sinfully weak. They could sympathize with people’s weakness, but not really help them overcome it.  Jesus was sinlessly weak. Therefore He is able to both sympathize and help us in our weakness. The word help here in the Greek is unique. It is the verb boetheian, which means to undergird or  hold together. It is only used one other time in the New Testament, in Luke’s account of the Apostle Paul’s shipwreck in Acts 27. “When the sailors thought the ship was going to be torn apart by the storm, they passed supports (gk. boetheias)  to undergird the ship.” (v 17) In other words, Jesus’ high priestly help undergirds us and holds us together when we are violently storm-tossed. 

Dane Ortlund, in his book Gentle and Lowly, describes the beauty of Jesus’ gentleness like this. “Rather than dispensing grace to us from high, he gets down with us, puts his arm around us, he deals with us in the way that is just what we need. His gentle restraint simply flows from his tender heart for his people.” 

This virtue of Jesus has brought me tangible strength in my weakness. I pray it does for you too. 

 So, if March Madness still trudges wearily on for you, Jesus invites you and I to drink deeply from the never-ending fountain of His gentleness in our weakness. 

 

Beyond Racial Gridlock: A Webinar with Dr. George Yancey

If you feel anything like I do, there is both a sense of grief at our current moment of racial volatility, and also a sense of hope that the Lord is powerfully at work. I do believe He is calling His Church to engage in hard conversations that would enable us to lead as agents of racial reconciliation and transformation in the world. But perhaps the loudest voices are not always the truest voices in our day? Perhaps God is turning up the volume on lesser known, true voices?

While on vacation in July, I read a book by Dr. George Yancey called, Beyond Racial Gridlock, which spoke powerfully to this grief and hope.You can read it here. I was so impressed by Yancey's insights that I sought out a meeting with him in Texas where he lives. My wife and I just happened to be in Denton visiting our oldest son for his 21st birthday, and Yancey has lived in Denton since he became professor of Sociology at the University of North Texas in 1999. He has now moved on to teach at Baylor University, but has remained in Denton because of a love for their community and The Village Church where  he and his wife are committed members. Despite COVID restrictions, I was delighted that Yancey agreed to grab a coffee and have a chat. Here is how he summarized his approach to racial reconciliation. 

About a Gospel Approach to Racial Reconciliation 

Much of the church has taken one of two approaches to racial issues we face in America. One is to sit on our hands and wait for things to blow over, dismissing or ignoring legitimate concerns being put forth, at times lacking compassion for our fellow man, or providing counter arguments that miss the heart of the matter. The other approach desires action, but with little Gospel foundation, this group pursues the media and "woke" crowd narrative of condemnation and guilt which also misses the mark.

Both of these approaches are secular in nature. Both of these approaches are divisive and will lead to further division in our country and the church because both of these approaches lack grace and fail to take into account man's sinful nature. Neither approach will ultimately bring about the needed change of reconciliation in our country or our churches.

Yancey challenges the church to a third way to approach these issues at hand that is rooted in the gospel. Christ is the ultimate reconciler. The church is His reconciling agent. Dr. Yancey calls the church to embrace its Christ given role in this matter showing the way forward through the tensions of our day that only the gospel can provide.

                                     -------------------------------------------------------

 After hearing him unpack his theory of mutual responsibility as it had worked out in his multiracial marriage, as well as his church, I asked Dr. Yancey to teach a seminar for our church and the churches we work with. He graciously agreed, and I am persuaded that this webinar will be a game changer for our churches and communities at this time. 

So, I am pleased to invite you to  join us to hear from George Yancey (PhD, University of Texas) teaching on a Gospel Approach to Racial Reconciliation on Tuesday, September 22nd from 4:15 - 6:30 pm PDT via Zoom. I hope you will join us. You can sign up for the webinar here.

About George Yancey

After graduating West Texas State University with a B. S. in Economics, Dr. Yancey attended the University of Texas at Austin and received his doctorate in Sociology in 1995. He first began to study interracial romance but then was fortunate enough to work with Michael Emerson on a half-million dollar grant to study multiracial churches. A few years ago Professor Yancey began to study academic bias and now has also conducted research on anti-Christian attitudes in the United States. That resulted in some of his latest writings. In 1999 he began teaching at the University of North Texas. Then in 2019 he started working for Baylor University with a joint appointment in Sociology and Institute of Religious Studies, focusing on race relations and anti-Christian attitudes in the United States. Concerning racial issues, Dr. Yancey has developed a Christian model for race relations that can take us beyond colorblindness and anti-racism.

Ezra Fast : Seeking God for Families and Revival

 As I made my morning cappuccino yesterday, my daughter popped her head out of her bedroom to ask me to be more quiet in the kitchen because she was 'in session'  on a school Zoom call and couldn't hear for all the noise. Please do not disturb! 

