On this one-year anniversary of the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems appropriate to take stock and assess the American church.

For many of us, the year has been the challenge of a lifetime in ministry leadership. The obstacles and demands of dealing with the pandemic have stretched us in ways we never thought possible.

We have done things we thought were at best optional, like technology, and we have done without things we thought were indispensable, like hospital visits.

We have realized how much of what we did was meaningless repetition, like endless meetings, and we’ve come to appreciate how much we took for granted the most basic parts of congregational life, like human touch.

We’ve seen people step up and flourish in hard times, and we’ve seen hard times wipe out people we thought were redwoods.

Risk management

One phrase continues to hang over many of the churches and ministers I engage with—risk management.

Opening and closing buildings, limiting or eliminating in-person events, monitoring our health and our interactions have all led us to become keenly aware of our risk management obligations.

Early in the pandemic, we wondered about legal liability if someone were to become infected while participating in events at our church. So, we severely cut back on those events. We sterilize. We wash our hands. We’ve become adamant and diligent about infecting others. So, we wear masks and keep our distance from one another.

Risk management has become a prioritized way of life for us. That’s what a pandemic does to us; it heightens our awareness of our vulnerability and forces us to grow more risk averse in the process.

All of that is fine with regard to the virus and its transmission, but there is another reality at play for many churches. Our risk management awareness and wariness may well bleed over into our corporate spiritual life and cause us to become so risk-averse that we miss the opportunity before us.

Risk-taking

I believe we are about to enter a season of life in the American church that cries out for churches to embrace risk-taking.

The pandemic has launched a potentially creative disruption of the norm we desperately need if we are to enter the future with a creative and innovative mindset.

This is a moment we may not see again for many years. The rupture of our former model of doing church has opened doors for risk-taking wise leaders will recognize.

Rather than revert back to “normal” when restrictions are lifted, thoughtful leaders will recognize this is our chance to reverse the ominous trends of the last 20 years.

The data is overwhelming. Nearly every denominational body in America shares a trend line that predicts imminent threat to the long-term viability of many local congregations.

If you’re brave, pull together the data for your own church over the last 20 years, and you probably will find a similar reality. We are entering a decade many predict will see a significant percentage of local churches go out of existence.

If there ever was a time to be open to risk-taking, this is it.

What risk-taking looks like

What does risk-taking actually look like for a church?

I think it means at least five things:

1. We acknowledge we are in the midst of a crisis larger than we have realized. For many of us, a sense of urgency that has been lacking needs to be fed and funneled into some hard conversations.

2. We spend time reconnecting with our reason for being and reconnecting with those priorities. We go back to the book of Acts and devour those stories and lessons.

3. We confess that much of what we do and how we do it simply is preference and not gospel priority. We humble ourselves and acknowledge we’ve drifted far from the focused church Jesus envisioned.

4. We put aside personal comfort and preference and embrace the idea of being part of a gospel movement rather than a member of a church club.

5. We personally pledge to engage in and participate in some form of risk-taking that makes us uncomfortable, so our church may not only survive but also thrive. We commit to criticize less and pitch in more.

What all of this will look like at your church will vary greatly from other churches. However, it inevitably will involve something that challenges you and makes you uncomfortable and pushes you out of your comfort zone.

It will mean you don’t simply insist your church “go back to the way it was,” because that way is a shortcut to irrelevance for many of us. Instead, we will discern our way forward by clinging to our valued principles while embracing sanctified imaginations that cause us to be risk-takers, even while everything screams to be risk managers.

Like the early church, we may find our crisis moment actually is the catalyst for more profound meaning and purpose than we knew possible.

God bless you in that risky endeavor.

Bill Wilson is the founder and director of the Center for Healthy Churches. The views expressed are those solely of the author.

Because of the sensitivity and confidentiality of the people and location, this piece has been generalized to keep those involved safe and to challenge congregations of all sizes not to underestimate what they can do.

“We sometimes underestimate the influence of the little things.”—Charles W. Chesnutt

I am the kind of person that must be doing something “big” in order to think change will occur. However, I was challenged by the above quote from Chesnutt.

I was blessed recently to witness a church do something that in most eyes would seem small, insignificant and ordinary. Last week, I observed a small community church rally around one of their members, do the “little things” and, through them, advocate for this individual while also instilling a sense of hope.

Rising to the occasion

Can you imagine the impending fear of knowing your daughter may never come home? That one moment you had her and the next, she was gone?

I saw a pastor at the humble home of a woman in despair after learning her daughter had been picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Without being able to speak her language or fully understand her, he was there. He practiced the seemingly simple task of being present, or what some would call the “ministry of presence.”

The pastor spoke with the lawyer and was able to find out what he and the congregation could do to help. The lawyer explained the only thing that could be done was to get letters to present to the judge to show the “good” and “moral” character of this individual and how she is not a threat to the community. The lawyer said letters from pastors carry more weight in the eyes of the judge than normal community members—a small but powerful reminder of our power within our communities.

Acting when action is needed

The hearing was the next week; we had to act quickly. We had to scramble to get the letters written, notarized, scanned, emailed and mailed, while also getting other important documents to the lawyer who lives three hours away in the city where the woman’s daughter was detained.

Through all of this, the church was able to be a resource for this mother. The church paid to help her get the birth certificates; they supported her by getting pastors and community members to write letters; they assisted in gathering all the letters and documents and sending them in one shipment to the lawyer and scanning everything to him on time. At the same time, they provided support, love and care to this mother in distress.

I also advocated on her behalf and wrote my letter. However, since I was out of town, I had to find a notary, decide how to pay for these services, and find a printer and scanner since I did not have one with me.

