Revival? Let's Hope and Pray So!

If you’re a Christian or friends with many Christians, I’m sure this week your social media feed, like mine, has included a lot of chatter about events at Asbury College. Terms like "revival" and "awakening" are being applied to a protracted prayer and praise gathering that began with a regular chapel service last Wednesday, February 7, and continues even as I type. What welcome news amid the horrors of war, rumors of war, spy balloons, mass shootings, deadly and devastating earthquakes, and toxic chemical leaks from derailed trains, etc!

In 1970 this now multi-denominational school in eastern Kentucky with historic ties to the Wesleyan/Methodist tradition was the scene of what has come to be known as the first Asbury Awakening which some have linked to the early days of the much larger and more well-known "Jesus Movement." The current event is garnering nationwide attention and even drawing curious in-person observers from all over the country.

I've read some reports, but haven't weighed-in with a long opinion or analysis of my own on social media, which I don’t think would be especially helpful. This post from Asbury's president, Timothy Tennent, provides a responsible up-close perspective and is worth your time to read.

As pastor of a local congregation and mission strategist for an association of churches I want to be clear that I believe God undeniably gives special outpourings of mercy and renewal in church history. Yet while these special seasons may differ in size and strength from ordinary seasons of the Holy Spirit’s activity among God’s people, God’s purpose in extra-ordinary seasons does not differ in substance from ordinary seasons. For example, God wants his people to repent of sin, to seek after holiness in their lives, to offer forgiveness to and to ask forgiveness from others, to gather with other believers, to proclaim the gospel with boldness near home and to the furthest reaches of earth ALL THE TIME, not just in special times of revival. God wants the Church to be devoted to prayer, to the careful study and application of his word, and to loving Jesus, and he wants these things ALL THE TIME. The difference is we’ll see more of these blessings during a revival. That’s where the ‘extra’ in extra-ordinary comes in.

We can’t force God’s hand in revival. This is an error of revival-ism or revival-istic thinking. Real revival is not man-made but God-given. Real revival is not about spiritual innovation but rather a Spirit-wrought intensification in our pursuit of things we should all earnestly desire ALL THE TIME as disciples of Jesus.

In July 2013 I attended my fourth and final week-long doctoral seminar as I pursued a course of study in biblical spirituality at Southern Seminary in Louisville. It was my favorite of the four seminars, and it was called "Spiritual Awakenings and Revivals." Out of the overflow of that seminar I decided to preach a month-long series from Acts 2 on the subject of revival in September of that year to my Bridge Church family. Perhaps these messages will be helpful to you. They're available in the Sermon Archive of www.bridgechurchperry.com, or you can simply click the links below:

As a fellowship of gospel churches, let's pray for a true season of refreshing to come from the Lord. Remember, if it comes at all it’ll only come from him! Let's also pray that the events at Asbury be free of carnal influence or manipulation but full of gospel fruits like renewed Christian commitment, restored relationships, and reinvigorated zeal for the things of God. We should want the outside world to take note of stirrings among believers, but we must pray they truly be (and remain) God-appointed, Christ-exalting stirrings.

Furthermore, we needn’t be jealous of revivals or awakenings happening in other places; rather we ought to be thankful for God’s mercy and hopeful that such blessings will spread. Nor do we need to be skeptical, self-appointed ‘revival police’ just out to critique and dismiss what we see from a distance or hear about only in diluted form through media. Is emotionalism a problem? It certainly can be. Is there a place for itinerant preaching ministry today? Yes. But do some leaders abuse hearers by playing to emotions as they whoop up "revivals," get people to doubt their salvation and pressure people to "make decisions" in a frenzied state of guilt, shame, and fear, eager to count those decisions only to bolster their status as evangelists with no intent of staying to do the hard work of making disciples? Sadly, yes again.

It's right and good to desire genuine revival, but it’s not good to hope in it. Last Sunday I preached from Peter's exhortation in 1 Peter 2:1. According to Peter, the church’s hope must not be in revival but in a forthcoming glorious revealing! Ponder these words carefully. I think they fit this present situation perfectly: 

"Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

Let’s desire the special, extra-ordinary workings of the Holy Spirit now and rejoice when, by God’s mercy, we taste those special seasons of blessing. But let’s put our full hope in that revelation for which these occasional dispensations help prepare the Church and which will thus make such dispensations no longer necessary. Come, Lord Jesus!