The irony. This is exactly what I've been asking from my kids these last 5 months! But this is their strange, new normal and they are understandably on edge as they navigate the start of an on-line school semester. Truth be told, we're all a bit on edge. Rynelle and I never put up our hands to be home-school parents and our kids feel sad about missing normal rhythms, friends and sports seasons. In Texas, Asher has begun his senior college year on-line while doing 10 hour-a-day football practices with the real likelihood that his football season will be cancelled. It's all quite unsettling, isn't it?

 Those of us who don't have children of our own can still feel the wear and tear of this season on our marriages, or with our house-mates and closest relationships. Our families and households desperately need the grace and peace of God in the midst of anxiety, uncertainty and frustration. 

There is much that is not clear to me about this current season. But of this I am absolutely certain. God is teaching us to pray with greater urgency and dependence. He is teaching us what it means to reach the end of our own resources, to declare utter dependance upon Him and to find a new atmosphere of grace amidst our current circumstances. That is why we are fasting and praying as a Church today and gathering both in-person and on-line tonight at 6:30pm. Sign up here to join in person.

Ezra was a priest in the Bible who called a day of fasting and prayer for families, and we are going to take our cue from his prayer.  It was Ezra and Nehemiah who led the Jewish people back from exile in Babylon to rebuild the walls and temple of Jerusalem. Before they left on their journey, Ezra called for a fast.

 "Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children and all our goods. For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, 'The hand of our God is for good on all who seek Him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake Him.' So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty." (Ezra 8:21-23)

As we seek the Lord in prayer and fasting today let's pray in these ways:

1. For Humble Dependence upon God for our good, rather than depending on ourselves or others  "I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of horsemen to protect us, for the hand of the Lord is for good on all who seek him." King Cyrus had actually been very generous to the returning exiles, but Ezra recognized the limits of human authority in the protection of God's people. Of course, we should pray for good leadership in government at this time. But let's not put too much stock in them. Our good does not ultimately come from any person's hand. Our good ultimately comes from the hand of the Lord who is over all, and who responds to the entreaty of His people.

2. For Protection and Peace on our marriages, our children, our families and our properties as we navigate this season. "That we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for ourselves, our children and all our goods." Let's pray that God's peace would flow into our anxiety and conflict, that He would protect our marriages, our parent/child relationships and our closest household friendships giving us a safe journey.  Let's pray that our families would be beacons of health and mission where the lonely could find safety and community. 

3. For Revival rather than mere Survival.  I know that this can sound trite, but it's here in the prayer of Ezra. After praying for protection for families, he prays, "That our God may brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery. For we are slaves, but God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of God"(Ezra 9:8-9)

 Revival has historically begun at the lowest ebb of church and culture. That's why I love the description of revival as a brightening of our eyes, as in, a change in the way we see our circumstances. Prayer doesn't always change our circumstances immediately. But it changes the atmosphere of those circumstances. It injects the resurrection  hope of Jesus into the most hopeless of circumstances, so that we are not crushed by our confinement. I believe God wants to brighten our eyes today by His Spirit. I believe Jesus wants to change the atmosphere of our circumstances. He wants to give us fresh vision to see that He is at work in quiet miracles.  Revival may not look like a stadium jam-packed with thousands of worshippers in our day. It may look like a son coming to his father and asking him to pray that Jesus would break his addiction to drugs. It may look like a sceptic coming to faith because his neighbor invited him to watch his church's sermons on-line. It may look like a home school mom doing daily devotions for the kids on her street. (I've seen all these things happen recently) 

In our seeking for peace and protection for ourselves and our families, let's not go passive or inward looking. Let's keep asking that God would brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving so that we would be able to see his gospel spreading steadily and surely.

See you and your children tonight in-person on the Southlands Brea patio or online on Facebook Live.

 

These Precedented Times Part 2: Learning from the Innovation and Protest of the Church in the Spanish Flu

Last week I wrote that while we face some unique challenges during this COVID-19 season, these are not completely unprecedented times. We are given precedents that are needed navigating tools. The Scriptures teach us the precedent of God's ways with His people during crisis, and also the precedent of people's responses to crisis. Specifically, when we learn from the precedent of pandemic history, the most recent being the Spanish flu from 1918-1919, we find that there is nothing new under the sun, as King Solomon said.  Here are some of things we learned.

One of the characteristics of the Church's response to the Spanish flu was innovation. Pastors and congregations used new technologies like the telephone as a pastoral tool and published sermons in newspapers to maintain contact with their congregants. Many churches, like Calvary Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh above, embraced medical technology to convert to make-shift hospitals to serve their cities.  (It has been wonderful for Southlands to host multiple blood drives with the Red Cross these last few months too.  We have a great opportunity to innovate, not only to care for our churches, but to care for our cities. 