The small things are big

The trouble I went through in doing something as simple as sending a letter helped me recognize congregations can be huge assets to their congregants who are undocumented by helping with simple things like scanning a document or making a copy.

We often think we must understand all the intricacies of the immigration system in order to help our undocumented neighbors. Simply using a printer can make the difference in the reunification of a family.

Is your church able to assist in these small but significant ways? Do you see this simple action as a way of advocating for or serving your community?

Who would have ever thought a simple and ordinary device many congregations have—a copier that scans and sends emails—could be such a powerful tool to advocate for the most vulnerable in their community?

This woman’s church was able to be a resource by writing letters, getting things notarized, providing her a printer so she could have other sponsors email their letters to be printed, pay for the birth certificates she needed to obtain, and scan and mail all the documents to arrive at the lawyer in time. Small actions made a huge impact in the life of this family.

While your church also should take big actions of advocacy—do big things—don’t underestimate the influence of the little things. If all your church has is a printer that scans, you have a powerful tool to advocate for and serve your community.

Nataly Mora is pursuing a Master of Divinity and Master of Social Work at Baylor University and Truett Theological Seminary. She is an intern at the Center for Church & Community Impact and a pastor at Park Lake Drive Baptist Church in Waco. The views expressed are those solely of the author.

Sixteen-year-old Spencer Smith took his own life in his bedroom after an emotional spiral his father says began when his football team could not play in the fall because of COVID.

His father documented the changes that progressed over the months from August to December, when Spencer was found dead in his room. He was an honor student, happy, the life of the party, outgoing and loving life.

However, when the much-anticipated football season was canceled, Spencer’s downward spiral began. He struggled with online learning, missed the camaraderie of his team and his classmates. Slowly, not fully realizing the dark places Spencer had gone, it ended with his suicide.

Spencer’s story is becoming all too common in these COVID days.

Being more vigilant than usual

Parents need to be more vigilant during these days and literally study their children.

The world of school-aged children is wrapped up in the whole experience of school. We often think of the grades and their learning, but we are seeing with renewed understanding how powerful the whole school experience is to help our children grow, connect and learn. When the known school experience stops or is reduced to a lone teacher on a screen, it often will affect the student negatively.

What do parents need to look for? Plummeting grades, lack of concentration, increased distractibility, apathy, sadness and depression.

When our children seem less happy, less motivated, less engaged with the rest of the family, more isolated in their room, it is time to have a conversation about what is happening within the child.

Recognize most children are not experts at describing their feelings or moods. So, we patiently help them to share what is going on.

Similar to the Likert scale used in pain management, a simple chart can be made and hung on the refrigerator, a door or wall. It can ask a simple question: “Please show where you are on the scale: Very Sad—Sad—Not sad or happy—Happy.” It can be filled in daily by everyone in the house as a check in.

If we are seeing our child become less happy, engaged or motivated, it may be time to visit the family doctor or pediatrician who has been the child’s primary care provider. It would not be inappropriate to schedule a visit with a counselor who works with the age of children you have.

Talking about suicide

When children reach age 8 or above, it is wise to talk with them about suicide, especially if there has been a suicide at their school.

Talking about suicide does not give a child ideas. Rather, it helps provide information, build trust between the parent and child, and reassure the parent. Nothing is so troubling as when our kids go silent.

After you have a conversation with your child, process what your child said. Then, if action needs to be taken, decide if one of the above options is needed.

If your child has a phone, add the national suicide hotline to their contacts—1-800-273-8255. It is a resource you’ve provided, along with your permission to use it. You might also say: “If you need to talk to someone about how you are feeling, call this number. After you do, I hope you will trust me enough to let me know you talked to someone and need more help.”

Some of the ways children speak about suicide are with noncommittal phrases like: “I don’t want to be here anymore,” “I am tired of living like this,” or “I just want to die.”

Most experts who work with suicide prevention ask three key questions: “Have you thought about suicide?” “How often do you find yourself thinking of suicide?” “If you were going to kill yourself, do you have a plan?”

If a child answers “yes” to any of those questions—especially if the child says he or she is thinking more often about suicide—contacting a primary care provider or counselor is recommended.

Reducing your child’s stress

Here are some positive steps that may help lessen the stress of these days.

A growing body of evidence suggests kids are less likely to get sick from COVID. A smaller group of buddies can be hosted at homes where good COVID practices are practiced.

Kids are helped by getting outside to ride bikes, exercise, walk or simply sit out in the sun when weather permits. Being outside in the sun helps us physically, emotionally and mentally.

Healthy families have a way of holding up each person in the family when spirits may be low or disappointments high. Families also can plan some special family activities, like a homemade pizza night, a game night, or watching a special TV program the whole family enjoys.

Worshiping together—whether online or in person—can be powerful, reminding us all to anchor ourselves in the love and strength of God. A shared meal afterward can be used to process the worship and message, helping everyone find something meaningful from the experience.

It is also good to talk with other parents about how their kids are doing and things they have found to boost the spirits of their children.

We all are in this together. Almost no one will be left unaffected by these COVID days, which should encourage us to be more considerate, thoughtful and united.

Wash your hands, wear your double mask for others, mind the gap, get vaccinated when you can, and be kind.

*******

For a post related to adults and families in general, click here.

Michael Chancellor is a licensed professional counselor in Round Rock, Texas. The views expressed are those solely of the author.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, many want to know how long this can go on. In Part 1, we focused on Psalm 13 and considered two big ideas about how the Psalms help us in these difficult times. Here, we consider three more big ideas.

