Despite government requests for churches to participate in “social distancing,” Florida Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne declined to suspend services at his church, The River. Howard-Browne encouraged his congregants to greet one another at the March 15 service.
“Well I know they don’t want us to do this, but just turn around and greet two, three people,” he said. “Tell them you love them, Jesus loves them.” He asserted that he had no intention of closing his church. “We are not stopping anything. I’ve got news for you, this church will never close. The only time the church will close is when the Rapture is taking place.”
The Covid-19 outbreak has left all segments of our culture reeling, including churches. And as soon as local governments began shutting down gatherings, pastors and church leaders had to decide whether or not to assemble for worship on Sundays.
Even as the virus storms across states, some pastors and church leaders still refuse to suspend any services at the church, perhaps believing that it is a show of faith to stand firm, or that the mandate not to forsake assembling requires it (Heb. 10:25). And some are also concerned that bending to government mandates is a violation of religious liberty.
The fact is, all of those are valid concerns. That is not the issue. The issue is whether those particular concerns apply to this particular situation. In the right context and in a situation where the Bible supports those arguments, they apply.
So here is the question—Does suspending services at church due to this pandemic violate biblical authority, or do biblical principles support it?
On Sunday, March 15, our church began suspending services and activities at our campus and moved our Sunday morning worship service exclusively to our online platform. In addition, we are moving our Bible studies to online platforms, and we are engaging in ministry to the community without asking the congregation to gather at the campus. We will continue this means of ministry for the foreseeable future.
Here is why we did it, and why I would say the Bible supports doing so at this time and under these circumstances:
- It’s a reasonable request from the government.
Should we be concerned if the government thinks it can shut down churches? Of course. But that is not what is happening here. The government request for “social distancing” is not persecution.
The Hebrews 10:25 mandate for believers not to forsake assembling together, while generally applicable all the time, was issued at a time of persecution in the church. The point was primarily that Christians should not back off from gathering to worship, encourage one another, and study God’s word, even under threat of persecution.
If pastors and churches entrench themselves against the government simply because the government has requested believers to assist in the war against this pandemic, as if this were a persecution, what are we going to say to our people when a persecution actually breaks out? If Christians can’t tell the difference between a government’s request to encourage good health and actual persecution, what does that say about American Christianity (1 Peter 2:17)?
- It reminds us what it means to be the Church.
When pastors and leaders insist that members assemble in only one place, it implies the church only exists in that place. This is not only unbiblical, it’s incredibly unwise. It reinforces the concept that the church is only the church inside of four walls on Sunday.
While the pandemic is a crisis, it gives churches an opportunity to provide ministry far beyond its walls, and to engage its members in ways it never has. Could it be that churches are scrambling to catch up not so much because they were not tech savvy, but because they were still locked into a version of church that required everyone to come and sit and be spectators? Imagine how great the church can be after this pandemic subsides and we have learned how to reach thousands, if not millions, beyond our walls!
In addition, when pastors communicate that the church only exists within four walls, and that members must come to them, they reinforce the notion that pastors are responsible to provide all of the spiritual nourishment, and all of the ministry, and that the people are recipients rather than participants. However, the Bible teaches that pastors serve to equip members for those ministries (Eph. 4:11-12). Going to new platforms further encourages members to take responsibility for their service to Christ.
By the way, for that reason, our church is careful about our communication. We are not “cancelling” anything, and we never use that terminology. We are “moving” worship and ministry to existing and new platforms and engaging in ministry in new ways (1 Cor. 9:22-23).
- It acknowledges that we care about the health of members, especially senior adults, and that we support healthcare workers and others on the front lines.
The biblical mandate to love one another includes sacrificing some of our own desires for the better health of the body of Christ (John 13:34-35, Rom. 12:5, 14:19, Gal. 6:10). In addition, the church is called to love its neighbor, which includes supporting the efforts of health care professionals to get out in front of this rapidly changing illness (Matt. 25:35, Rom. 12:13).
When churches and pastors disregard a clear opportunity to love our neighbor in a time of crisis, we send a message to the community that we care only about ourselves, and that trusting God is somehow synonymous with a lack of concern for the greater population. Sadly, that reinforces something that many unbelievers already assumed to be true, that is, that God doesn’t really care about them and that Christians only care about themselves.
The Bible warns Christians against misusing their freedom in Christ by seeing it only as an avenue to do what they want. Instead, freedom in Christ permits us to love others without a personal agenda (Gal. 5:13). In addition, the Bible cautions us not to give the community unnecessary cause to criticize the church (1 Thess. 4:11-12).
When the church participates in stemming the pandemic, it leaves a lasting impression that we love the people around us, whether they are Christians or not.
- It is an exercise of faith, not fear.
Some Christians assume that not gathering implies we are not trusting God. So, let’s be clear. We never respond out of fear or worry (Matt. 6:25). God does not foster fear, and He does not want us to be afraid (2 Tim. 1:7).
And by trusting God during this pandemic, and moving to other platforms for ministry, we can see God work in new ways. God wants us to be prudent and be wise (James 1:5). We can both trust God and take wise precautions at the same time (Prov. 3:5-6, Eph. 5:15). In fact, by moving worship and ministry to outside platforms we are demonstrating that we trust God for what we cannot see—quite literally (2 Cor. 5:7).
We may not all agree on this. But when it comes down to it, how and where we engage in ministry isn’t what matters most. What truly matters is that we all, together as God’s people, stay faithful in ministry in this difficult time. “Therefore, let us no longer judge one another . . . . So then, let us pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another” (Rom. 14:13, 19).