In recent weeks, many Canadian provinces have ended their mask mandates. For the first time in almost two years, we see each other’s faces in grocery stores and perhaps also in church.

And yet for the most part there is no feeling of liberation or great cry of joy. To be sure, we like it. But there’s a feeling that all of this could just be temporary. We’ve experienced the roller coaster ride of tightening and loosening restrictions as the waves hit and subsided then roared again.

I can tell you that my congregation is being very cautious. We’re not going out of our way to invite people to remove their masks. We’re still roping off pews and keeping the six-foot separation. As well, we’re reminded that General Assembly will be online, as will the Renewal Fellowship’s annual meeting on April 30.

We’re in an unsure situation. We feel insecure. Will we have a normal summer? That was the bold promise of our political leaders at this time in 2020 and 2021. Are we too jaded to be optimistic anymore?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines jaded as “Tired, bored, or lacking enthusiasm, typically after having had too much of something.” Too much of the emotional ride, for sure.

In a perfect world, those who know the Lord would not be tired, bored or lacking in enthusiasm. But that perfect world is to come. In the meantime, here we are.

The Prophet Isaiah records the Lord’s powerful, energizing words. Chapter 40 is a balm for anyone who needs a charge.

“Comfort, comfort my people,” it begins. It concludes with this: “He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 30:29-30, NLT)

The promise was not just to the nation of Israel in exile. It’s for all throughout history who choose to believe.

Sometimes we need to gather together to be reminded of that promise. We are invited to share our frustrations and our hope. Wherever we find ourselves, we are better together.

This blog represents the thoughts of the author. While they may reflect the theological position of The Renewal Fellowship, they should not be seen as an official statement.

Anniversaries are a great opportunity to press pause and take stock. We look back and note how a watershed moment has changed our world. Sept. 11 is the big one. There’s also Nov. 22, if you’re old enough to remember.

And now we have March 11, the day in 2020 when the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 global pandemic. One year later, we have countless news stories about our successes, our failures, how life has changed and what might lay ahead.

It’s always healthy to take a pulse. The church is no different.

Last fall, I took part in a survey of 1,269 pastors and church leaders representing 108 different Christian faith traditions, conducted by WayBase, in partnership with a coalition of Canadian Christian organizations. The purpose was to see how churches and congregations were adapting to the pandemic. The data was collected just as the second wave was starting to hit.

The study, “Impact of COVID-19 on Canadian Christian Charities”, found that churches are adapting. To the secular world, that might appear surprising. Aren’t we just a collection of dying, irrelevant and self-serving institutions? Those whose lives and careers are enmeshed with the Body of Christ know better.

Here’s the quick glance at the study’s findings:

• “The negative financial impact of COVID-19 continues to be felt strongly across all provinces in Canada.” (No surprise.)
• “About 75 per cent of churches now offer in-person gatherings, although many still choose to participate online.” (We bounced back after the first wave.)
• “Higher levels of in-person re-engagement is correlated with better revenue.” (Sad, but true.)
• “There was a significant increase in the use of technology, with 80 per cent of churches now offering online services.” (An unexpected response, in my view.)
• “As churches and ministries continue to adapt, many are turning their attention to the needs in their community.” (Amen.)

It was that final point which hit me. Could it be that the church is on the verge of a new awakening in which our eyes are turned outward? I don’t mean feeding and clothing the least of these, although that’s a beautiful thing. We have social service agencies and governments which are well funded for that; churches merely fill in the cracks.

When I see “needs of the community” I read “spiritual poverty.” Christendom, for what it was worth, is dead. True believers – defined as those who genuinely accept that Jesus Christ is the divine Son of God and are devoted to the discovery and establishment of an authentic church – are a small minority in our culture. Those who truly accept Christ are called to go into the world, to baptize and to teach everything our Lord taught us. We are the farmers who plant the seed, night and day, and watch as the Holy Spirit makes it grow. We don’t understand how it happens and we aren’t meant to understand. We are called merely to scatter.

No government agency, no secular school, and no service club is ever going to do this. But it is the primary job of the church. Far too many churches have lost sight of that and have become glorified service clubs.