3. Praying the Psalms can strengthen our relationships.

One of the first lessons Scripture teaches us is it isn’t good for us to be alone. This truth is not only biblical; it’s scientifically proven. Loneliness depresses our spirits and harms our bodies. Lonely people are at higher risk for heart disease, obesity, anxiety, weakened immune systems and cognitive decline.

This is part of why COVID is taking such a toll. We see it with children cut off from their friends and senior adults isolated in nursing home rooms. A key factor determining resilience in the face of adversity is the presence of relationships.

Psychologists today recognize what the psalmists knew thousands of years ago. As Christopher Cook and Nathan White note in their essay in The Oxford Textbook of Public Mental Health, talking regularly with God equips us to cope with and rebound from life’s traumas.

Praying the Psalms strengthens our relationship with God. Prayer implies you think God can hear you, even if you feel like God’s hiding God’s face. It also implies you think God can do something about the problem.

When the need for social distancing imposes solitude on us for an indefinite length of time, the “communion of the saints” can become a literal Godsend. Praying the Psalms is a way to join together—albeit remotely—with the untold millions who have prayed and are praying these words. You are not alone in these thoughts; you are not alone in your prayers.

In her book Living through Pain, Kristin Swenson writes: “Reading [Psalms] … is to discover that what may seem to be unbearably unprecedented suffering actually has company and sympathy in a shared human condition. Listening to these ancient poems may round off the cruel edge of loneliness that pain can bring.”

As we read Psalms, we are not just listening to ancient testimonies of suffering and celebration. We are joining our voice with the chorus.

I find particular comfort in remembering one of those choral voices is the incarnate Jesus—our high priest who can sympathize fully with our human experience (Hebrews 4:15). When we pray the Psalms, we are not alone.

4. Praying the Psalms reorients us.

The Psalms teach us to yell, curse and blame. They also teach us honest lament is the means by which we can—and ultimately should—move into genuine praise.

Psalm 13 begins with brutal honesty about the psalmist’s negative emotions, then turns to praise at verse 5, with no indication the psalmist’s situation has changed.

But I have trusted in your faithful love.
My heart will rejoice in your salvation.
Yes, I will sing to the Lord
because he has been good to me (Psalm 13:5-6, CEB).

The movement of the whole book of Psalms leads us in this reorienting turn.

Most of the psalms at the beginning of the Psalter are individual laments, shifting gradually to community praise toward the end of the book. Lament shouldn’t be rushed—a few psalms never make it to praise—and lament never completely goes away. But the ultimate destination of prayer is praise.

Part of how the Psalms lead us to praise is by reminding us of God’s character and past actions. Psalm 13:5–6 reminds us God is characterized by faithful love, goodness and salvation. Psalms about creation, God’s wisdom, God’s kingship, and how God delivered, provided and loved in the past all serve as reorienting reminders.

5. Praying the Psalms helps us tell and remember our story.

The Psalms give us the words to pray when we don’t have words. Their reminders about God’s character and work help us see how our experiences fit into the larger story of God and God’s relationship with God’s people. All of this means praying the Psalms helps us figure out how to tell our own story, how to make sense of who we are, and how to find our purpose in the midst of life’s challenges.

Telling our story is not just cathartic. It’s another key part of healing from trauma of any kind and building the resilience to survive whatever the world throws at us. The good news is, the more you tell your story, the more you strengthen your resilience.

The Psalter not only sets the example of telling our stories to ourselves and to God, it also models sharing our stories with our communities. These ancient prayers are deeply personal and imminently relatable. For thousands of years, they have been sung and prayed as testimonies to the fact we are not alone, no matter how alone we feel.

Conclusion

In one of the great mysteries of inspiration and revelation, the words of those crying out to God have become God’s words to us in the book of Psalms—a grammar for how to pray, a script for when we don’t know what to say, and a reminder we are not alone in the struggles of life in the world.

As you pray the Psalms, consider what feelings they give you permission to feel, how they connect you to God and to others, the ways they reorient your perspective on your situation, and how they help you understand your story and how it fits within God’s larger story.

*******

God is the great healer. One of the ways God brings healing is through the gifting and training of mental health professionals. I strongly encourage you to take advantage of these human resources. I also invite you to take comfort—and hopefully some healing—from the ancient words of the Psalter as we face the ongoing challenges of COVID-19.

Rebecca Poe Hays is assistant professor of Christian Scriptures at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary. The views expressed are those solely of the author.

How long? How long can this go on?

This question is often repeated in conversations I’ve had with family, friends, students and colleagues weighed down by the global pandemic.

Our professional lives have been disrupted because of working remotely, or because we are one of the millions who have lost jobs. Our social lives have been decimated, and our relationships with those in our own households are strained from being cooped up together for months under these stressful conditions.

The Centers for Disease Control has released data indicating the pandemic has negatively affected the mental and/or behavioral health of 40 percent of all those surveyed, with more than a quarter of young adults aged 18–24 having contemplated suicide because of COVID-19 and its seemingly endless shadow.

Our spiritual lives are not immune from COVID stressors. Most of us have not been to a “normal” church service for almost a year. Small groups have had to learn to strengthen their lives together via Zoom, while children shriek in the background and eyes glaze over from hours already spent on a screen. Some of our most senior church members grieve the realization they might never get a chance to go back to church without fear.

Pastoral staff agonize over how to be the body of Christ with social distancing, capacity limits and the responsibility not to put congregants at undue risk, while facing harsh criticism no matter what they decide.

While we ask, “How long?” in response to a new coronavirus, the question is an old one that echoes throughout the book of Psalms. For thousands of years, this “prayerbook of the Bible” has given voice to many of the emotions with which we currently struggle.