The other precedent was the Church's protest against the governments' limitations placed on worship amidst the perception of double standards, as some states kept saloons and gambling houses open while schools and churches were closed. Many church leaders went to court to argue that the First Amendment right to ‘peacefully assemble’ was violated. Research suggests that courts by-in-large upheld the government’s right to ban public gatherings for health reasons to reasonably enforce those bans. While we have had a moment of civil disobedience as we took the decision to sing from behind our masks as a reasonable defense of our freedom to worship, we do not want to expend all our energy on protest when there are still many ways in which we can still worship as the Church. 

Both the use of technology and protest over the freedom of worship have become dominant themes in our pandemic of course, and I wrote the following letter to our church yesterday to try and speak to both of these issues. Perhaps it may be of help to you in your church context? 

 Dear Southlands Brea, 

 The stunning Psalm 84 was my devotional reading this morning. “Blessed are those who dwell in your house, they are ever praising You. As they go through the valley of tears they make it a place of springs…they go from strength to strength.” What a promise for us today. God gives us an oasis in the valley of tears. More pointedly, the Psalmist was reminding God’s people that dwelling in God’s temple came with the blessing of strength and comfort in a season of sadness. Of course, we know that in the New Covenant, God’s people are the temple and that God dwells in each of us by His Spirit. It’s so wonderful that God’s presence is not limited to one physical place. 

Still, the New Testament exhorts God’s people repeatedly to gather together regularly in different places to encounter Him in special ways. “You yourselves are being built together into God’s temple in which God dwells by His Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:21-22) Here the emphasis is not on a certain place, but rather on the togetherness of a people. In other words, while the Spirit dwells in us as individuals, there is an aspect of God that we only experience as we allow ourselves to be built together. There is much-needed strength and comfort from being built together. I must say that our expressions of togetherness have been greatly enlarged these past five months. Exploring being the church in back yards, on curbsides and on Zoom calls has been challenging, but fantastic. We continue to acknowledge that many who are elderly, immuno-compromised, pregnant, working in the medical fraternity or serving as caregivers will continue to express togetherness online from their homes. If you are in this group, please be assured that you are not a B-class member of Southlands! However, I have seen that the longer people remain physically separate from others in the church, the harder it is to feel like you are better together. Loneliness, apathy and offense can so easily creep in. 

To combat this, we are looking at new ways of helping you to feel built together, but we need you to help us serve you by leaning in. This Sunday at 9:45am, before our live stream, Bulus and Rose Galadima who are on our deacon team, will be leading an online pre-service prayer time. This will help you to prepare your hearts and pray for others to encounter Jesus during the service. Brett McCracken, one of our elders, will also be hosting the live chat during the sermon and then leading a Zoom discussion after the sermon.  I encourage you to lean into this growing online community by joining us at 10am at live.southlands.net or youtube.com/southlandschurch. 

 On the other hand, there are those who need no convincing that gathering together in-person to worship is important. In fact, I have had numerous people who have asked why we are not defying the governor's limitations on worship and simply meeting together on Sundays inside and in-person as normal. I appreciate these sentiments and can understand the frustration at what can appear as double-standards  at times. As you know, we have been willing and are still willing, to have moments of civil disobedience should they seem necessary, but we want civil disobedience to be a last resort rather than a first response. 

So, we have 4 Biblical lenses through which we make decisions about gathering:

 

 1. The importance of Worship (Hebrews 10:25)  

2. Love for our Neighbors (Mark 12:31) 

3. Obedience to Government (Romans 13:1-7) 

4. Maintaining a Good witness (Col 4:5-6) 

 These are tensions we must be able to hold as God’s people. While we place a high value on the importance of gathered worship, many seem to pursue value 1 while ignoring values 2,3 and 4! We cannot do that! At this stage, we feel that gathering in-person, outside on our patio is actually preferable to gathering inside, because it enables families to gather safely, is still within the government’s guidelines and is actually proclaiming the gospel to our city in a fun, family carnival atmosphere. We’ve loved seeing this patio gathering grow every week, and we encourage you to join us at 8:30am tomorrow by signing up here. 

 As ever, I am so grateful to God for your flexible faithfulness for Jesus’ sake.

Onwards and Upwards,

Alan 

These Precedented Times: Lessons from the Church's response to the Spanish Flu in 1918.

 

We tend to make the assumption that our current moment is completely unprecedented. I mean, how many times have we recently heard or used the phrase, "We're living in unprecedented times!"  The more I read though, the more I begin to question that assumption. I believe there is actually a precedent for these times. Of course, the unique blend of pandemic, social upheaval and economic downturn does make our times particularly intense and challenging. One commentator said that we are living through a combination of the 1918 Spanish Flu, the 1929  Great Depression and the 1960's Social Revolution. But if we listen closely to history, we will find some very helpful precedents for these times. They are not identical, but they are similar enough to provide helpful warnings and encouragements to us. 

The British poet, Steve Turner once wrote, "History repeats itself. It has to. We never listen." Now is our time to listen to the precedent of history, so that we do not repeat it. Now is also the time to take courage from history.

