Strange Days of Great Hope & Opportunity

This is not the first time the Church has had to meet in homes during a crisis.

Illustration of a coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain.

It happened in Moses' day, Elijah's day, and Jesus' day. It happened during the early Church period as well as in the Dark Ages.  It happened during the time of Patrick, the days of Martin Luther, during the time of the Wesley brothers, and during the time of air raids, war, and Holocaust. This is neither new nor something to fear.

We've endured persecution and plagues, several dozen times throughout our history at least: Times when we weren't welcome to meet in larger facilities and times when even being seen meeting with other Christians meant immediate arrest and likely death. And in all those times, the Church has thrived...and grown...exponentially.

In fact, much of what we refer to as the "New Testament" was written as circular letters to groups of Christians meeting in homes who couldn't gather in public places, and about three-fourths of those letters were written by someone who was locked up or under house arrest or even living in exile. Some of the earliest church multipliers in Jesus' day were people delivered from "incurable diseases" and demonic affliction, and rather than welcome them in His entourage (giving them "stage time"), Jesus encouraged them to stay put and instead be a living witness to a life transformed in their immediate family and community.

At its core, we are an ἐκκλησία "ekklesia" (the called out ones). Not the "people who meet in a building," but the people who live and love differently...the people who face adversity with courage and still have enough love to share with others in need. The people willing to speak truth with conviction, whether or not it suits our own best interests, a people who know the difference between what we have a "right" to do and what IS right to do.

We've been a movement since Day 1, and we are at our best when we are creative innovators who find new ways to BE the Church in our culture no matter the challenges. Our confinement to fancy buildings dedicated for church use is a relatively recent invention (and a rather inefficient one at that given the larger) scope of how life change happens).

What an awesome opportunity for the Church #MadeNew to arise!