BAPTIST TEMPLE COVID-19 UPDATE 2

After taking the month of April to learn and prepare, we returned to public worship on May 3. Forty-eight gathered (about half our pre-COVID-19 attendance) for our thirty minute service. We followed health official guidelines. Family groups sat together (six feet apart from the others), every other row of pews was closed, and we all wore masks.

We are taking special care with cleaning but that only lasts as long as it takes for the next person to touch a surface. The best way to ensure personal safety is to wear masks (to prevent the transfer of vapors that carry viruses), don't touch your face (to prevent transfer of viruses you might have picked up from a surface), wash your hands (or sanitize) every time you touch a surface (in case you forget not to touch your face.) Gloves are a good idea, too.

Some people are not yet ready to return to church. The people who returned first tended to be essential workers and those who are OK going to Walmart, etc. It's OK not to be ready. People will return when they feel comfortable. That may take a while for some.

The church has over 2000 years of experience with pandemics, most much worse than this. The church returned to the assembly each time. Baptist Temple will survive this, again.

A more recent experience is 9/11. Remember what flying was like before? We came to accept the new restrictions as part of our lives. I don't know how things will look next May but I know we will adapt. Remember when we didn't wear seat belts?

In the meantime, we are still a church that is functioning effectively in the face of this great challenge. Our phone angels are making sure our people are not forgotten. We are becoming more focused on outreach as our visiting angels are reaching out to folks in our community who are in need. Our admin staff is busier than ever navigating the new spiritual and legal challenges. Our early learning center staff have become heroic in their efforts to care for the children of other essential workers.

Bible study is still being conducted via conference calls but we are prayerfully waiting to discern the best scenario for regathering in person. Perhaps, in the future, we will do both.

Another change is that VBS will not happen in the traditional summer way. We are considering making it part of a fall relaunch of Sunday school. There are better days ahead.

Join us, when you're ready, at 10:55 on Sundays.

Love overcomes fear of disease and death

Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.

“I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”

Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.

Matthew 8:3

A terrible outbreak of leprosy occurred in 19^th Century Hawaii. This disfiguring disease created fear throughout the islands. It's cause was unknown and it was believed to be highly contagious. The police would forcibly remove infected individuals to be quarantined on the isolated peninsula of Molokai. Family members were not allowed to visit and contact with the outside world was limited.

The lepers were expected to fend for themselves. The government provided meager rations and one set of clothes per year. The strong would prey on the weak and, with no hope, many would spend their days in drunken debauchery. The dying would be abandoned to die alone without comfort.

Damien de Veuster was a Roman Catholic missionary priest from Belgium who volunteered to take the gospel to the Hawaiian Islands. When he learned about the lepers of Molokai, he volunteered to move to the colony and minister to the patients' physical and spiritual needs.

Although warned to avoid physical contact, Damien would touch and embrace the lepers, demonstrating love and acceptance. Perhaps, he remembered Matthew 8:3, where Jesus touched and healed a leper. He lead worship, changed their bandages, planted vegetable gardens and built houses and other buildings. He would comfort the dying, dig the graves and build the coffins. His energy and determination brought hope that resulted in the patients becoming his allies in the transformation of their colony.

He tirelessly championed the cause of the people under his care. He would not let them be neglected by government or church authorities. He ensured the dignity and humane treatment of the colony's patients. He labored alone for years but, as word of his work got around, other ministers joined him.

Damien became infected with leprosy and, after sixteen years of serving at Molokai, it would take his life. He was comforted in his last days not only physically by the medical missionaries that had come to the colony but, also, by knowing that care for those he loved would continue.

He is honored by statues in Hawaii Belgium and by movies (Molokai) and books (Father Damien.) The Roman Catholic Church designated him a Saint. Damien is remembered today because of his love for Jesus and the outcasts with whom Jesus identified. Damien's love overcame the fear of disease and death.

The King will reply, “Truly I tell you,

whatever you did for one of the least

of these brothers and sisters of mine,

you did for me.”

Matthew 25:40

A Church of Small Groups

Small group ministry is rooted in the Bible and in church history and has always been a part of church life. Small groups allow a level of intimacy that enables evangelism, spiritual growth and one-another ministry; a level of intimacy that can bring about genuine life change.

Small groups are biblical. Jesus called out twelve to be His disciples. He spent a lot of time with them, taking every opportunity to teach them the principles of kingdom living. They were, then, to go out and make other disciples (Matthew 28:19-20.)
 
The earliest expression of the church is seen in Acts 2:46-47: "Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

The believers met together in intimate groups in their home and publicly celebrated in larger groups. Is it a coincidence that Acts 20:20 talks about preaching in public places and from house to house or is this a message for the year of the Coronavirus?

There are historical precedents as well. When the Roman authorities repealed the laws that outlawed Christianity, church life became more organized and centered around a building and professional clergy. But throughout history people would continue to meet in small groups for prayer, Bible study and spiritual growth. Their emphasis was on “heart religion” and the church as a community. As these groups grew in number, spiritual maturity, and influence, they would often renew their churches and lead wide spread revivals.

Small groups became part of the institutional church through Sunday school. Sunday school provided an intimate climate for Bible study and assimilation into the church life. It was used by most denominations by 1930 and involved 75% of churchgoers by 1956. The Sunday school program is credited for the phenomenal growth of Baptist churches in the 20th Century.  It was where Christians were discipled and new leaders were discovered and developed.

Soon small group evangelism and discipleship spilled out of the church and into military bases and college campuses through groups like Navigators and Campus Crusade. With a different purpose, Alcoholics Anonymous began as a Christian group that brought people together for prayer, reliance on God and mutual accountability and support. Other similar programs soon followed. The success of both support groups and discipleship groups  is rooted in peer leadership and taking ministry to the people.

Expanding Bible study beyond Sunday morning and outside the church building removes many unnecessary obstacles. On the other hand, there are advantages to the traditional Sunday school model. You can go to worship and Bible study on the same day and there are programs for children and teens. It is, also, easier to administrate. The best path for most churches is to continue Sunday school and expand it beyond the walls.

Small groups can be formed in homes, at your work place, or in a public setting (like Starbucks, McDonalds or the Library.) These groups usually involve Bible study but service, support and fellowship also play an important part. They are centered on God and intentional about spiritual growth.

Baptist Temple is going to make strong effort in the post-pandemic era to build a church of multiplying small groups scattered in the community and gathered on Sunday. This is not a new strategy for us but, rather, a renewed focus.

Here are two great books on the subject for further study:

• Making Small Groups Work

• Home Cell Group Explosion: How Your Small Group Can Grow and Multiply