Easter is just a couple days away, and most of us pastors and leaders will be doing something we have never done on Easter Sunday: We will be staying home, or we will be preaching to an empty sanctuary. Easter is the greatest day of the year. In years past, I would have said, “I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” but that is exactly why many of us are choosing to miss. We are doing this, not for ourselves, but for the sake of a suffering world. We are, as good Christians, trying to deny pain and evil its place before those we serve, not only locally, but, by not risking spreading disease to our own, we likewise show the world we respect and love them as well. But, as in any time of great tension, when we have to make high stakes decisions, undue criticism is finding its way into our midst, whether it be by email, phone, or passive aggressive Facebook posts. I say unto you,
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9)
When this pandemic was drawing nearer and nearer, I did what I am geared to do. I studied. I went to those persons who have proven over and again in my life to be level-headed and informed to see what they were saying, and I did not like what I was seeing and hearing. My first concern was for the most vulnerable in my life. Of course, as the experts were suggesting then and now, in this case, the most vulnerable are those who are elderly, have compromised immunized systems, or both. We have a lot of elderly in our local church, but, I knew in this case, I had leaders to help me with this decision. As for my work on the Navajo Reservation, I am one of the top decision makers. I had to make a call. We were about to take a small group to the reservation, and in June I was supposed to take a group of around forty. After calling my brother, a medical doctor, and my partner in ministry, who lives on the reservation and works for the health system there, I made the call. The trips were off. I tossed and turned that whole night. I was heartbroken.
Then, our local churches had to make a decision. The facts were not as clear as they are at the moment, and I do not hold it against anyone at that time for being conflicted about the possibility of closing in-person worship. I knew what I thought was right and what my Senior Pastor thought was right, but I also knew other well-thought-out Christians were not on the same page. What if College Place closed its doors and other churches remained open, and it turned out we were wrong? Would that make us look unfaithful. But, as a pastor, I knew what I was going to fight for: I was not then, and am not all that much now, concerned about my own well-being, or those of my wife and children. We are not “at-risk,” but a great majority of the congregation we serve is. Fortunately, we did not have to plead our case, because our Bishop made the tough call for us. He was brave enough to take the blame when he could have left it up to us.
Even so, I knew people were disappointed, and it breaks a pastor’s heart to know his or her flock is hurt and that some are disappointed in us. I was even accused of just not wanting to work, and that brought out a fleshly anger in me. I knew I was prayerfully thinking this out. I knew this would make more work on me in a lot of ways. And, what I knew (that this person who made the accusation could never know) was just how long I pleaded and wrestled with God before He gave me a local church to serve. Not wanting to come and preach on Sunday is not a part of me, not at least in this part of my life. In the two plus years I have served locally, I have only missed one Sunday of church. Even when I was not at the local church, I was on the reservation working. I only recently took a vacation with my family in which I did not leave early to be back for Sunday, not because the church I serve would not have let me off, but, because I wanted to be present as a pastor.
Tensions were high, and a lot of my fellow Christians disagreed with me in the early phases. None should feel badly at all. I am not claiming to be smarter or wiser or more anything. I have connections that helped me be better informed early on. I think a lot of people would have felt the same if they had the same access. I was blessed, but it did feel lonely.
Now, however, the facts are much clearer. We were being told early on by some, even by very reputable sources, that this was no different than the common flu. We were reminded that H1N1 came and went as a pandemic, and we did not shut down the country. The CDC estimates that from April 2009 to April 2010, that around 12,469 deaths occurred (with a possible range of 8,868 (low)-18,306 (high)). This number is an estimate, which obviously includes all confirmed cases, but also factors in possible undiagnosed deaths from H1N1.
Today, as of typing this, 18,034 people have died a confirmed death from COVID-19. Even with self-quarantine measures in place, this disease has surpassed the estimated deaths of a year of H1N1 with no mass quarantines. With the death toll being well over 1,000 a day in the U.S., this means that by tomorrow, we will almost certainly surpass the most liberal CDC estimates of 52 weeks worth of non-quarantine H1N1 deaths (again, the high range being 18,469 EDIT: Indeed, we have now surpassed that number, just a few hours later in the same day as me writing this: 18,699). In just 16 weeks since the first of the outbreak has reached the US, COVID-19 has proven to be way worse than H1N1. Even if the numbers drop drastically in the next few days, this is still true, considering the measures of prevention we have taken that we did not with H1N1 and that we are talking confirmed vs estimated at this point. This is simply not another flu.