"Ex-vangelical"? - Catchy New Word, Same Old Apostasy

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I was there (sometime in the 90s) with my youth group friends in the basketball arena of what would one day be my college alma mater. I cheered and screamed. I couldn’t hear myself, but I sang along with gusto: “I don’t really care if they label me a Jesus freak; there ain’t no disguising the truth.”

Kevin Max’s lead vocal on “Jesus Freak”, title track to the blockbuster album, along with DC Talk co-singers Michael Tait and Toby Mac, helped define a generation of Christian music. But of late Max has declared himself “Ex-vangelical.” What’s this mean? It means he no longer wants to be identified as evangelical. It means that, according to his Twitter claims to still believe in “the Universal Christ” (I haven’t read Richard Rohr’s 2019 book by that title, but Max’s capitalized reference to that term appears to point in its direction) and to be “here for ‘The Grace’” (another likely nod to a more generalized, universalized version of Jesus as a mere good example or manifestation of the inherent goodness of nature), his beliefs have e-volved away from e-vangelicalism towards an ex-vangelicalism that, in his view, is far more accepting and tolerant and far less judgy and hypocritical. The catch-words in the Christian Post article (linked above) that Max comes back to several times are “progress(ing)” and “regress(ing)”—as in progress = good, regress = bad: ‘Let’s keep moving forward; let’s keep progressing; the Christian message is harming people; it’s making people feel left out, ashamed, judged, and condemned so let’s move forward towards something that makes us feel…well…not those things!’

Okay, I’ll grant Kevin Max’s point that evangelical believers, churches, and even denominations need to check their hearts and to confess and repent of attitudes and behaviors that grossly misrepresent the biblical Jesus and the euangelion (Greek for good news”) that He saves sinners through His atoning life, death and resurrection. On this side of heaven, no true Christian is without residual selfishness and meanness; we’re all capable of it when we fail to exercise the Spirit’s gifts, including self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). But by the Holy Spirit, by the Bible, and by the covenant fellowship of Christian accountability in the local church God equips us to be continually confronted on these sin issues so we can turn from them and have clear consciences before Him and our fellow men.

But let’s be honest. The good news that Jesus saves can’t come to us without its leading “bad news” edge: we’re all sinners deserving of God’s wrath and eternal punishment (Romans 3:23; Ephesians 2:3; Colossians 1:21, etc.) . That’s a message that can, does, and should leave every person feeling judged, left out, ashamed, and condemned—that is exactly the point of those verses (and plenty of others)! Christians, churches, and denominations aside, if we don’t feel those things from a holy God, we’ll never see our need for a Savior. Maybe Kevin Max really is just freaked out by Jesus’ people, but I think that’s a culturally-acceptable, points-scoring, socially-applauded way of masking that he’s really freaked out (and offended) by Jesus Himself and by a belief system that would dare require that its adherents first come to grips with their own wickedness and spiritual bankruptcy and then be conformed to Christ, namely to a scripturally revealed pattern of righteous thinking and living (Romans 12:2; 2 Timothy 3:16).

The Christian Post article quotes Max in a recent podcast saying, “I've been deconstructing for decades. I've always been progressing, as you can say, and then sometimes I regress. But I think where I'm at right now is I've really gone on a journey to find out what I truly believe in by reading a lot, thinking a lot, keeping my eyes and ears open.”

Well, just to go back to that scripturally-revealed pattern of thinking and living, the apostle Paul warns a young Christian leader named Timothy, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared,” and “the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (1 Timothy 4:1-2; 2 Timothy 4:3).

Kevin Max can imply that all convictional evangelical Christians have blinders on and earplugs in when he says, “I've really gone on a journey to find out what I truly believe in by reading a lot, thinking a lot, keeping my eyes and ears open.” But in keeping his eyes and ears open to sub-biblical versions of Jesus and salvation that are more in keeping with what’s perceived as cool, acceptable, and tolerated among a growing number of “nones” (those who claim no affiliation with organized religion)—not to mention potential consumers of his musical products—he should at least admit to covering his eyes and plugging his ears as well—just in his case to the sound doctrinal truths he used to sing about so boldly and so well.