A few big ideas about the Psalms can help us embrace more fully this gift of Scripture as a resource for healing and resilience.

1. Foundationally, the Psalter is God teaching us how we can and should pray.

Psalms is a collection of songs and prayers. God has transformed these human words to God into God’s words to humanity—into sacred Scripture. That means God is using this ancient collection of prayers to teach us how to pray.

I often tell my students the Psalter is “the original Lord’s Prayer.” The very structure of the book of Psalms signals its pedagogical function. The five-book division of the Psalms echoes the five books of Moses that gave instruction on how to live as God’s people. Psalm 1 is a “torah psalm,” or a psalm about God’s instruction. It establishes all the following psalms as part of God’s instruction.

If we are to take seriously the authority Scripture bears, then we need to take seriously the ways God is teaching us to pray in the Psalms, even the ways of praying that make us uncomfortable.

2. God teaches us to be brutally honest about our emotional and spiritual state.

The Trauma Healing Institute, which partners with ministries around the globe to help bring healing to those suffering from various forms of trauma, has produced a free resource titled “Healing from the Distress of the COVID-19 Crisis.” Though not intended to be exhaustive, this resource identifies five feelings the pandemic stress is causing—helplessness, anger, fear, loss and isolation.

In just the opening four verses of Psalm 13, the psalmist screams out to the heavens all of these emotions.

How long will you forget me, Lord? Forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long will I be left to my own wits,
agony filling my heart? Daily?
How long will my enemy keep defeating me?

Look at me!
Answer me, Lord my God!
Restore sight to my eyes!
Otherwise, I’ll sleep the sleep of death,
and my enemy will say, “I won!”
My foes will rejoice over my downfall (Psalm 14:1-4, CEB).

The initial fourfold repetition of “how long” (vv. 1–2) echoes the question many are asking these days and suggests deep pain has moved beyond eloquence. The desperate cry for rescue (v. 3a) comes from one who is helpless and incapable of managing all that’s going on around him.

The repetition and harsh demands reflect anger at the God who inexplicably lets the pain continue and fear that God truly will abandon him. The psalmist’s pleas for God to restore his sight (v. 3b) imply loss.

The entire lament implies a deep sense of physical, social and spiritual isolation.

The psalmist doesn’t pull any punches. He names what he is experiencing, and he feels like it’s God’s fault it’s all happening. While we may feel uncomfortable acknowledging our helplessness, anger, fear, loss and isolation, naming our experience is critically important for healing.

“The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem” is cliché because it’s true. The Psalms give us permission to own our darkest moments fully, to curse enemies, to blame God, and to articulate our despair in our prayers.

*******

God is the great healer. One of the ways God brings healing is through the gifting and training of mental health professionals. I strongly encourage you to take advantage of these human resources. I also invite you to take comfort—and hopefully some healing—from the ancient words of the Psalter as we face the ongoing challenges of COVID-19.

*******

We will consider three more big ideas about the Psalms in Part 2.

Rebecca Poe Hays is assistant professor of Christian Scriptures at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary. The views expressed are those solely of the author.

Many churches recognize the importance of utilizing traditional hymns in corporate worship, and hymnals remain valuable sources of such historic Christian songs. However, in an internet age, some worship planners are unsure how to use a hymnal effectively. Here are some ways to use hymnals as you plan a service:

1. Use hymnals as a one-stop service planning resource. The arrangement of most hymnals reflects the shape of the gospel or another thematic organization, allowing service planners to locate songs easily that will fit a particular Bible passage, service function or topic. Most hymnals contain topical and Scripture indices that can help you find a suitable song, or you simply can browse in a specific section to find ideas of songs that respond well to the week’s sermon or emphasize the service theme.

2. Utilize hymnals as a testimony of how Christians historically have responded to God’s truth. You’ll find songs from as far back as fourth-century North Africa, through the Reformation, English Separatism and early America, reflecting unified worship through diverse circumstances. Use hymnals to draw from the worship expressions of Christians through the ages, which will help broaden your worship vocabulary beyond your limited experiences and help your church join its voices with those of Christians before us.

3. Recognize hymnals have been carefully curated to include only songs that have endured through wide use by many churches. Especially in a day when anyone can write a song and publish it online, hymnals provide the wisdom of others to help you discern the best scripturally sound and musically singable songs. Further, by using the indicated hymn meters, you can find a text that fits your service well and match it to a tune your congregation already knows.

4. Utilize hymnals’ balanced diversity of song types and themes. Hymnal editors intentionally include a wide variety of songs that express praise, repentance, trust, dedication and thanksgiving in different styles from chorales to carols. Use a hymnal to protect you from theological or musical tunnel vision and to help you ensure a variety of focus in what your church sings.

5. Use hymnals as a portable collection of the best devotional literature. Consider providing hymnals for your church families to use at home. Let them know new songs you will introduce at a later date, and ask them to begin singing them at home. You can also publish the songs for next week ahead of time and encourage them to prepare during the week.

As you choose songs for your church to sing, don’t forget the hymnal. Used knowledgably, a good hymnal can be a valuable resource to help you find biblically rich songs, rooted in church history and edifying for your congregation.

Scott Aniol is associate professor of church music and worship at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. A version of this article originally appeared in the fall 2020 issue of Southwestern News. The views expressed are those solely of the author.

It’s no secret: We live in an age of unprecedented political turmoil, with last week’s storming of the Capitol serving as yet another blatant reminder of the fractured state of our Union.

At no point in recent history have Americans been more opposed to one another, unwilling to sit down at the tables of peace or commonality. Instead, folks are choosing to wage a war of vitriol and misinformation over social media and amidst family gatherings.