 

This article is the result of some research on precedents in pandemics by my friend and colleague, Kristine Nethers, a history teacher with her Masters degree from Stanford University. We asked Kristine to do some research on cultural and historic trends around pandemics. This is a teaser for her larger research project which is an outstanding piece of work. While the scope of her study begins broad, it narrows in to the Church's response to pandemics and scattering. This is a fascinating excerpt, used with her permission.

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There are stark similarities between the Church's response to the “Spanish Flu”  in 1918 and the Covid-19 crisis of today as detailed below. It is estimated that 50 million people died world-wide from the Spanish Flu, with approximately 675 000 of those deaths being in the USA. 

12 Historic Church Responses to the “Spanish Flu” of 1918-1919 (USA)

1. (Most) churches shut down. 

As state and local governments began to comprehend the scope of the crisis in their jurisdictions, they called for churches to shut down (along with schools, theaters, etc.). Some churches remained opened in defiance of local orders. Research suggests that most churches were shut from early Oct. 1918 to early December 1918, while some cities had bans on public gatherings until January 1919. The research is unclear about how churches dealt with the second wave. 

2. Churches quickly improvised with “home worship.” 

Churches provided sermon notes and hymn notes and worship materials during the shutdown. Some local newspapers printed sermons in their local editions. Pastors provided theological framework for this time as extended Sabbath and a way to disciple one’s family. 

3. New technology was quickly utilized to connect safely. 

Telephones were the Zoom of the day! Homebound people used the phone to greater degrees to connect during the shutdowns at the end of 1918. Home phones were becoming more popular in the 1910s, but the infrastructure was limited so cities urged citizens to limit their telephone use to emergency only as to not overload the system. 

4. Church leaders called an end to the ban on church gatherings and defended the church’s role in promoting the well-being of the community.

There are several examples of church leaders calling for an end to government bans on gathering beginning three weeks after bans were put in place. A Catholic clergyman in Baltimore pleaded on the vital role that churches play in the community by saying, “I am told that a number of calls upon our physicians are simply the result of nervousness, or the consequence of alarm. This might be considerably allayed by the reassurance of religion, and discreet words from our priests given the people in church.” 

5.  Services were amended for greater safety.

 A Catholic Bishop in Detroit stated they would be “willing to have their edifices fumigated between meetings, to cut the services to 45 minutes, to employ special ushers, who would eject persons who coughed or sneezed and to require all worshipers entering a church to wear influenza masks” if their city allowed them to reopen.  

6. Some argued that banning of church gatherings was a violation of the First Amendment. 

Many church leaders went to court to argue that the First Amendment right to ‘peacefully assemble’ was violated. Research suggests that courts by-in-large upheld the government’s right to ban public gatherings for health reasons to reasonably enforce those bans . 

7. End times were predicted.

 

Church leaders were predicting that the pandemic would usher in Jesus’ return  with numerous Doomsday theories.

8. Tithes & offerings went down. 

Appeals to continue giving and to resource a benevolence fund were called for.

Church leaders appealed to their congregations for giving and sought to help those who had been affected financially. The Southern Baptist denomination called for a “A 75 Million Campaign” in response to the pandemic. While they fell short of that goal, their combined giving towards missions was 10 times higher than it previously been in any previous year. 

9. Outdoor services were held as a response to government bans.

Some churches pivoted quickly to outdoor services, some to the ire of local authorities. 

10. Church leaders were divided about reopening and “grumbling” was common. 

Not all church leaders and churchgoers were in the same accord about church re-openings and “grumblings” among Christians ensued.  

11. God’s protection of people against the disease was called into question. 

One D.C. pastor provided this response, “The fact that the churches were places of religious gathering, and the others not, would not affect in the least the health question involved. If avoiding crowds lessens the danger of being infected, it was wise to take the precaution and not needlessly run in danger, and expect God to protect us.” 

12. Pastors were extra busy. 

A Milwaukee, Wisconsin newspaper reported that church closures did not “leave the city’s ‘pastors with any surplus of leisure on their hands.’ With the faithful encouraged to engage in ‘home worship’ and read sermons published in newspapers, Protestant and Catholic clergy were instead devoting more of their energy to pastoral care and sick calls.” 

 Used with permission  Kristine Nethers  © Manna Publishing 

     

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Does any of this ring a bell?! There are so many stark similarities between their pandemic and ours.

So, what can we learn from the Church's response to the Spanish Flu? 

1. First, a pandemic is an opportunity for innovation and we must seize it instead of resenting it. Whether  new modes of communication, new forms and precautions for gathering, or new ways of expressing care, the church must be faithful with it's message but flexible with its methods. In fact, while the pastoral cohesion becomes more difficult in the scattering of pandemic, gospel innovation can result in the advance of the gospel into new frontiers. Church members should adapt and commit to the new innovations instead of using the change as an excuse to drop out of regular fellowship.