Buried within the 49-page WayBase report is an amazing nugget of truth which should provide hope for the small church – which is actually most of us.

“Overall, small churches have a much higher level of engagement at in-person services this fall when compared to larger churches. Similarly, rural churches are re-engaging in-person to a greater degree than their urban counterparts. Collectively, the majority of attendees are still choosing not to attend in-person worship services.” (page 49)

That’s right, rural churches are leading the way. Nothing against multi-staff congregations – we do need them! – but small congregations can respond faster as needs change. They have a hyper local culture because they are not as tuned-in with that industry of bloggers and opinion makers who point to “Big Church Trends” and are prophets of “The Next Big Thing.” Small congregations (many of which are served by part-time or multi-charge pastors) are sometimes dismissed. Sometimes, it feels like it’s all about the megachurch.

Never mind all that. We are called to bloom where we are planted. In the same way that “all news is local” (a journalistic truism) so is the church. One person, one story, one opportunity to plant the seeds of faith. Rural roads or suburban streets, it doesn’t matter.

This is something to think about as increasing numbers of urbanites cash in and retire in quieter climes, and younger first-time home buyers plant roots far from the commuter chaos.

For the first time in many generations, the local church can provide the community what’s so lacking in our wired worlds. We are invited to be prayerfully focused on our neighbourhoods and towns. Be attentive to our local cultures. Just be there. It could be a sandwich board sign on the church sidewalk, a post in the neighbourhood Facebook group – all peppered with prayer for an opportunity to witness Christ.

The Next Big Thing could be something that’s been right in front of us all along.

This blog represents the thoughts of the author. While they may reflect the theological position of The Renewal Fellowship, they should not be seen as an official statement.

I'm a young-enough Christ follower to remember my seeker days. I was a believer in something. God for sure. Jesus, yes. But was He the actual Son of God, the only way to connect to the Creator?

I had my doubts. That despite having been raised in church, knowing the Anglican liturgy by heart, having completed confirmation classes and having a bishop place hands on me, having worked as a counsellor and senior staff at our diocesan summer camp and even, amazingly, making the sacrificial decision to send our sons to an independent Christian school and being an active part of a local church.

I'm going to hazard a guess that there are a lot of folks like me out there. Lost sheep, I like to call them. Raised in the church, or at least being exposed to a basic understanding of faith, the Word had been planted, but like that powerful parable of the seeds which fell on rocky ground or among thorns, there was no life. They are just waiting to be born again.

How do I know this? Well, despite the widespread belief that our world is bordering on hostile atheism, I'm going to suggest that it's more naively agnostic. The enemy undeniably has control of our culture and many have been sucked in. But what we forget is that our laws are based on Judeo-Christian principles and the first line of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982) says, "Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law:" Yes, that's 1982, not 1882.

There is a deep faith foundation out there. The cause is not lost.

I also know this because not once in my eight years as a pastor has anyone been openly hostile in my face. Quite the opposite; I am respectfully received in the community and in my neighbourhood when I tell them what I do. Even more compelling is the fact that at every funeral I have done, I witness gently but boldly about the reason for my faith. And without exception, at least one unchurched person has approached me afterward and thanked me.

This gives me great hope.

So, when we locked our doors on Sunday mornings and cancelled midweek programs in mid-March, amidst dire predictions of illness and death, I changed the sign outside the church and did some website and Facebook house cleaning – putting on an inviting smiley face for all the desperate seekers bound to come our way.

While I'm glad that widespread devastation didn't happen, the lost sheep remain out there. And the ones commanded to reach them and teach them remain locked up in here.

Can we bridge that divide somehow? Yes. There are bold attempts going on to make connections. Cue the creative use of online technology.

Matthew Ruttan is minister at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Barrie, Ontario. He knows that church buildings might look scary. What actually goes on in there? Those who dare to enter – God bless them – might be mystified by the orders of service and words. Why do some of us do prayers of confession and hear words of assurance? Why are we so Bible-centric? Who are all these elders? And so on. All of that may be second nature to those in the pews, but it can be a huge barrier to the uninitiated. (Ever been in a court room? Lawyer talk is a foreign language unless you know the reason for it.)