For those in ministry, the challenge continues to grow. Speak out too much, and suddenly the pastor is ostracized. Don’t speak at all, and the shepherd risks allowing sin or hatred to run rampant among the flock.

Love and serve everyone on all sides of the various spectrums, and perhaps the minister will be accused of being “too moderate” or “without conviction” for simply doing his or her best in these days of heightened emotionalism and scrutiny.

When considering how to approach our disheartening political arena, I would encourage us to look to Jesus, who offers us a better way forward and sympathizes with us as we navigate this hostile political landscape. Jesus had to navigate faithful Christian leadership in a toxic political climate, just like us.

Political turmoil in Jesus day

When describing the political unrest that pervaded much of first-century Judea, including Jesus’ home region of Galilee, many biblical scholars use the word “hotbed.”

While Americans find themselves between two powerful political parties battling for supremacy, Jesus found himself in a land where a multitude of groups vied for political influence. Not only were four Jewish groups—Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes and the radical anti-Roman Zealots—fighting for control, various Roman governors and entities were attempting to assert their dominance as well.

Citizens weren’t categorically and superficially judged only by which Jewish political “party” they were associated with, but also by their sentiments toward Rome, which province they were from, and their worship practices.

On top of the political complexity were unjust social structures of classism, racism and sexism nearly impossible for our modern minds to comprehend.

In context, the term “hotbed” sounds like an understatement. The socio-political landscape Christ lived through was far messier than ours.

The stakes of this first-century political battleground were higher than ours, too. The Judean people were—for all intents and purposes—serfs of the Roman Empire. The punishment for insurrection, malice or ill will against the Roman Empire was death—specifically, death by tortuous crucifixion. To find oneself on the wrong end of the political spectrum in this climate wasn’t just scandalous; it was dangerous.

The Incarnate God who understands

Jesus relates to us as we work through our own tense political time and place in history, because he lived in one, too.

Hebrews 4:15 considers the impact of Christ’s humanity. The writer declares: “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

Jesus understands every fragility, imperfection and woe of human life as we know it. He sympathizes with us and holds grace for our weaknesses even as we attempt to discern best leadership practices during this tenuous political moment in American history.

We know the story. Our Lord died on a cross, despite Pontius Pilate’s judiciary declaration of innocence. At the end of the day, both the elites of the Jewish bureaucracy and Roman leaders like governor Herod Antipas wanted Jesus dead, because he threatened their political power.

Faithful as ever to his Father, Jesus spoke the truth, loved all who he encountered, and set his sights on the eternal kingdom of heaven rather than the political entrapments around him. Often, this brought him necessarily into conflict with the political players of the day.

Perhaps our faithfulness to Jesus, our commitment to tell the truth and our effort to love all whom we encounter necessarily pits us against the political players of our day as well.

We, too, can face today’s political challenges

When we set our sights on the kingdom of heaven rather than the political entrapments around us, it often leads to what Tim Keller describes as political homelessness. We necessarily will butt up against both sides of the American political establishment.

This is the reality many pastors are afraid to grasp—the gospel is inherently political. When Jesus demands we each pick up our cross and follow, it includes sacrificing the comfort of political apathy and the safety of bipartisan conformity.

The lifestyle Jesus demands is inherently countercultural. I’m confused why many Baptists are quick to embrace the idea of being countercultural, yet fit squarely without second thought into either American political party. I have no doubt, if Jesus walked among us today, he’d rub against the platform of both Republicans and Democrats with something radically different.

May I challenge us, Christian leaders, to do the same, to remain faithful to Jesus over the priorities of the political powers?

Thanks be to God, none of us face crucifixion for any political alignment or misalignment we articulate. But we certainly face public backlash, departing church members and questions concerning our call to the ministry.

Jesus, the Incarnate God, has words for us in this season: “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man.” (Luke 6:22 ESV)

Jesus did not fall squarely into any political party of his day, and neither should we. Perhaps that is how we are charged to imitate him in this season. The resurrected Christ sympathizes with our struggle to “do justice, love mercy and walk humbly” (Micah 6:8) in a country where that, in and of itself, is a political statement.

Scotty Swingler is the associate pastor and youth pastor of First Baptist Church in El Campo, Texas, where he lives with his wife Ambree. He is a graduate of Baylor University and George W. Truett Theological Seminary. The views expressed are those solely of the author.

For Christians desiring to pursue racial justice—particularly white Christians—the time is ripe.

As a minister, you likely have different groups of people in your church—those who are just learning about racial injustice, those who don’t believe there is racial injustice, and those who want the church to do something about racial injustice.

There are the unaware, the ashamed, the angry and the vocal. The angry often demand less attention to racial injustice; the vocal often demand more attention.

Many ministers find themselves caught in the middle. They are learning as they lead. They want to address matters of race but may not be sure how, or how to do so productively.

How can ministers shepherd those seeking answers, those feeling guilty, those who are angry and those who want the church to seek justice?

The unaware

Many white Christians have never heard or read a preacher or theologian who isn’t white. Theologians like Esau McCaulley and Richard Twiss, while making harsh criticisms of white Christianity, are important voices for congregations to hear from the whole body of Christ about how the gospel relates to racial justice.

Book studies of works by McCaulley, Twiss or others such as Howard Thurman can help bring awareness to the unaware. The following books also are helpful: Rediscipling the White Church by David Swanson, White Too Long by Robert Jones and Be the Bridge by Latasha Morrison. Phil Vischer—of Veggie Tales fame—offers a short video titled “Race in America.”

The ashamed

When I and others became aware of the church’s involvement in racial injustice, a sense of guilt was common. It is natural and good to lament injustice. However, when dealing with racial injustice, it is important for ministers to keep conversations from centering on what white people are feeling.