2. Grumbling at God, each other and our leaders is a besetting sin of God's people in crisis, and we must beware of it. History teaches us humility and gratitude. We are not in a completely unique or unresolvable situation.  God’s people have experienced these times before, God has got them through it and He will get us through too. Be gracious to your pastors who are in the busiest and most highly criticized season of their ministry lives. 

3. We should beware of jumping to Doomsday conclusions, especially simplistic end-time or conspiracy theories. Too many folk have profited off fear-mongering and Christians' gullibility at times like this, and while the Church must live in anticipation of Christ's return, we will lose our witness if we become fixated with how and when that return will take place. 

4. Be slow to politicize pandemics.

Of course,  convictions around government infringement on freedom of worship run especially deep, and these are valid. But when these convictions cause Christians to disregard the reality of a pandemic, or become cavalier with safety precautions, we put other people in danger and damage our witness. The exercise of civil disobedience should be a last resort, not a first reaction,  and a willingness to lay down our freedoms temporarily out of love for our neighbors may very well be better in the long term for our gospel witness. 

5. This too shall pass! 

These times are not completely unprecedented and they are not permanent. Of course, there is likely to be a new normal after pandemic, but let's not overstate that by saying, everything is going to spiral down into an apocalypse! Remember, the Roaring 20's followed a year after the Spanish Flu which  was a surge of economic prosperity, positivity and culture.  Humans are remarkably resilient and adaptable, and God is faithful.  As the writer of Ecclesiastes wrote, "There is nothing new under the sun." God brought His people through the Spanish Flu and He will bring us through COVID-19. 

(My next blog will be about learning from the Church in Antioch after the Diaspora)

The Wisdom of Trees: Finding Perspective in the Forest

 

I grew up on the edge of a Eucalyptus forest. When our community had cut down this giant invasive species from Australia, another indigenous forest sprang up quickly and beautifully in its place. It was like the Garden of Eden. My grandfather, an avid botanist, put brass plaques on the trees inscribed with their Latin names. They are still there today. My first real scar came from exploring in that forest as a young boy. It was a deep gash next to my left shin bone from a burst bottle after a forest fire. I have grown and changed since that day, but the scar remains.

 

My first call was also in a forest, this time a Redwood forest across the Golden Gate Bridge. The year was 1990 and I was 18. I know that God met me and marked me that day in Muir Woods, calling me to live and preach his gospel in California. So much has changed since that day, thirty years ago, but the call remains, much like the scar.    

 

Because of this, I view my return to Redwood forests like a pilgrimage. Much like one might visit the church where they had been baptized or married to re-affirm their vows, I visit the Redwood forests, carrying more scars and hopefully more wisdom, longing to re-affirm my vows and make sure of my calling. As John Muir, the father of national parks himself once said, "To walk in a Redwood forest is to enter natures' cathedral." 

 

And God began to speak to me about the wisdom of trees. 

 

These trees are evergreen because they have a root system. 

       

 

'Blessed are those whose delight is in the law of the Lord and who meditate upon it day and night, they are like a tree planted by streams of  water, whose leaf does not wither....'  (Ps 1:2)

These trees are evergreen because their root system has found a water source. This means they can  go for months without rain. Similarly, God is able to nourish us through His Word in dry seasons, but it will require more than skimming through the latest sermon podcast.  When I meditate on His word I am filling my mind with God's noble themes and promises. When I delight I am pressing them down to the deepest parts of my soul until my soul finds joy and rest. The Word of God is sufficient to communicate the presence of God to the people of God, nourishing them like a stream to a dry tree. 

 

These trees have endured because they understand seasons.

 

                    "Whose leaf does not wither and who bring out their fruit in due season." (Psalm 1:3) 

Note that being Evergreen does not deny that some seasons are more fruitful than others.

Even Evergreens bring out their fruit in season. I do not only fret because I fear I may die in a drought. I fret because some seasons are less fruitful than others. Like this season of pandemic and protest and scattering. The fruit is less visible. Trees do not fret over the carpet of leaves that God spreads on the winter floor. Trees know that health in winter looks different to health in spring. Even Evergreens, whose leaves do not wither in winter, do not fret when there is no fruit in winter. Some seasons, success means leaves not fruit. Trees know this. And we humans must learn from them.

 These trees have not broken because they have leaned.

 It is one thing to be rooted. It is another to be brittle. For these statuesque trees to have         

 stood upright for millennia, they will have swayed and stooped in the wind, like sailors  

 finding their sea legs after a voyage. Trees offer a new definition of strength beyond rigidity. 

 They are rooted, yet somehow, flexible. If I buckle before the winds of cultural pressure, perhaps I am not rooted enough? But if I am too stubborn to bend, to humbly listen, to willingly learn, to lean, I have a fragile strength that will shatter in time. 

In fact, I believe God is calling us to lean in unpredictable ways as the wind of His Spirit blows. 

