Community

Will there be another shutdown? Some are convinced of it. Others are dismissive of the idea. What do I think? No idea.

I hear many exclaiming that this time, it will be different. This time, they say, we won’t knuckle under; we won’t tow the line; we won’t buy into the hype and hysteria. This time, they say, we’ll stand up and fight.

I don’t think you will. But not for the reasons you might think.

It’s not that you were afraid then, but you’re not afraid now.
It’s not that you were deceived then, but you won’t be deceived now.
It’s not that you didn’t know it was a dress rehearsal for something bigger then, but you know it now.

I believe that if there is another shutdown, your behavior will mirror your previous actions, unless you find the courage to change the one behavior that left you confused, paralyzed, isolated and powerless.
I’m talking about coming together as a community.

In March of 2020, our church had to vacate our rented meeting place, so we moved services to a member’s home. We didn’t deny there was an issue. When we didn’t feel good, we stayed home. When others expressed health concerns, we respected them.

We switched location, but kept coming together as a church fellowship. Nothing else changed. We kept our Tuesday Bible Study going. While churches all around the area were closing, going to virtual-only services, or placing strict limits on who could attend, we just kept right on going. We stayed together.

While we walked among a society that was losing its collective mind, observing irrational behaviors as norms, seeing panic and fear everywhere, we consistently gathered together twice a week in an environment of acceptance, comfort and peace. When someone couldn’t attend in person because of health concerns, they called in. As a church fellowship, and as a church community, we stayed in the Word of God, striving together to maintain sound minds by letting God’s Spirit control our emotions (2 Timothy 1:7).

For some, this was not their experience. They fled from fellowship with other believers. They stayed behind closed doors, surrounded by their four walls. Today, they see the world completely differently than we do – and they don’t even realize it.

When troublesome times come, Christians come together. We do this because that is one of the purposes of the church. We encourage one another (Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:24-25). We comfort one another (1 Thessalonians 4:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:11). We can’t do this if we’re not coming together. To draw back, to isolate, to cower in fear, to give in to despair and depression is not only spiritually unhealthy for you, it is destructive to fellow believers. That’s because they face the same fears as you, the same anxieties as you, the same uncertainties as you. If you leave them, there’s no one for them to face hard times with, and their spiritual health – as well as yours – declines rapidly.

Christians have more than a common bond in Jesus Christ. We have a common purpose, and that is to build up the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:15-16). This is done by engaging with each other, by communicating with each other, by caring for each other, by praying for each other. Where one member is weak, the rest of the body provides strength. This cannot be done if you separate yourself.

So if we do have another shutdown, and you hide away as you did last time, don’t expect things to be any different.

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