Kevin Max feels compelled to lead people, by way of his personality and celebrity platform, to what he thinks is a better version of Christianity. Likewise those without his vocal talents and influence in the culture-creating industries of music and media but with more ordinary types of influence within the institutions of family, church, and even denominations must also seek to lead people to stand firm on evangelical principles set forth in Scripture—principles that have have steadied the church and made its message of salvation through Christ a beacon of hope for 2,000 years. If there’s something new in the world, something truly progressive, it is the culture-upending power of the euangelion to affirm the dignity and worth of all people AND the redeeming love of God for them in Christ! If there’s something regressive in the world, it’s the same old self-centered, me-centered falling away from God—the same old assuming we can improve on His plan—that first showed up in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3 and has always attended His redeeming work among people. It’s not new, and yet it’s still heartbreakingly sad. Apostasy should be addressed with alarm by those who see it for what it is.

If he is a true believer, I hold out hope that God will yet show Kevin Max the error of the path of cultural accommodation and the arrogance of generalizing sincere evangelicals as hateful bigots. While he lives and breathes, may the Spirit of God bring him back to the real and socially uncomfortable gospel of the Bible; may he rejoin the ranks of us Jesus Freaks. I hope Kevin Max’s departure from the faith isn’t true, but at this moment it would seem there just ain’t no disguising it.

~Darin Avery

Of His Government and of Peace there Shall be No End

Isaiah 9:1-7

For those who had “out like a lion, in like a lamb” hopes for the end of 2020 and the start of 2021, the past week has been a wake up call! How sad to see mob violence and its deadly results in Washington, D.C. last Wednesday! As Christians we should be just as alarmed by such wanton and destructive behavior whether it happens at the Capitol or on any street in any city. In many ways our times have gotten more confused and confusing for average citizens trying to make sense of the world; but for Christians events like these must bring clarity, not confusion. After all, we’re not called to be “average” but model citizens: a city on a hill, unhidden, letting our light shine before men that they might see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven, as Jesus says in Matthew 5.

But a danger for Christians in these days--especially in a media-saturated culture where supposed ‘expert evidence’ and arguments on any side of a given issue may be touted and flouted with a tap or a click--is the danger of what I’ll call “side-ism” or “sideology.” To be clear, I’m not talking about voting decisions! Picking one candidate over another, voting in a particular way on certain issues--every conscientious person does that on an individual level, or at least should!  I’m talking about total surrender of one’s conscience such that the “side’s” conscience supplants individual conscience, such that tribe becomes truth and trumps personal conviction. 

Clarity for the Christian comes when God’s holy word forms our consciences and shapes our convictions. Clarity comes when we resist tribalism’s fear-based pressure tactics by remembering who our true King is, whose “side” we’re really on. You may not like this, but right and left, Democrat and Republican, liberal and conservative, Antifa and Maga--they’re all just decoys, different sides of the same coin. One side of a quarter is stamped with an eagle and the other with George Washington’s head, but whichever side I look at it’s still just a quarter! Side-ism is a tool the devil uses to throw us off the scent of our Savior. He uses sideology to draw us away to destruction-—to divide us not just from other people but from our Lord if possible and from His global gospel mission.

Isaiah 9 reminds us of our true side. Ancient Israel received this prophecy while facing an Assyrian invasion and occupation as a consequence of national disobedience and rebellion against God. Yet it reminds Israel that even in the face of their own sin, even in the face of occupation and oppression, God has a plan for His people and will keep His covenant promise to redeem them. They are on God's side, not because they chose Him but because He chose them. The “child to be born,” the “son to be given” promised centuries before His actual arrival is the same One to whom we look back two millennia and call “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” He is Jesus of Nazareth, the Choosing One! Our position on social issues doesn’t define our side; our possession by the Savior does!

To me the saddest images from the events of January 6th were “Jesus Saves” placards alongside “Don’t Tread On Me” banners and others blazoned with M-16 rifles. Crosses interspersed among gallows and guillotines should be a deeply troubling sight to every Christian. What I see in a mob of any color, party, or persuasion is not strength but fear, fear of losing something: territory, rights, property, or power. But these aren't things Christians should fear losing. We don’t need gallows, guillotines, or guns to gain what God guarantees us with more abundance and permanence in eternity than we could ever claim in this world. What did Jesus say in John 18? “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now my kingdom is not from here.” When they came to arrest Jesus, what did He say when Peter cut off the guard’s ear? “Live by the sword, die by the sword, Peter.” Peter tried to lead a mob, an uprising, an insurrection. Instead of trusting Jesus’ promise to rise from the dead, Peter feared losing his Lord; he wanted to fight, but fear was driving him. Hadn’t he learned anything from Jesus? “Peter, I’m the Lord of life. You don’t need to defend me; and even though they’re arresting me, I’m going to defend you from your own foolishness and fear.”