 

People who view us through a purely political lens may be confused. 

"You're telling people they can sing from behind their masks? You must be conservative!"

"You're speaking against racism? You must be liberal!"

"You're calling people to honor law enforcement? You must be Republican!"

"You're telling people they must wear masks? You must be Democrat!" 

"No, we are just being like trees, planted in God's Word, leaning as God blows by His Sprit."

Rooted yet flexible. 

Faithful, yet unpredictable. 

With the wisdom of trees.

        

           

         

         

          

A Guarded Heart or a Hard Heart? a quick self-test on emotional health during emotionally charged times

                     

                Above all else guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.  Proverbs 4:23

                                                                                                                                                                      

If you have a beating heart, chances are your heart has taken a beating these last three months. In this age of outrage, divisiveness and social media trolling, we've all taken emotional hits from friends, family, church or work colleagues. Perhaps we've lashed out in retaliation and given as good as we've got?  Many relationships have been strained or even severed in these polarizing times. Cancel culture seems to be winning. Because of this, most of us feel emotionally raw, or worse, numb. Our emotional health is at severe risk during these emotionally charged days. 

I sat with a friend and mentor last night who had received particularly stinging critique from both ends of the political spectrum as he had tried to respond as a Christian leader to the COVID-19 crisis and the protests following the brutal death of George Floyd. From my point of view he had done so with great courage, empathy and wisdom but his critics didn't see it that way. While he spoke about a feeling of fatigue from the relentless waves of criticism, he was remarkably buoyant. In fact, while I had received less severe criticism than he, my heart was more raw than his. Perhaps it's because he had learned to guard his heart?  

I find the above Proverb so helpful in this regard. It compares the heart to a well that is fed by an under-ground spring. This is a metaphor that Jesus spoke of twice in the Gospel of John when he talked about the Holy Spirit. "If anyone believes in me it will be like a spring of living water welling up from his heart to eternal life." (John 4:14) John's commentary on this statement was that Jesus was referring to the Holy Spirit who would be given when Jesus ascended to the Father.  (John 7:39)

While the spring of the Holy Spirit is what imparts life to the heart of a believer, it is the believer who must take care of the well into which the spring flows. We must guard our hearts above all else, not allowing anyone to throw trash down the well so that the pure water gets bitter. Guarding our hearts is like putting a grill  or a grate over the top of a well. The difference between a guarded heart and a hard heart, for me, is that a hard heart has got an iron-clad lid over the well. Nothing can get chucked in, but neither can anyone draw any life out of it. A guarded heart doesn't allow any trash in, but allows life to be drawn out of it, and because it is guarded, the water is pure, not bitter. 

The Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians, "I pray that your love may abound in all knowledge and discernment." (Phil 4:11) That is as good a description of a guarded heart as I've heard: to love with discernment. In essence, I want to try and help us to discern whether we have unguarded hearts, hard hearts or guarded hearts. The more common terms for these heart postures may be co-dependence, independence and inter-dependence.

A. How do I know if I have an unguarded heart?  (Co-dependence)

• I experience massive joy from people's encouragement and massive despair from their criticism. 
• I will give of myself willingly but feel resentful if it is not met with praise or gratitude.
• I allow people's opinions of me, either positive or negative, to be the core shaper of my identity. 
• I apologize just to keep the peace even if I don't think I've done anything wrong. The main thing is that we can maintain our relationship.
• I am extremely vulnerable with my emotions to anyone who will listen.

 

B. How do I know if my heart has become hard? (Independence)

• I view encouragement with suspicion and am very defensive if people critique me. 
• I will only give of myself if there is something in it for me.
• I simply don't care what anyone says or thinks about me. God's opinion is the only one that matters.
• I never apologize or forgive.  That is a sign of weakness. If you wrong me you're dead to me.
• I will never be vulnerable with my emotions in case people judge me or take advantage of me

C. How do I know if I am guarding my heart in healthy ways? (Inter-dependence)

• I am able to receive encouragement with sobriety and criticism without plunging into despair
• I have found a way to give of myself without being overly dependent on gratitude or praise
• I am attentive to the ways in which people experience me, but I am shaped most profoundly by what God says about me.
• I am willing to say sorry if I have wronged people. If I cannot see that I have sinned but that you feel sinned against, I am still able to own the fact that I have hurt you. I will be slow to reconcile if there is not true repentance and forgiveness in a relationship. 
• I will be vulnerable with my emotions to trustworthy people who can help me to be more healthy.

More than ever now, we need the well of our hearts to be filled with  the Spirit so that thirsty people can draw on the life of God in this wilderness season. But for this to happen we need to guard our hearts, engaging in healthy inter-dependence rather than unhealthy co-dependence or independence. 

Which heart are you? 

 

Enough Already: The Wisdom of Brene Brown and why it's not Working for us in Lockdown.