People who have never set foot in a church use such terms as "Gospel truth" and "he's an evangelist for the company's business plan," Ruttan says. "We assume people know what the gospel is."

Of course, they don't.

That's one reason that he produced a two-and-a-half minute video recently, entitled The Gospel, which he plans to air at the beginning of every service. It's a lively, timely and accurate micro-primer of the Christian faith. Watch and listen to it enough, as maybe that's the primer that a seeker needs – a mini catechism.

This online gospel primer might not have happened if it were business as usual.

(For the record, you don't need special training to produce a video such as this. Just the desire. Matthew writes, "The music and pictures are free for Internet videos. I just use the native Movie Maker program that is on Windows operating systems. I find the videos on free video websites and use canva.com for the rest of the graphics. I use the free YouTube audio library to find music. Different free fonts can be found online too.")

In London, Ontario, the lead pastor of a growing non-denominational church plant tells me that his congregation's Bible study/fellowship groups were meeting in person and going quite well before the pandemic. What then? Meet online of course. He now uploads a personal 3-4-minute mini teaching, which the groups take in before opening Scripture and discussing on their own.

"We've got more community in those groups than there was before on Sunday morning," he says.

It's one of the essentials of the mission field: equip believers to make more believers. I look forward to seeing how this evolves.

These are only two examples.

In a general sense, congregations everywhere are seeing people online who would never have dared to enter a church before all this. At St. Andrew's in Dresden, Ontario, I'm sometimes getting more views of my 12-minute online weekly YouTube messages from folks on unique devices than I would get warm bodies on a Sunday morning. True, a view does not automatically translate into the full rapt attention of a person who takes in a satisfying spiritual meal. But then, how do we know that the people listening politely in the pews are doing the same?

We don't.

All we can do is sow the seeds and allow God to do the rest.

At St. Andrew's, I'm told by reliable sources that some of these viewers are not regular churchgoers. One's a family member who lives somewhere east of Kingston, Ontario. Another lives only a few blocks away. Again, people are hearing the Word who would not otherwise.

Are we about to enter a new age of seed sowing? I am praying so.

This unexpected season of adjustment for church leaders is perhaps a wake up that most of us needed. Help us, as poet Robbie Burns once said, "to see ourselves as others see us." Help us recognize the barriers. Give us eyes to see where we are speaking a foreign church language. And doing strange churchy things. Then react accordingly.

Be honest. Tell the story that reveals the reason for the hope we have. Talk like normal people. Allow the Holy Spirit to equip us and provide the words. Sow those seeds.

This blog represents the thoughts of the author. While they may reflect the theological position of The Renewal Fellowship, they should not be seen as an official statement.

“Are we ready for this?” That was the headline in mid-March as pandemic restrictions hit like a tsunami. Thankfully, all those arenas converted to emergency wards were never needed. Now, as we enter phase 2 of the recovery, I ask: Are we ready for a new way of doing church?

The sudden opportunity to reopen our doors has thrown many pastors and ministry leaders for a loop. In Ontario, the province surprised everyone on June 8 when churches were given the green light to reopen the following weekend.

While no one was prepared for the first wave of restrictions, many are not fully prepared for the re-entry. Tired and dragged-about for almost three months since emergency measures began, many of us are just now getting used to using online technology to do church.

We now face a new wave of learning and preparation.

When Ontario made its announcement, the only requirement was that churches operate at no more than 30-per-cent capacity of whatever space they were using – and stay tuned for guidelines. On June 9, pastors were told by our MPP, “Each church can set their own rules and guidelines for return to church. The government is not going to prescribe what you should and shouldn’t do as it varies so much from church to church, congregation to congregation, and community to community.”

I’m grateful that we aren’t being told what do and local culture is respected. But we’re starting with a blank slate, so it’s gonna take some work.

There’s the additional reality that many people won’t be immediately returning. And it’s not just because they need a proper hairdo. They’re nervous about the second wave, so they’re expecting some form of electronic or online form of worship to continue. That leads to more work: how to organize and lead a hybrid service for those who want the live experience?

My head is spinning.

It does not matter whether your congregation has a sizable staff and teams of gifted and able volunteers or if you a one-person shop. It’s still stressful.