Yet, I am still seeing social media posts from fellow Christians calling this pandemic a “Democratic political hoax” or a “conspiracy." They stand on the graves of the dead, mass graves in New York mind you, and mock this situation. “But, the vast majority who get sick only have the most mild and sometimes no symptoms at all.” Fine. But, Christians have never been called to simply care about the majority. We are called to look out and protect the least of these.
I think we can learn something from the “conspiracy" and “political hoax” rhetoric. We have, for far too long, practiced hyper-politicizing. When we have to make every issue fit into an ideological category, we forsake critical thinking and even ethical thinking. Because some early on in high leadership and on certain media outlets promoted this as a hoax, those who are ideologues that touted these claims can not back down, even when the leaders and media have done so. Our President, after getting better information, has changed his tone. But, the rock-ribbed ideologues, many Christian, cannot admit that they were misinformed, which was not their fault early on, but, now, is willful blindness.
As I told a fellow Christian I respect deeply early on when we did not have all the data: There was an infinite set of data out there in the beginning, and I was looking at different points of data early on that made me lean this way. If I did not have that data, I would have taken his same position. As a matter of fact, when I first heard of the Corona Virus, I assumed it would be something like Ebola, a horrible tragedy I would be privileged to watch from afar. I do not think many of us from day one said, “Oh, batten down the hatches,” and I do not blame anyone who may have been a few weeks behind me in changing his or her mind, just as I did. But, those who are trying to make pastors and Christian leaders feel guilty even now for calling off assembly are becoming more and more culpable. I find the continued promotion of conspiracy and hoax rhetoric, as well as the continued claims that we “lack faith,” to be coming close to evil, if not already there. This is becoming willful obstinance and an ethical breach of the command to love neighbor.
I have thought about how or even if I should respond, and this blog post is my answer. I asked early on, “What am I trying to accomplish?” At first, I passed by the “hoax,” “conspiracy,” and “lack of faith” claims, because I did not want to stir a pot. I would have only been assuaging my need to respond for a sense of catharsis. However, now, I am seeing more and more people admitting they are having a hard time with all the noise and backlash. I also know that many pastors do not have the support structure that United Methodist connection provides. We have a whole network of pastors in our same boat having to weather the storm, and our episcopal leadership is having to take the flack for making the call. Sure, we feel it locally as well, but at least we have each other.
Some leaders feel more alone. I want to say to you that if you in good faith decided to protect your flock, you have countless pastors who stand with you. Do not grow weary. As leaders, we have an added obligation to stand firm. When we start giving in to those who would bully us into risking the lives of our members for claims of lack-of-faith, we run the risk of being a part of the damaging of our collective resolve. If we do not stand firm and show that we are at peace, if we give into fear and coercion, we may make others give way too, and this will not only divide our churches, but our nation as well. We are in this together, and, as the church, we should lead the way in being a sacrificial people.
So, what of the theological claims? I will not address them all, but I will try to address the ones I have seen that seem to be the most stinging. (Let me say I will not be addressing the “alternative” medical advice that is out there. I am not an expert; so, I am listening to the CDC’s and the Governor’s orders, and the case I am making is that this is a justifiable position for Christians. Will the government get this right. I do not know. I pray they do. So, to be clear, this is not a case for how effective the measures are. That is a different issue that can be addressed another time. Flattening the curve does make sense to me, however. This is merely a discussion against the idea that attempting to avoid the congregation being exposed to illness is an act from fear and a sign of "lack of faith.") So, back to theology:
“…not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25).
The writer of Hebrews was addressing theological concerns in this letter, and the writer’s concern was that persons were not gathering together because of discrimination and tension. Some felt that others were inferior and not worth gathering with in worship. Perhaps Jewish faithful were having a hard time accepting Gentiles and vice versa. This was not a matter of the church not gathering over safety concerns. This is much more particular. It is about division in the church. Those who claim pastors are inferior for lack of faith are the ones forsaking the assembly, not because they do not wish to attend, but because they wish to meddle and divide.