Focusing on the discomfort white people feel about racial injustice moves attention to soothing white people instead of toward repentance and pursuing justice. It also does the double harm of alienating people of color, pushing them to the periphery of the conversation, while negating their pain.

It is vital to give people space to grieve over injustice while also allowing lament to push people toward righteousness.

The angry

There also are white people in your congregation who are angry and confused. They believe racism is a thing of the past and are frustrated by protests in the street, the attention it is paid by professional sports leagues, and social media debates about Black Lives Matter.

They are indignant about being called a racist, because their idea of a racist is someone who doesn’t have Black friends. They have had only good experiences with police and are angry about people painting the police in a bad light.

Some are mad because their places of worship have given space to social discussions they see as dangerous. They wonder why nobody wants to pay attention to what they view as the real problems, such as abortion, crime and broken families.

For some ministers, it is tempting to argue with an angry person when he or she comes to the office seeking council. However, arguing will not change a person’s mind; it will position you as the opponent.

Instead, seek to listen and understand the underlying issues. This person could be experiencing fear over changes in the culture or in their personal life. This fear could be manifesting itself in resentment toward racial justice movements.

Perhaps this person is afraid of being called a racist; so, they refuse to accept any view in which they might fit the description of a racist. Or perhaps they are afraid of admitting they are wrong and damaging their pride.

Ministers should seek to understand the underlying cause of the problem and help counsel individuals through those issues before tackling any racist ideas a person may hold. If the underlying problem is that the person is racist, it is necessary to continue to meet with him or her for discipleship and education, unless it is actively harmful to do so. It is important not to let this person’s opinion or concerns dissuade you from proclaiming the gospel that includes freedom for the oppressed (Luke 4:18).

The vocal

What do you do when someone comes to you and expresses pain over his or her church’s silence?

First, it is important to hear the complaint, rather than jumping to the church’s defense. Chances are, the complaint extends beyond merely the local church and beyond you.

Second, help the person regain perspective about the goodness of God. The church has been justifying racist beliefs and practices based on misreading of Scripture for centuries. People can become disillusioned by the church and God, whose name is used to condone the church’s involvement in racism.

It is important to help people seek the true God, and not racist caricatures, by pointing them to the person of Jesus Christ, the full image of the loving God. This should be coupled with calls for justice within the church on Sunday morning.

The long, hard road

Navigating issues of racial justice is not an easy task. You will not be able to please everyone within the congregation. But a pastor cannot just preach about the issues on Sunday and hope things work themselves out in the congregation.

Pastors and other ministers must engage the congregation and help people process how racial injustice has been perpetuated by white churches against minority churches in America—despite how much we might not want to acknowledge it. This means listening to the pain of those who have felt the church has been silent too long. It means pointing them to the God who hears the cry of the forgotten and sees them.

This means helping people harness their lament into action for God’s kingdom. It means having difficult conversations with people who oppose racial justice due to anger or confusion, while not catering to their harmful belief systems.

And remember: This is not a process that happens overnight. It requires consistent hard work and vulnerability, but it is work worth doing.

Adam Jones is pursuing a Master of Divinity degree with a concentration in theology at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary and intends to pursue pastoral ministry. The views expressed are those solely of the author.

In Part 1, I discussed stagnation and decline in the American church and what some churches are doing to combat it. I also shared three of seven pitfalls of church growth.

Here, I will wrap up the seven pitfalls of church growth based on the seven pitfalls to sustainable growth within companies outlined by Bill George in his book on corporate leadership titled Authentic Leadership.

4. Failure to recognize technology and marker changes

In September 2000, Blockbuster video CEO John Antico met with Netflix co-founders Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings. In that meeting, Randolph and Hastings offered to sell Netflix to Blockbuster for $50 million. Antico turned down the deal. Antico saw a bright future for Blockbuster, but that future did not include an online presence or platform. In 2010, Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy, and Netflix is currently worth around $194 billion.

This story perfectly illustrates George’s fourth potential pitfall. Companies that “become wedded to the technology that has led to their success” end up “[missing] the emerging technology that will supplant their products because it appears trivial to them.”

Companies must keep one eye on the horizon and one on the frontier to see changes in trends and markets. Otherwise, they will become a Blockbuster in a Netflix world.

Our churches exist in a context and a culture, usually several overlapping contexts and cultures. These contexts and cultures are constantly changing, challenging our churches to adapt. If churches’ leaders fail to see and understand changes in context and culture, then the inevitable consequence will be continual marginalization.

As church leaders, we must learn to incarnate the mission of the church within its context and culture. We always must be learning how to live Christ into the culture.

Many times, the upcoming generation is suited best to lead in this incarnational way. In Growing Young: 6 Essential Strategies to Help Young People Discover and Love Your Church, the authors call on leaders to be intentional about giving away their “keys” to younger generations. By keys, the authors mean “the capabilities, power, and access” leaders possess.

“If you are willing to entrust your keys to young people,” they write,” they will trust you with their ears, their energies, their creativity, and even their friends.”

In turn, our next generation will help the church see the changes occurring within our culture and context.

5. Changing strategy without changing culture

“Many growth companies, sensing changes in their markets, adapt their strategies to changing market conditions, but fail to change their organization’s culture,” George writes.

A company cannot, for example, decide their future is internet sales but still resource, market, speak a language, and hire and train employees as if their future is brick-and-mortar stores.

Church leaders can fail to change culture, because they fail to understand properly the culture of their particular local church. Therefore, church leaders continually change strategy instead of changing culture.

