It is surreal to think that we are approaching the end of the fifth week of the Covid-19 quarantine. In fact, some of us have been in this longer than that, and some a bit shorter. I think we can all agree that we want this to be over! I’ve heard this many times, “I just want to get back to normal!” I have certainly found myself resonating with that thought. However, what if God is challenging us to NOT get back to normal? What if He’s calling us to a “new normal?”
I am firmly convinced that God wants to use the Covid-19 pandemic to wake up His church to be His bride in ways we have not been as the church in America. Might this even be part of His answer to our prayers for revival and spiritual awakening that we have so longed for? I remember Pastor John Piper writing during his bout with cancer several years ago, telling us that he didn’t want to “waste his cancer.” He saw his cancer as a “gift” that God was giving him to reach new levels of devotion and commitment to Christ and the gospel message. Brothers and sisters, what if we each committed to saying, “I don’t want to waste the Covid-19 pandemic.” What lessons does God want to teach us as leaders and churches, so that we too will reach new levels of devotion and commitment to Christ and the gospel message? I for one, don’t want to ever go back to normal again! This week, I have attended several of the breakout calls, and I am hearing this same desire shared by so many of you. It has been such a blessing to hear your hearts, and to begin the process with you of discerning what God is saying.
Zoom Schedule
In light of that, we are shaking our Zoom schedule up again. I want to keep you on your toes! We will be returning to our full group Zoom meeting on Tuesday, April 21 at 2pm CST. Here is the link: https://zoom.us/j/613566293. We are also going to provide breakout rooms during that call as we did a few weeks ago. This will allow us to gather initially for some encouragement, and then break out to share together in smaller groups our responses to the following questions:
As a church:
• What were you doing before this all started that you can’t wait to get back to when this is all over?
• What were you doing before this all started that you can’t wait to NEVER get back to when this is all over?
• What are you doing currently that you want to make sure to continue doing when this is all over?
• What are you doing right now out of necessity, that you can’t wait to NEVER do again?
As a leader:
• What has God been teaching you during the Covid-19 quarantine that will forever change the way you lead?
I am trusting that God will use this time of sharing together in smaller groups to speak to us His answers to these questions. I also pray that we will find affirmation, confidence, and even be challenged by each other. In light of this format, we will NOT be offering the small group breakouts during the week as we have done up to this point. So please don’t miss out on this amazing opportunity to share together. As has been our pattern, we will keep the call to one hour in length.
“Dear Lord, we continue to pray that you would heal, restore and protect your people and your church during this pandemic. We also pray that you would speak to our hearts through your Holy Spirit, that You will encourage us to follow you with more passion and obedience. We ask that you would use us to lead your church more effectively for the sake of the name of Jesus. We pray this in His matchless name, Amen.”
As always, we love you, and stand ready to serve you in any way we can.