In fact, we see often in the early church, even when persecution was heading their way, they dispersed their gatherings and fled to safer places. We shall discuss this more in a moment, because I think that persecution is, perhaps, the only legitimate reason a pastor may justifiably risk the overall protection of the church (if the members are in agreement), and even then, we see, in places around the world today, Christians under persecution are still trying their best to stay safe by being hidden. Do we call their hiding a lack of faith? We who have not even bled yet should think twice before we judge the persecuted (Hebrews 12:4).
“We must obey God rather than human beings!” (Acts 5:29)
Peter said this in the the Book of Acts after being told he could not proclaim the name of Jesus or preach His gospel. In this instance, Peter is suggesting God’s command to preach the Gospel overrides the command not to do so, because the two are mutually exclusive.
We can choose to think of following the government mandates in a few ways. We can say that not gathering at the church is a lack of faith, or, we can say, because the church is not defined by the building, the church can serve in many ways. Not going to the building in large numbers can be seen as a way to protect the most vulnerable that God cares for.
That is how I understand my role as a pastor. I am to protect the flock, and never to encourage them to place themselves in harms way, unless it is unavoidable and would compromise their faith. I have faith in God that He has asked me to lead for a reason. If we were being asked to renounce our faith or be harmed, that would be a test of faith that would need us to consider choosing a willingness to be hurt for the faith (if there were no other options). Be mindful, the church has not just understood the option to stand firm in the face of violence as the only alternative to not renouncing faith under threat. They also fled and proclaimed elsewhere. Again, I will return to Christian action in light of persecution in a moment.
But, this is not a persecution issue. Since we are not being persecuted, I think we need to think of what Paul teaches in Romans 13:1-7. God asks us to obey the authorities and tells us it is a sin not to do so. We do see in the Book of Acts that Peter decides to disobey the authorities when they tell him he cannot preach the Gospel, but, again, here Peter is being asked not to do any ministry. We as the church can do a lot of ministry outside the building and still follow the rules that our authorities give. So, I think Romans 13 applies to us. Romans says if we disobey, then the authorities have the right to punish us. What if we listen to our authorities and have to not do church gathering for a couple of months, but do other ministry and in so doing, we preserve for future ministry? What if God is trying to get us out of our building to be faithful out in the world?
We know that people throughout the Bible showed faith by not denying God and being harmed for it. They died as martyrs, and we have the utmost respect for them as the church. But, when we know harm is coming and it is not a matter of man trying to stop us from preaching, but our standing firm is simply a matter of trying to prove faith, Jesus says we are not to test the Lord our God (Luke 4:12). What if the test of faith is asking the question, “Can we still be faithful to be in ministry without our church building and big gatherings?” Can we do ministry in new ways for the sake of the least of these? Will we be able to say in this time, "God’s grace is sufficient when we are made weak” (2 Corinthians 12:9)?
“Running away is a sign of a lack of faith.” (Not in the Bible)
Instead the Bible says:
“On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.
Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.” (Acts 8:1-4)
Now, what about the persecuted? Do not the martyrs standing up for faith shame us for our fear? If we are fearful, then yes. But, if our concern is that we could protect each other and still remain faithful, then, by all means, we should. So, here in Acts, up unto this point, the church had been assembling at the synagogue, but, at this point, due to concern for their lives, they chose to disassemble and scatter. Even though they would have been justified to die for their faith, the church did not see this as the only option for “proving” faithful. Instead, they chose to preserve, even forsaking their assembly for a time, at least as long as it took them to flee to the places they would then go and preach. The martyrs did not die so that we might hang our heads low, but they sacrificed so that we might continue in ministry.
This pandemic is sending us out. We are still preaching. We have forsaken the assembly, not out of discrimination or fear, but out of love of neighbor. Stand firm in this truth. Do not let the bullies bring you down with their overbearing yoke of religion. That is what the Pharisees did to the people of their day. Let us choose life. Let us choose love. Let us stand and have a peace in the midst of the storm. Remember that Christians set up the first hospitals, not because they lacked faith that God could heal, but they knew He could heal and heal through proper care that medical practice provides. Let us serve the medical healers by giving them the space and time they need to do their healing work.
You are not only called to feed your sheep, but to protect them.
As for those of you who are not mandated to stay home, but stay in the work force to provide for the rest of us, you are doing your part too, and I thank you!
As for those of you who are not mandated to stay home, but stay in the work force to provide for the rest of us, you are doing your part too, and I thank you!
Blessings,
Rev Tab Miller
I will add further resources as I collect them:
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