I speak from first-hand experience. I am called to a congregation in which I am handling all of the technical online production and the content. I am interim moderator of another small congregation which has a small team of volunteers who divide the work. I am also interim mod of a congregation with 10 staff and a gifted retired minister who heads worship planning and leads a squadron of volunteers.

Guess where the stress level is the lowest? It’s that middle group.

Why? They keep it simple. Its three-member session is small enough to be able to meet with me and make decisions quickly. They are blessed with the services of a minister who is between congregations and delighted to self-produce short weekly worship and a midweek devotion. They have a part-time administrator on payroll. They have a congregant well into retirement who is tech-savvy enough to be their webmaster.

They know what they are capable of, and they do no more.

We have a tendency to do too much, to carry a heavy burden, to be overly ambitious. And it causes stress.

A close second is the multi-staff setting. In the early weeks of the pandemic restrictions, they continued to do livestream in front of an empty sanctuary. It was awkward and didn’t work well. They recognized this and quickly adapted, prerecording worship in a smaller space, producing a package that was timed to go live on social media on Sunday morning. They lived and learned. They had leadership in their midst – for the record, it was not me – which made it happen. The stress level there has been reduced.

As for me, the lone wolf, it’s taken a few months to figure out what works. Like the fact Zoom and music do not go well together. Likewise with PowerPoint, where the preacher is a tiny face in the corner of the screen. These and several other lessons took about two months to figure out. I finally got it.

And now I have to learn something new.

So, while we have no individual control over the end of the first wave of the pandemic, we can take what we’ve learned and apply it to the next phase.

First lesson is the need for teamwork. I am reminded of Acts 6:1-7, where the apostles were feeling overwhelmed by the demands of their rapidly-growing congregations that were taking them away from their core duties. As the New Living Translation puts it: “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program.” They appointed others to do this work so “we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.” There’s an obvious lesson for the 21st century: delegate. If you don’t have congregants who are tech savvy, everyone can be a critic, so use it. Demand that they be brutally honest and tell you what works and doesn’t. I learned that late into the game.

Second is equally Biblical: lay down that burden. This applies to the lone wolves as well as those who run in a pack. “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest,” the Lord tells us in Matthew 11:28. And the burden that He gives us is light. I need to be reminded of this and chill. All church leaders need to chill. Elders and ministry leaders: Don’t do anything until you’ve prayed early and often. Wait for the guidelines, not just bits and pieces of information. If you’re first out of the gate, bless you. Share your experience. And for the reticent, learn from them.

Third lesson is more of an eyeopener. In all the busyness, we’ve run out of time and energy to reach out and be the hands and feet of Christ. Have you noticed? There are a lot of people who are feeling rather lost right now. Our feverish work to go online has benefitted the sheep mostly. Now that we have a handle on technology, and we take our time to move to the next phase, we should be better equipped to go into the world as we’re commanded in Matthew 28:19-20.

My prayer is that by the time the almost-inevitable second wave of COVID-19 hits, we will be able to actively engage the community like never before.

Will we be willing?

This blog represents the thoughts of the author. While they may reflect the theological position of The Renewal Fellowship, they should not be seen as an official statement.

One of the most-encouraging aspects of church renewal is seeing the Holy Spirit work in surprising ways. When all appears to be without hope, a Saviour appears.

When churches around the world were forced to suspend in-person worship in mid-March, I was blown away by how many of my colleagues immediately opened their virtual doors and continued to provide weekly teaching and worship online.

With lightning speed, para-church organizations offered pastoral support to church leaders. The Centre for Missional Leadership at St. Andrew’s Hall starting ongoing one-hour weekly gatherings for church leaders on Mondays with a different presenter each week. Ligonier Ministries has been offering its online teaching for free. And so on.

It has pushed many of us to learn new technology.

It has allowed people to worship who otherwise might be shut in. In my congregation, a person with crippling arthritis is now participating for the first time in years, thanks to Zoom. A young family now tunes in regularly.

It has prompted a new ecumenical drive. Witness “The UK blessing” chorus, which has sent shivers through the bodies of believers everywhere since it was released May 3. I now watch and listen to it daily.

I may be a minority voice, but I believe the forced and unexpected shutdown of in-person activities may end up being a good thing for the church.