Churches, like ethnicities and nations, have a culture. Churches have a way they do things, a language they speak, and an overall story that defines their collective life together. If a leader fails to understand these and other key points of culture, changes in strategy won’t last or be effective.

How can church leaders address culture? One of Timothy Keller’s observations in Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City helps us understand how.

According to Keller, culture changes when multiple groups of people work together to solve a problem or serve in a new way.

Sometimes a church leader can match community needs to church cultural strength. Leaders can ask: “What is the strength of the culture already in place? And where is a community need that can be addressed through that strength?”

Where a disconnect exists between community need and church culture, the church culture must change. A church cannot merely sit on the sidelines until a need arises that matches the culture already in place.

Changing the culture takes networking the whole church across ministries and ages to work together toward change. This process can be slow and challenging. Culture, Keller writes: “doesn’t change easily or without a fight. But it can, in the end, be changed.”

6. Going outside your core competencies

Hopefully, every business has a reason for existing. This reason for existing probably aligns with the purpose for which the business was created in the first place. If the company has been able to remain in business, this purpose most likely is its core competency. When a company goes outside its core competency, George believes it sets itself up for crisis and failure.

Not every church has to be the best at everything, but every church does something best. Out of all the ministries within a church, there is something a church does better than others. Perhaps it is evangelism, Sunday school or small groups, or visiting people in a nursing home. Whatever the church does best we can think of as its core competency.

In the same way companies leave their core competencies to try to compete in new markers, churches can leave their core competencies to compete with the church down the street. When a church leader sees a “competing” church having success, the temptation is to copy whatever is successful—even if it falls outside the church’s core competency.

Church leaders need to lead their churches to be who they are and not try to be who they are not.

7. Counting on acquisitions for growth

George notes some companies become “dependent upon acquisitions for growth.” By acquisitions, George means purchasing other companies or product lines. This can be dangerous, because a company “that relies entirely on acquisitions runs a real danger of making the wrong purchase or paying too much for a new target.”

Company spending on purchases can lead to a shortage of funds “required for internal growth.” If a company overpays on a purchase that ends up underperforming, it has the potential to be catastrophic if the company has failed to invest in their internal growth.

This author has never heard of a church buying members, but there are churches that rely solely on numerical additions of those moving from one church to another, while failing to invest internally in transformation leading to new believers in Christ.

As with a company, a church that targets numerical additions via “church hopping” probably is not investing in teaching evangelism or making disciples. Therefore, the church is failing to be who God has called it to be.

As a church leader, I know you want your church to grow as men, women and children hear and respond to the message of the gospel. As our churches seek to follow God into a new year, we must remember it is God, through Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit, who causes the church to grow. The church is God’s church, after all.

As we join with God through preaching, ministry, outreach and discipleship, let’s keep our eyes open and watch out for these pitfalls, so we do not create barriers to the growth God desires for his church.

Ryan Vanderland is senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Electra. This article is adapted from “Pitfalls and Prophetic Imagination” by Vanderland. The views expressed are those solely of the author.

One of the most discussed and analyzed trends within the American church has been the steady decline in church attendance.

One Gallup study compared church involvement between 1998 to 2000 to church involvement between 2016 to 2018. The study found church attendance decreased across every age group, and overall church attendance decreased 20 percentage points “since 1999 [with] more than half of that change occurring since [2010].”

Other research confirms Gallup’s findings. A Pew Research Center study found in 2009, 52 percent of Americans said they attended a church service at least once or twice a month. In 2019, that number fell to 45 percent.

Declines also have been seen among Baptists. A June 2020 report from the Southern Baptist Convention disclosed a 2 percent loss in membership and a 4 percent loss in baptisms over the previous year. The 2 percent drop in membership represents 288,000 individuals.

This stagnation and decline have led to a plurality of church growth books, programs and conferences. These resources are well-intentioned. Every pastor and church member desires for the church to grow as the message of the gospel is proclaimed throughout the world, as well as for his or her local church to grow as the gospel spreads within the local community.

However, one question we must ask is: Should we try anything and everything in order to produce growth? Or are there dangers and pitfalls we need to watch out for?

Pitfalls of church growth

Let’s examine seven pitfalls of church growth based on the seven pitfalls to sustainable growth within companies outlined by Bill George in his book on corporate leadership titled Authentic Leadership.

Admittedly, we must be cautious about making parallels between the principles of a profitable business and the principles of a healthy church. Arthur Boers urges us in his book Servants and Fools: A Biblical Theology of Leadership to be cautious in this area, while admitting “there is much to learn from the business world, even matters we had better learn.”

We want to listen to George, a Christian writing to business leaders, and hear what principles he has for the church.

1. Lack of a clear mission

George says, “The most frequent reason companies get into trouble is trying to grow without a well-understood mission.”

Without a properly defined and understood mission, companies eventually cease to exist. The company may still have a building, employees and a product, but it has no purpose and therefore no clarity about “what [the] company stands for or where it is going.”

When a company has no clarity about its purpose, leaders have no guiding principles for how decisions are made. They end up navigating aimlessly until employees, customers or shareholders give up and leave to seek the missing mission.

As Christians and church leaders, we should understand this longing for mission, because as Scott Sunquist wrote in Understanding Christian Mission: Participation in Suffering and Glory, mission “is from the heart of God.” Mission is a part of God’s character, and as human beings created in the image of God, we know we are drawn to work bigger than ourselves.

Just like some companies, churches can lack a clear mission. In one sense, the mission of every church is the same. It is what we read in Matthew 28:19-20 and Acts 1:8.

Churches become aimless in carrying out their biblical mission when they fail to contextualize the biblical mission to their local situation. In other words, they fail to localize the Great Commission.