Frankly, I admire Brene Brown. The renown academic, best-selling author and celebrated podcast host has an earthy, unforced wisdom that reaches way beyond the ivory tower of academia and into the worlds of Ted Talk and Netflix. She has a unique way with words and seems comfortable in her own skin, which may be the key to a career that has unlocked its own industry. If you google Brene Brown, what pops up first is 'Etsy quotes by Brene Brown.' That's telling.  Her quotes have sparked an Etsy craft craze which is a sure sign that her truisms have found a home in our collective psyches. They seem to resonate broadly with men and women while avoiding the shallow cliche' of a Hallmark card.

I was surprised to hear that Brown's teachings had reached the shores of my homeland, South Africa. I suppose I shouldn't have been. While listening to a podcast by our old physiotherapist friend turned life coach, his guest referred to Brown's concept of worthiness.  "As Brene Brown has said, too often we connect our self worth with our net worth. This Covid-19 pandemic has robbed most of us of our net worth and therefore we feel robbed of our self worth. But we need to realize that earning lots of  money, having a big retirement,  a big house and a new car should not define our self-worth. We are enough without those things." The podcast guest was referring to the more pithy saying by Brown, "I matter because my story matters. I am absolutely enough." Brown's quote explores our universal yearning for a sense of worthiness, insisting that humans do not need to achieve or acquire in order to be deemed worthy. "No matter what gets done I am worthy of love and belonging and joy."  

Being absolutely enough is a beautiful, Etsy-worthy idea. In fact, it's a Biblical idea that humans are endowed with value and beauty because they, more than any other species in creation, are unique image bearers of their Creator. Their worth cannot be achieved or earned any more than a pot could tell the potter what price tag it should carry. Our worth is determined by our Creator and cannot be negated or diminished by created beings. In that sense, Brown has unearthed a great truth for our striving, self-worth culture. In that sense, we are absolutely enough.

The problem is though, that Brown's mantra about being absolutely enough is a half truth, because it underplays the nagging sense of unworthiness we all feel to some degree. Why is it that so many of us have felt frustrated by our lack of productivity in lockdown, unable to breathe and enjoy the slower pace of life forced upon us by quarantine?  Of course, there are the obvious reasons of  economic loss and uncertainty, but deeper reflection will reveal a low-grade hum not silenced by stimulus check or payment protection plan. Our self-worth is so tightly bound up with our work, our planners and our vision flip charts. Being absolutely enough is a nice idea until the laces get ripped out of the boots of progress.

We see it most clearly in athletes, don't we? I'm reminded of the line from the movie, Chariots of Fire, in which Eric Liddel's rival said before his 100 yard Olympic sprint, "I have ten seconds to justify my whole existence." More recently, in the final episode of The Last Dance, the ESPN documentary about the Chicago Bulls' championship team of the 1990's, the interviewer asked Michael Jordan,"Were you maddened or gladdened by retiring after winning your sixth NBA championship? Jordan's response. "Maddened. I should have won seven."
Would one more really have been enough though?

Apparently, feeling absolutely enough is more illusive than Brene Brown would have us believe.
 Our need to justify ourselves, not so much through one more good work as through one more great achievement, is a stubborn streak in the children of Eve.

I find I lack the authority to convince myself that I am absolutely enough. My self-talk sounds hollow to my Jordan-shaped soul that feels unworthy no matter what I achieve. I need the Author of my life to silence my repeated strivings to justify my existence and prove my worth. I need Him to speak a better word than the word of Brene Brown. I need Him to justify me with Jesus' work so that I can finally rest.

 John Greenleaf Whittier, the Quaker poet, wrote so poignantly about our need for God to silence the hum of our strivings to be enough in his 1872 hymn, "Dear Lord and Father of all Mankind."

"With that deep hush subduing all
Our words and works that drown
The tender whisper of Thy call,
As noiseless let Thy blessing fall
As fell Thy manna down.

Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress
And let our ordered lives confess,
The beauty of Your peace."

I am not absolutely enough. But when Jesus drops the still dews of quietness into my striving soul,
I am able to whisper, "He is enough for me."
Which may not get onto any Etsy store wall hanging, but it's a truth I'm willing to hang my hat on. 

Our Way Back to In-Person Gatherings

If the last few months have shown anything, it is that the church cannot be stopped. Even if we cannot meet in person, we are still the church. Come what may, we will always be the people of God. Worship, evangelism, the preaching of God's Word must continue. The gates of hell will not prevail against the church (Matt. 16:18). Southlands Brea, you have been formidably generous, compassionate, creative and brave during these strange and uncertain days as Jesus has empowered you. I've seen Him glorified through you in a myriad ways these last two months and I am filled with gratitude and love for you.

Still, it is good to lament what has been lost with the absence of in-person gatherings, and it is right to long for the day when we can gather again. We are blessed to live in a time when technology allows us to gather virtually and stay in contact easily, but nothing virtual can fully replace the embodied gathering. So, as we anticipate what it will look like to resume physical gatherings, I want to call us to do so with a posture of prudence, patience, courage, and love.

