On Sunday, November 15th, our Lead Pastor shared the thoughts of the elder team with regards to the most recent governmental restrictions in the fight against COVID-19. Those comments can be read below or heard within the teaching, also from November 15th found here.
This morning, I want to start off our time of being formed by the Word of God by speaking about the most recent COVID-19 restrictions. Then, after I address that, we are going to focus on what holds us together in unity, the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The first thing I want to say is that you have done so well in helping maintain the guidelines. So much so that by God’s grace, we have not had any active COVID-19 cases at this church so far. We appreciate you stewarding your lives wisely outside these four walls so that we could be safe within these four walls. That is what makes this most recent restriction difficult. We, as elders, are fatigued, exhausted, and sad, just as many of you are. This last seven months have been trying, to say the least. But even in that, our hope is in Christ, and our eyes are set on an eternal perspective, so we can have the strength to not be tossed to and fro by the situations around us.
Secondly, as much as we wish that we could have a voice in setting government policy as it pertains to our church gatherings, we are unfortunately not in that position. So what we decide to do in the future cannot be as proactive as we would like, but has to, by nature, be reactive to the guidelines presented to us. At the same time, we want to be clear that our decisions as a church that is Jesus ruled, elder led, and congregationally responsible need to be just that, Jesus ruled. And so, I want to remind us of the scriptural principles and truths that have been, and will continue to guide us as your elders.
There have been four major principles that have been at the core of our decision making:
1) Love of one another and others, especially the vulnerable in our church and greater community: “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus…” (Philippians 2:1–5)
2) A willingness to have our own rights impeded to help someone else not stumble over the gospel: (This is a more implicit than explicit principle in the following text) “Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.” (Romans 14:20–21)
3) A desire to obey our King in His command to worship as an assembly: “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:24–25) Notice how this ties back to our first principle of loving one another, it is not just meeting for the sake of meeting.
4) A desire to be obedient to God in submitting to governing authorities: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience.” (Romans 13:1–5)
This last one is extremely important to understand in context. Throughout the early church, as we see in Romans, as well as 1 Corinthians and other epistles, there was an idea that had gripped the church that because the kingdom of God had been inaugurated, Christians could cast aside anything that was an earthly institution. So errant theology started to creep in saying that true Christians could kick aside institutions such as marriage, family, and government in their zeal for God. Paul writes this text in Romans as part of his response to the church during a time of an extremely persecutory government, telling the church that they need to balance there zeal for the law of God with a respect of the law of the God-instituted government. This brings great weight to the decision as to whether or not we submit to the government on any given law or directive.
And so, in yet another emergency elder meeting yesterday, the elder team discussed various options based primarily upon these biblical principles, as well as the practicality and potential risk of all options. The options we looked at hinged on the underlying question of whether we continue to accept these orders as they come, or if we reasonably push back on them.
To push back against the governing authorities, dear friends, is a weighty decision. It is one on which we must be fully assured that it is the absolute right thing to do because it is pitting the obedience of God with regard to meeting together, against the obedience of God with regard to submitting to governing authorities. It is one that we are not taking off the table, but it is also a decision that cannot be rushed, and must be open to wise, loving, and biblical discussion. Once done, it is not possible to reverse. And so we want to follow the biblical truth that a wise person is patient in decision making.
The reason we are even entertaining it is because we so deeply treasure the command to gather, and we want to make sure that we are operating in the fear of God alone, and not the fear of man, in fulfilling our calling to be set apart in love and holiness. At the same time, this season has caused harm in the spiritual, emotional, and mental state of many in our congregation and so we don’t want to flippantly alter our gatherings without thinking about that as well. We need to step above politics and realize that, while their opinions are often contrary, President Trump, Vice President Pence, President-Elect Biden, Vice President-Elect Harris, Governor Brown, and others, are doing what they think is best. And so we pray for them, honor them in our words, and if we come to a wise, loving, and biblical conclusion to push back against any government orders, we will do so in a manner that is respectful and honoring.
This is not a cut and dried situation because this is not a clear case of persecution or limitation solely due to faith practices. If it were, that would be an easier decision. The government has made clear that the imposed limitations on meeting are not due to why we meet, or how we practice our faith, but because of public safety. We have historically submitted to their guidance in public safety prior to the COVID-19 restrictions in areas like building occupancy, building codes, and fire safety. We need to make sure that if we push back, it is because the situation absolutely warrants it in submission to God’s Word.
For all these reasons, we would like to ask for your prayers and patience as we continue to pray and discuss this weighty matter as it not only affects our immediate gathering, but most likely, how we gather over the next 5-24 months as various governmental orders are bound to come and go. Additionally, we would like to hear from all of you in your thoughts on this topic. Proverbs 18:13 says, “If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.” We each, as elders, have individual wisdom and expertise in various pertinent areas, but we want to hear from the body.
And so, to be both wise and patient in our decision making, we are going to be switching to gathering over livestream for the next two Sundays. These will be full services with worship, reading, prayers, and teaching. Then, on December 1st, at 7pm, the elders will be hosting a zoom meeting for any member who would like to ask questions or give comments to us so that we can take it into account as we determine if, or when, it is appropriate in these circumstances, to push back against governmental directives. The link for that meeting will come to you via email this week. Based on that discussion, the elders will communicate out to you all the ongoing strategy of our church for the foreseeable future.
As Discipleship Groups and our Rooted Youth Group are all under the restriction of 25, we will continue to have those groups, with the appropriate restrictions of masks and social distancing, here at the building only, so that there is appropriate airflow and space, and so that it is clear that these are religious meetings. All Discipleship Groups, regardless of previous decisions, now need to schedule to meet here at the building.
As some of our Community Groups are under 25 and some over 25, we are asking you to pause all Community Groups for two weeks and we will take those into account in our final decision on how to move forward. So even if you were scheduled to meet here at the building during the next two weeks, we are asking you to postpone those meetings for Community Groups.
If you have immediate questions or comments that are not able to be held until that meeting on December 1st, you can email elders@missionsalem.com and we will do our best to get back to you. Please recognize that part of loving your brothers or sisters is to realize that there are various and contrary opinions in this body on what we should do, and not everyone thinks like you. Please love each other well by giving grace to one another in this area.
Let’s now take a look at the core of what unites us…The good news of Jesus Christ that transcends generations, governments, pandemics, and anything else…