To localize and contextualize involves our churches asking a few basic, yet vital questions: Who constitutes my local community? What are their spiritual needs? What can our church do to engage them with the gospel in images and with a language they understand?

2. Understanding your core business

The second pitfall George outlines that stunts growth in corporations is “underestimating the growth potential of your primary business.” When a company’s market share in a particular product begins to stagnate or decline, many see this as a sign the company must transition to another product to maintain profitability.

Instead of abandoning the core business, George encourages corporate leaders to think creatively to find growth opportunities within their core business.

The core business of the church, given by Jesus in Matthew 28:19-20, is to make disciples. Dallas Willard defines discipleship as becoming “apprentices [of Jesus] in eternal living.”

Making disciples—or apprentices of Jesus—involves adding new believers to the church and helping current believers grow in maturity. In the same way companies move on to new products if they see their market share stagnate or decline, church leaders will abandon unfruitful evangelism and discipleship efforts and seek another product to offer.

Churches may turn their attention to the products of worship music, building aesthetics or promotional gimmicks. If, however, we see discipleship as developing apprentices of Jesus, we never can cease or transition from that core business. Church leaders must become creative in ways to promote growth within all parts of the body.

3. Depending on a single product line

As dangerous as abandoning its core business can be to a company, companies also can be “so invested in the success of their core business that they allocate no funds to creating new businesses.”

When a product’s market share stagnates or declines, George calls for creativity in order to find new markets for the product. The reality, however, is the business still must be financially viable. If a company has no other products “when the slowdown occurs, it is too late to broaden their strategy, and they are forced to curtail investments in order to survive.”

For most churches, the product requiring the most time, money and energy is the Sunday morning worship service. Though our core business is making disciples, in practical terms, the Sunday morning worship service often takes its place.

The worship service becomes the single product line church leaders believe will bring growth to the church. When this fails or ceases to produce the expected results, churches have too much invested in this one product line to broaden their strategy.

Church leaders must understand two truths. First, the church is called to make disciples. That is our calling and our assignment. Second, discipleship involves a wholistic strategy.

A holistic discipleship strategy involves building discipling relationships. Those relationships simply cannot be built within in the “single product line” of the Sunday morning worship service.

We will look at the remaining four pitfalls in Part 2.

Ryan Vanderland is senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Electra. This article is adapted from “Pitfalls and Prophetic Imagination” by Vanderland. The views expressed are those solely of the author.

As we wait for healing and solutions to the distress of the coronavirus pandemic, we seek revival like the people of God sought during the time of the prophets.

We desperately search for stories of God working, despite the little we have or the sickness we are trying to understand.

How is the church responding? How should the church respond? Who are the prophets of our time, and how are they responding to the call of God?

Congregations around the country are seeking to answer these questions in new and unique ways. In Waco, as elsewhere, many institutions have responded to COVID-19, seeking fresh ways to love their neighbor like Christ would have us do.

Responding with what we have

We cannot escape the consequences of COVID-19 on those around us. I recently met a new friend at a café who was wearing a feminine pad as a mask so she could gain access to places in Waco. I had some extra disposable masks and was able to give her one. I do not know this friend’s story, but I do know an extra burden has been placed on many people because of the pandemic.

This friend was being innovative in her own way, using what she had to address the new standards related to the pandemic. I was able to come alongside her with what I had—a disposable mask—and meet the need of this new friend.

I know I often feel like I do not have much to give, but I was reminded: All have something to offer when we are in tune with those around us and the Spirit who guides us.

When the prophet Elijah went to the home of a widow, God was able to bless what she had and sustain her and her son (1 Kings 17).

Innovation does not require much. Whatever we have, most of us have more than we think.

Local churches working together

In Waco during the wake of the pandemic, a major opportunity for service was presented. Families were receiving food assistance from their local school district, but the school building no longer was open, and these families needed food and other household supplies.

To address this need, local community organizers and congregations started a family resource pantry to deliver food and supplies to families. By September, the work of volunteers—representing seven local congregations—had served more than 500 families and made approximately 1,800 deliveries.

With the family resource pantry, community members were able to bring together what they had and deliver it to their neighbors. What started with an opportunity for service at one school multiplied into a multi-congregation effort to meet the need of many families.

This story represents a couple of important realities: (1) congregations coming together after seeing a specific opportunity with families for a specific period of time, and (2) innovation and creative thinking during a nationwide crisis.

The family resource pantry recently was discussed during an online children’s ministry missions event. The children received the list of items requested for families, along with the challenge to find a few of those items in their homes as quickly as possible. Many of the children were able to find the items in less than a minute.

You know best what is in your home, congregation or context that you can give to meet a need. A need was presented to the children; they looked around for how to meet it and were able to use what they had within their own homes.

Pause, reflect and discern the need

Currently, the family resource pantry is regrouping and reassessing as the pandemic and need extends longer than anticipated. Like them, when looking at opportunities presenting themselves in our community, we need to pause, reflect and discern. Responses like resource pantries are not spur of the moment, but represent years of learning and discernment.

We need such love and innovation now more than ever. We need to pause, reflect and discern what is placed in our hands we can give to our neighbors.

Consider a few simple and profound questions:

• What do you have?
• What does your congregation have?
• What opportunities exist in your community to show your neighbors Christian care and compassion?

Take a look around. See what you have and can give, and how you can help your neighbor.

Jess Gregory was born to missionary parents in South Africa and spent most of her academic career in Lancaster, Penn. She is a current Master of Divinity and Master of Social Work candidate at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary and Garland School of Social Work. She also is an intern at The Center for Church and Community Impact (C3I). The views expressed are those solely of the author.