There are the immediate benefits mentioned.

Then there’s the “time will tell” department. I believe with all my heart that God’s hands are working all the time, and particularly so in times of trouble.

The longer this goes on, the more we can think about the true expression of church in the 21^st century. For too long, we have clung to a worship practice with roots deeper than the industrial revolution. Our organizations were designed prior to Confederation, and even these were modelled on something out of the Reformation.

In the same way that rural municipalities are no longer tied to the township – a geographical area that a 19^th century municipal worker could have covered in one day on horseback – why do churches remain so tied to their buildings, which sit empty 95 per cent of the time? (Yes, some are bustling seven days a week, and that’s great. But the majority are just struggling to pay the utilities and/or cough up enough for pulpit supply.)

Are we truly serving Christ? Few congregations today are focused primarily, if not exclusively, on the Great Commission, the parting words of our Lord, to “go into the world, baptize and teach.” That command closely followed our Lord’s words to Peter: “Feed my sheep” – take care of believers as a dedicated shepherd would protect and provide for a flock: ensure they are equipped to do the work to which they are called. To do that work, they need to know Scripture and its essential message, to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, was raised from the dead, to model their lives after His and be in agreement with His command to “deny yourselves, pick up your cross and follow me,” and to receive the Holy Spirit, like the apostles did on that Pentecost Day and to use the powerful gifts that He has provided.

And yet, too many of us are preoccupied with the negatives. This week, a petition to Reopen Ontario Churches was presented to the Premier of Ontario asking that churches be allowed to open their doors sooner than later.

It reads, in part: “Never before has the church been denied the opportunity to be with the sick in the hour of their death. Never before has the church ceased to celebrate the sacraments, pray together, offer counsel to the afflicted, visit the prisoner, officiate weddings and funerals, or fellowship together. The inhumanity of abandoning people in their deepest hour of grief or need is gut-wrenching for followers of Christ.”

Whoa. Who says we are abandoning people? Many of us have rediscovered the phone. We have re-learned the art of postal delivery. Who says we are unable to practice the sacraments? Well, baptism yes. But the Lord’s Supper, for those of us in reformed circles, can be celebrated online. This was done by a colleague of mine in a very powerful and memorable fashion in a Maundy Thursday service. I wish I had recorded it. (Note to self: enable automatic recording of Zoom gatherings.)

Yes, the radical downsizing of funerals is tragic. Families and friends have been prevented from sharing and receiving comfort and hope. But again, that’s only physical. We can still meet in small groups of five or fewer and keep our distance. True, that physical touch, which Christ embodied, is absent. But do we truly believe that Christ can’t work via telephone, email, and virtual communication? I hope not. But the plaintive petition suggests otherwise.

It continues: “​The consequences of the lockdown on people’s lives are far-reaching. We know as pastors that addictions are resurfacing, and that isolation, unemployment and economic ruin are taking their toll on family relationships and physical and mental health. Our service to the poor and disadvantaged in the community has been curbed, with serious implications for the most vulnerable. To save lives are we actually sacrificing lives? In short, we implore you that we must start meeting very soon because of our obligations to God and because our people need us. We cannot delay.”

True that. But again, reach out in other ways. I’m going to suggest that the social upheaval – and emotional, mental, spiritual and physical impacts – won’t actually be felt until autumn and winter. Churches will then be open again in a limited fashion. This time of closure is actually a God-given opportunity to get our acts together and plan for the social breakdown.

The last thing the church needs to be doing is putting one more piece of pressure on our governments, who are already weighed down by demands from business and industry to lift restrictions.

Thankfully, I haven’t seen any news coverage of the petition. That’s good, because I know how many unchurched people will react. All they care about is money, they say.

But again, will our good, good Father not provide what we need in good time and in bad? Yes and yes!

I don’t need the agreement of a co-operative secular government in order to be the church.

In the big picture, what we are enduring in the Western World is nothing compared to the daily threat of persecution and violence against believers in the rest of the world. In those places, the church – pure and authentic, Holy Spirit-filled and wholly submitted to Christ – is actually thriving.

May this be our inspiration – and may it bring true renewal.