Being on Jesus’ side means not panicking when the other side appears to be winning. Truth is, we’re either on Jesus’ side or we’re not. We’re either loyal subjects of His government or we’re chasing the devil’s decoys. And trust me, the devil doesn’t care which one we choose to chase! The same Yahweh whose first commandment is “you shall have no other gods before me” is the same One of whom Isaiah says in v. 6, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder.”  Does this mean earthly human government? Sure. Jesus and others in the New Testament are clear that human government is necessary and good for restraining human evil even though we all know human governments can themselves descend into evil at times. Human governing authority is delegated by God and derived from God for a designated purpose and season. But then v. 7 draws a distinction: “of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” This is specifically His government; it’s corruption-free; it’s perfect and it’s permanent.

Let me reiterate something. Even though God made Israel this promise and even though Messiah eventually came to pay the price of redeeming God’s chosen people, sin still brought devastating consequences in the meantime. Some in Israel received Isaiah’s promise with hope and faithfulness, but others continued in disobedience. The next part of the chapter outlines God’s judgment on Israel’s wickedness. Look at verses 18 to 21.

18 For wickedness burns like a fire;
it consumes briers and thorns;
it kindles the thickets of the forest,
and they roll upward in a column of smoke.
19 Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts
the land is scorched,
and the people are like fuel for the fire;
no one spares another.
20 They slice meat on the right, but are still hungry,
and they devour on the left, but are not satisfied;
each devours the flesh of his own arm,
21 Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim devours Manasseh;
together they are against Judah.
For all this his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is stretched out still.

I don’t know about you, but to me that sounds a lot like the hostility in our society. “People are like fuel for the fire,” Isaiah says, “no one spares another.” Wow! Did you see v. 20? “They slice meat on the right, but are still hungry, and they devour on the left, but are not satisfied; each devours the flesh of his own arm…” Left and right. It’s side-ism right here in the Old Testament! No mercy. No sparing of one another. It all amounts to what? Self-consumption that leads to national self-destruction. This is not Assyrians on Israelites. This is Israelite on Israelite. They're graceless, merciless people. Why? Do they enjoy civil war? No, it’s because they reject the only One who could truly unify them; they reject God as King and want to be a law unto themselves. 

Look at v. 21 again: “Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim devours Manasseh; together they are against Judah.” Do you see it? In Isaiah’s day Manasseh was an evil tribe, Ephraim was an evil tribe, and Judah was an evil tribe. Manasseh hated Ephraim; Ephraim hated Manasseh, but they got along just enough to join forces against Judah. Isaiah contains historical information, but it’s a book of prophecy first and foremost. Judah may have been rebellious in Isaiah‘s day, but it was still the kingly tribe; the tribe of David and of the Wonderful Counselor, the Prince of Peace who would one day descend from David. Ephraim and Manasseh are two sides of the same coin. They can’t stand each other but they’ll stand together against the king of kings.

While different tribes of men--even within the same nation--may strive against one another on any number of social issues, when it comes to the primary spiritual issue wicked humans always unite in outrage against God and His holy Son. Psalm 2:1-3 says, “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The Kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, ‘Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.’”

What are we to do as Christians in these troubled times? Very simple: Pray, Worship, and Witness.

Pray

  • Jesus says in Matthew 5:43-45, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

  • Paul says in 1 Tim. 2:1-2, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.”

There’s no scenario where prayer isn’t to be the Church’s first and primary response. 

Worship

  • Make every effort to gather as God’s people. It may not seem like we’re doing much when we gather on Sunday mornings. But I assure you, there is no mob, no rally, no protest, no cause that even comes close to the size and consistency of Christians meeting in large and small gatherings all over this country and around the world every Lord’s Day to profess allegiance to Jesus, to study the ‘Constitution’ and to sing the songs of our ‘side’—which is our Savior.

  • Keep calm and disciple on! Paul says in Eph. 4:3, “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Week by week and day by day in large and small ways we’ve got to spur one another on to love and good works. Call, text, meet up to read Scripture and pray for the lost. No amount of effort we put into growing disciples and growing as disciples is wasted effort!