We have spent many hours as an eldership team praying, talking and consulting with wise specialists within and beyond the Church in order to come up with a plan for in-person gathering. These have included the Pacific Justice Institute, One Table Pastor's Forum and the Orange County Board of Supervisors.

The Plan consists of our Posture, Precautions and  Plays for In-Person gathering.  

I. A Posture for In-Person Gatherings

Prudence will continue to guide Southlands Brea as we discern the right way forward. Prudence means wise and thorough planning, with special care for the most vulnerable populations in our community. Prudence also means partnership with and submission to governing authorities (Romans13). Rest assured, we will take great care to abide by the guidelines of the government and err on the side of reopening only insofar as the authorities allow.

Patience must also guide us in the days ahead. Patience with a timeline that might be too slow for some. Patience with a process that will doubtless be clunky. Patience with leaders feeling the pressure of this complex situation. Patience with the fact that much will be different about church, even when we can gather in person again. And above all, patience with one another as we humbly, gently bear with one another in love (Eph. 4:2).

This coming season will require not only prudence and patience, but also great courage, in a season of great fear. Our courage will not be cavalier, but we want to remember, even amidst the new precautions around gathering, that God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of love, of power and of a sound mind. (1 Tim 1:7)

As we begin to implement the plans outlined below, let’s prioritize Christlike, sacrificial love—a love that leads us to harmony amid genuinely disputable matters (Rom. 14). Some of us will feel comfortable attending physical gatherings at the earliest opportunity. Others of us may need to stay home and watch online for an extended period of time. Various levels of comfort will exist everywhere in between. We must love and respect one another, wherever we stand. At a time of great cultural division and anger, let’s be a community characterized by unity and love—glorifying God and demonstrating the truth of the gospel in honoring one another with an abundance of grace. 

II. Precautions for In-Person Gathering 

1. Plan and Prepare (in accordance with the Pacific Justice Institute)

A. Observe CDC and Federal Guidelines

Visit the CDC’s website (www.cdc.gov/coronavirus) for relevant updates on coronavirus and social distancing. We will prepare to observe social distancing during essential “life-supporting” services, including, but not limited to, religious assemblies, wedding ceremonies, and funeral services (the Indoor Service) The CDC advises that part of social distancing is limiting face-to-face contact with others and staying at least six (6) feet, or about two (2) arms’ length, from other individuals unless the individuals or family live together (Households).

B. We will Clean and Disinfect

We will review and follow relevant CDC and state guidelines to clean surfaces and the building interior that will be used for the Indoor Service. Were will follow these full cleaning procedures before and after every service or other use of the indoor space.

2. Social Distancing and PPE (Personal Protective Equipment)

C. Guidelines for Attendees

We will post notice to invitees (including pastors, staff, and volunteers) to observe social distancing throughout the entire Indoor Service, and: We will maintain at least six (6) feet of space between Households; and wear masks or face coverings as described by the CDC (Face Coverings).

Speakers and worship leaders will wear masks to the meeting, but will take them off for the moment of preaching or leading worship.

D. Use PPE during the Indoor Service.

Federal guidelines suggest Face Coverings be worn in public places during all phases of the pandemic. We will make hand sanitizer available in the building; the CDC recommends sanitizer have a minimum of 60% alcohol.

3. Physical Layout of Interior Space

E. We will modify seating arrangements, if necessary, to accommodate social distancing. We will reduce total seating for each Indoor Service, if necessary, to facilitate social distancing.

III. Four Plays for In-Person Gatherings

In the coming days, as the state of California “reopens,” Southlands Brea will begin to offer a mixture of online and in-person experiences.

Out of concern for those who are vulnerable and appropriately cautious, we will continue to create meaningful online experiences of Sunday worship, community, and equipping.

Once California officials give the greenlight for some in-person church gatherings to commence again, Southlands will begin offering meaningful in-person experiences for those who want to participate in them, as outlined below. These in-person experiences will happen in accordance with the guidelines provided by federal health officials.

Just as an offense will call a play based on what the defense shows them, we will be reading the moment and understanding the guidance of state and local officials as we call these “plays” for future gatherings. It is important to note that we will likely be calling multiple plays at any given time, allowing us to most effectively serve all members of the Southlands Brea community. These plays are not linear in their progression and we believe this model will allow us to nimbly adapt to any changes that may come our way in the coming weeks and months.

While we expect our in-person gatherings to feel more “normal” as we progress in the reopening process, like the rest of society, the way we interact with each other may look a little different for a while. We’re going to continue to modify the parts of our services that required physical contact before (such as communion, prayer groups, greeting each other with handshakes), and we’re doing everything we can to keep our facilities clean and safe. Even if you see more face masks (and a lot more hand sanitizer), when we gather together again in-person, we hope it will feel like coming home.