I keep hearing the phrase “I can’t wait until church goes back to normal,” or something to that effect. While I certainly agree with the sentiment - I can’t wait to get back to having services in the physical building and greet one another without social distancing and masks - I completely disagree with the statement. “Normal” is not inherently good. In fact, I would argue that the modern Church in America has been practicing a lot of “normals” that are not good.
Over the last few months, we have been given a chance to evaluate and, in some cases, reset our church cultures. If nothing else, we saw that the church building is not the Church. The Church cannot be stopped by a pandemic, government orders, or even the very gates of Hell! We are the Body of Christ. A look back in Church history will prove that, every once in a while, God has to wake up that sleeping body.
If we are honest, most of our churches had long-standing issues that needed to be dealt with (some worse than others). For some, it may have been that they hadn’t been using every tool at their disposal to evangelize and disciple. For others, it may have been an unhealthy, maybe even idolatrous, dependence on facilities and structures. For some, it might have boiled down to stagnation and a needed shake-up to lead to true revival. Some churches will not even recover from this year’s shutdown.
Whatever the case, we absolutely do not need to go back to normal. We, the Church, need to go back to the truth. We need to go back to simply proclaiming the Gospel. We need to return to active faith that trusts in God no matter how big the offerings are. We need to have a revival of dependance upon the Word of God and burn down the altars of our humanistic ideas that have been shipwrecking our faith for the last century. We need to have a time of repentance and weeping over sin that would draw us nearer to God. The last thing any of us need is for the Church to go back to normal.
As churches begin reopening, I am confident that many churches will see a swell of new visitors. People don’t like being told they can’t do something, church included. Is your church prepared to lead them in Christ? Have we used our down-time wisely or will we be guilty of going back to normal? I sincerely hope for the former.
Many will read this and think of their church leaders. Let me be clear - this is not just for them. This is for all of us. The Church functions, not when the leaders do all the work, but when leaders equip the saints to do work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:11-12). What role can you play in making sure your church doesn’t go back to normal?
While I do not know whether this pandemic itself was a judgment from God, I do believe that He has used these evil circumstances to bring about good. The Church is a part of that equation. The real question is whether or not we changed for the better through the process.
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