And then, lastly...

Witness

Last Thursday I posted on social media what I believe is an appropriate Christian response in this tumultuous time. “True Christians must rise from our national travail neither as victors on a winning side nor as victims on a losing side but as those who declare the bankruptcy of any social tribe or political ‘side’ to offer ultimate hope and whose lives and words instead point to the Savior!” I also mentioned the “Stand beside her and guide her through the night with a light from above” line in ‘God Bless America.’ I said I wasn’t sure it was Irving Berlin’s intent, but that when I hear that line I hear Jesus telling His disciples in Matt. 5:14-16: 

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

We don’t stand above our nation or neighbors as superior people; we stand above as SAVED people, humbly and earnestly inviting others to taste the mercy of God and the hope of something infinitely and eternally better than politicians or politics can provide: new life in Christ!

May 2021 get better! May 2021 be a year wherein the Church grows ever more distinct from the rhetoric of any earth-bound political side or tribe and gains once again an elevated (likely marginalized) prophetic standing from which to clearly call out to the hateful hostile tribes of men: “Find hope, find rest, find peace through the blood of the Lamb, the Lion of Judah!”

What Were You Discussing On the Way?

“Highly respectable poverty.” That’s a phrase David Brooks uses in his book “The Road to Character” to describe the attitude and upbringing of early civil rights activist A. Philip Randolph who refused the offer of donors to raise money to better he and his family’s living situation as his public notoriety grew.

Material wealth is certainly among the things Christians must be willing to do without, but I believe we can apply an attitude of highly respectable poverty to other forms of “wealth” which are equally tempting. One of the most alluring is the lust for power and position. Though social media can give modern folks an inflated sense of importance and power, the temptation to greatness certainly isn’t unique to our digital generation.

Jesus knew when His disciples needed their thinking challenged or corrected. One of those occasions is in Mark 9 when upon arriving back at their ministry base in Capernaum He asks them, “What were you discussing on the way?” The disciples’ silence is telling. They knew arguing about which of them was the greatest was not something that would please their Master. They were right!

I don’t see a lot of fellow Christians arguing about who’s the greatest per se, but we sure argue. We argue politics, we argue semantics, we argue doctrine, we argue strategies and styles, etc., etc... All this arguing leads me to wonder if such outer disagreements aren’t in fact being driven by unspoken individual feelings of great(er)ness in relation to other believers. And how easily these bickerings can start—one slip, one word uttered in frustration, one little moment of self-congratulation, one seemingly innocent corrective comment, one “I’m not looking to start a debate, BUT….” kind of post on social media. I wonder, would those “Just putting this out there…” kinds of posts not get made less and less if others (especially other Christians) didn’t get so riled up and give in to the urge to engage, no matter how irritating or inane posts like that can be?

We look at the “Who’s the greatest disciple” situation and want to know which knucklehead disciple started it on the walk back to Capernaum, and why. Was he bored? Was he frustrated by Jesus? by another disciple? Did he feel his concerns or position were worthy of more note within the group than they were currently enjoying? Was he basking in a private compliment by Jesus feeling sure this affirming word set him apart (indeed above) the others and wanting to make sure everyone else knew how he’d pleased the Lord? Maybe one of those is true. But really shouldn’t we wonder who made the second comment, the first rebuttal, the first rebuke, the first corrective comment? Couldn’t the whole kerfuffle have been avoided had not that second person gotten defensive and instead either changed the subject or, better yet, pretended not to even hear the first statement? Aparently this second person didn’t spend his quiet time that morning meditating on Proverbs 26:4 (“Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself”) or Psalm 19:11 (“Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.”)

Truth be told, there have been plenty of mornings I didn’t meditate on those passages either!

The refining process in earthly life always brings out inner ugliness on our way to eternal gold. The road trip back to Capernaum was such a refining process. Jesus knew the disciples were up to mischief, but He let it continue, partly for them, and partly for us! When they got back, He corrected offender and counter-offender alike with tough love and set a child in their midst to remind them of the kind of heart that pleases Him and what true greatness in His kingdom looks like. In a lot of ways I believe our present confinement is a process of refinement. As we journey our road with Jesus during these testy, trying times, what are we discussing on the way? How are talking with one another? Are we looking for ways to serve each other through our interactions whether in-person or through the typed/texted word and assert the greatness of Jesus? Or are we somehow angling for our own greatness in the midst of a whole world of people trying to be on top?

“Highly respectable poverty” is an attitude that flows not so much out of a non-concern with material goods as out of a general self-perception more shaped by the supreme greatness of Jesus and the great value He ascribes to us as His chosen ones than upon any greatness we can gain for ourselves. The world needs a Church that embraces highly respectable poverty in every dimension of its life. We don’t have to be great when we have such a great Lord. We don’t have to make ourselves great through wealth or through words when we serve such a great Savior who knows and calls us by name! This kind of church is made up of these kind of disciples. And these kind of disciples have “highly respectable poverty” modeled for them by their servant leaders. That’s our calling!

Communion and Quarantine

I grew up in a church that observed the Lord’s Supper once every three months. If the timing works out, I suppose it’s conceivable that a church taking communion quarterly might not have to decide how or whether to observe it in quarantine as a congregation—provided the group restrictions don’t last longer than three months.

The church I pastor observes the Lord’s Supper monthly, so we do have to address this question, as do the many Baptist churches who observe the Table weekly.

Any discussion of how to handle the Lord’s Supper in a time of quarantine is bound to evoke feelings. Feelings are involved in the Lord’s Supper, and rightly so! Jesus’ suffering on our behalf, the bonds we share in faith under His blood, and the joy of our eventual union with Him in glory—those truths, those realities cannot be pondered without deep feeling. And to deepen those emotions of love, acceptance, unity, and peace with a gracious God as a church family, the Lord gave us a commemorative meal to enjoy together.

But that’s the key word isn’t it? Together.

Pastors and churches are having to figure out how to do “together,” what being “together” means and doesn’t mean, and what “together” can and cannot look like under the Coronavirus quarantine. But as pastors, though feelings and emotions are rightly involved in and invoked by the Lord’s Supper, our aim must always be to point the Lord’s people to His word for guidance in understanding this and other facets of being and doing church. So, before I go on, I want to be careful to say that if a church’s leaders have settled on an approach to the Lord’s Supper during the COVID-19 quarantine that differs from mine, there’s room for grace and humility on this question amongst brothers united in gospel mission. The goal should be intra-church unanimity amongst a congregation’s leaders not necessarily inter-church uniformity amongst all congregations in a network like Cleveland Hope. Thus, what I offer here is not a directive but rather my perspective for pastors and churches who perhaps have not yet worked through this question.

That being said, my position is that it would be wise and helpful for pastors or leadership teams to wait until their congregations are able to gather again as a whole body in the same room to observe the Lord's Supper. Here's why this is my position:

1) Bible Precedent. The fact that every instance of the Lord's Supper referenced in the NT was in the context of a gathered, diverse body of believers should not be set aside just because we have the capability of seeing and hearing one another digitally. The physical, tactile nature of the bread and juice representing Jesus' broken body and shed blood being shared by believers around a common table is crucial to symbolizing the centrality of Jesus and the intimacy and unity we're to have as His followers.

In Exodus the Passover was celebrated in homes; but rather than a case for fathers conducting the Lord's supper with their families under quarantine, I see this as a picture pointing toward local churches assembling in the New Testament to acknowledge together God's ‘passing over’ our collective sin by the blood of the Lamb of God. "It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones. All the congregation of Israel shall keep it" (Exod. 12:46-7). There were many houses among Israel, but within each “one house” multiple layers of families & kinfolk (even circumcised servants, etc.) gathered to eat one and only one lamb. This was being done throughout the Israelite community.

Then there’s that amazing description of Pentecost and the early believers “devoting themselves to…the breaking of bread…” and “…day by day … breaking bread in their homes…” (Acts 2:42, 46). Whether one, both, or neither of those refers to the Lord’s Supper is hard to tell. They ate together and fellowshiped; they cared and shared; they preached and prayed; they rejoiced. It seems likely “breaking bread” in that context would’ve in some way been tied to Jesus’ upper room example and command given just a few weeks earlier. But is it to be normative for us today in our present quarantined predicament? I think not. The early Jerusalem church met in houses, but these were big, multi-family, multi-cultural gatherings happening daily, overseen by apostle-elders. Those scattered gatherings around Jerusalem also look like scattered local gatherings of believers around the world today known as local churches. We can’t gather that way right now. Besides, while that may have been normal for those explosive growth days after Pentecost, even within the New Testament era things calmed down and settled into more ordinary patterns of church fellowship and worship. Sunday meetings became typical. For example, Paul tells the Corinthians (1 Cor. 5) to use part of a typical Sunday gathering to excommunicate an immoral brother. Later (ch. 11) he chides them for sullying the gathering (specifically the Lord’s Supper) by self-indulgent and demeaning behavior: “For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.” The context suggests that “without discerning the body” isn’t a reference to Jesus’ literal body but disregard for His representative body in the diverse assembly of believers (rich, poor, Jew, Gentile, etc.) demonstrated in some members impatiently taking the Lord’s Supper before all members were present.

2) The Value of Gathering. We can’t rightly “discern” the body of Christ represented in the bread and cup without being in the actual company of the other redeemed members of His body with whom we are covenanted. No relationship of any importance can ever be fully satisfied remotely. Our relationship with God is founded on the promise of one day being physically, literally, bodily in the presence of our King, Jesus. Without that hope, we would all look for something else to satisfy that deepest longing. The world offers all sorts of alternatives: porn, sporting events, concerts, 'hooking up,' etc. We are social creatures who deeply want to be physically present with other people--God made us that way. The digital world just can't replace in-person contact with other believers with whom we share the hope of that eventual ultimate in-person union with Christ. The writer of Hebrews says, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is fatihful. 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" (10:23-5). I don’t believe churches are “neglecting to meet” in our present circumstance; it’s more of a necessary and temporary cessation of meeting. However, just because we’ve switched to virtual meetings for now does not mean all the elements of our actual, in-person church meetings, especially the Lord’s Supper, should (or can) be conducted virtually.

I use technology. We all do. You’re reading this on a computer or phone screen. We can listen to our favorite preachers and podcasters whenever and wherever we want. Some would say that they’ve even formed “online churches.” I disagree. Churches may use websites and apps as tools for organizing information or event planning, etc., but I do not believe that any truly born-again believer in Jesus can ever be satisfied with an online-only experience of church.


3) Joy and yearning.
There is a longing too deep for words within us to unite, to hold hands, to hug, to hear voices sharing the same lyrics in the same oxygen, and to smell one another (yes, I said that). Don’t you miss that these days (okay maybe not the smelling part)?  The Lord’s Supper should be something we yearn to resume once we are able to assemble together again on the Lord's Day. The Lord's Supper helps define what we mean by the term "local church." Bridge Church at Perry is a local church; Mt. Pleasant Baptist is a local church; Gateway Church Downtown, and your church—these are local churches that meet consistently in local locations at consistent times on a consistent day of the week. Our present quarantine situation is interrupting that consistency. We can continue praying for each other, hearing God's word preached, and even singing (sort of), but none of this should be considered ordinary. Just as it bothers us when we see people routinely skipping or missing our Sunday gatherings, it should also bother all of us to have to miss our “together time” during this quarantine. But being bothered isn’t always a bad thing! Let me encourage you, pastor, to not waste this interruption in your church’s ordinary gathering! Allow yourself and lead your church members to grieve over that aching absence of communion. Let that yearning compel intensified prayer for God’s mercy in ending the Coronavirus suffering and in enabling a return to our public assemblings.

To me, offering the Lord's Supper outside of the regular, in-person, Lord's Day meeting of a church risks cheapening (not enhancing) it's value as one of Jesus' two public (local church) ordinances. He gave the ordinances of the Lord's Supper and baptism to help believers form a shared identity as locally gathered, locally-defined, unified expressions of His body.

My greatest concern in offering the Lord’s Supper in contexts outside of the in-person, regularly gathered local church meeting is that we might inadvertently devalue that very gathering. In an age when we are already very socially isolated (Christians too!) by devices which sell us on the notion of a virtual connection, the Coronavirus pandemic poses a question: How much will we really miss one another and our bond in Christ? We are not really together online. Convenience and ease are not Christian values, and thus are unacceptable substitues for genuine Christian community.

Picture this: in a few weeks (or months), what will be your lasting memory of that first Sunday re-united with your church family? I am looking forward to that earthly reunion with great anticipation and part of it will be the renewed sharing of the Lord’s Supper together as we long together for our eternal union with Jesus!