In light of this worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, many of us are dealing with unique ministry-related challenges. Much of the pop-theology that has flooded our airwaves and filled our memory banks is proving to be too weak in true biblical content to be of much use. And, from the other side, the tendency to theologically speak over the heads of our people is also
showing itself to be a bad habit.
More than ever people today need simple biblical answers that they can grasp, that speak with authority, and that gives them peace and hope, as well as instruction for how to live today. This works itself out in an international church in unique ways. In this brief article I will make five practical recommendations for pastors and church leaders:
- Be organized and practically biblical
- Understand the different cultural perspectives on sickness
- Be “present” during this time to your people
- Be compassionate and gracious
- Pray much
A quick word about myself. I have pastored international churches overseas for more than twenty-five years, encompassing both Asia and Europe, and serving as pastors to believers from more than 75 different nations. Prior to pastoring international churches my wife and I served as missionaries in the Philippines for eight years. I hold a Dmin from Southwestern Seminary with a focus on World Missions. While pastor of International Baptist Church of Singapore in 2003, we experienced the SARS epidemic. And now in Stuttgart, Germany, we are dealing with COVID-19. So I have at least been involved in the work. These are my suggestions, but with the limitations of my own imagination, perhaps you have some better ideas.
Exercise biblical leadership
Crises call for leadership. Whatever structure your church has, in a crisis it needs to be streamlined as much as possible and the leaders empowered. Jesus said, “As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming when no man can work” (John 9:4).
In a crisis you need good leadership and administration. It is interesting that these two gifts of mercy and helps, when matched with the gift of leadership or administration (Rom. 12:8), are much more powerful and effective. They are side by side in 1 Cor. 12:28. In the New Testament, whenever there was a crisis, the gift of administration/leadership was needed:
Acts 6:1-7; 11:1-18; 15:1-29; 16:16-40; 27:13-44. Peter, Paul, and the other apostles, exercised gracious but clear leadership. Someone needed to say, “Okay, here is what we will do,” and these great men led in these areas.
We have to make decisions quickly in a crisis, and especially when meetings are suddenly suspended. It is wise to document and record how you made decisions. Consult as many people as possible, especially the key people in the church, but do not be afraid to make decisions.
“If it is leadership, let him govern diligently” (Rom. 12:8). The New Living Translation says, “Let him take the responsibility seriously.” This morning I received a letter from a pastor in Kenya we have worked with over the years, mentioning their desperate situation. We needed to act on this matter immediately, so I sent an email to the missions committee of the church asking for them to respond quickly. I received this from the chairman of our missions committee:
Of Course Pastor, please send the money without delay, the Lord will bless us all in the giving joyfully! I have no doubt the Lord will provide for all, especially in the time of restrictions such as these:
Luke 6:38 (KJV) 38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
We will try to expedite the forwarding of the money.
Let me say also, do not use the crisis selfishly. After the crisis has been averted, then relinquish the “emergency powers” that you held. 1 Corinthians 14:40 says, “But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.” The Spirit inspired Paul with instructions to bring order out of the chaos in the church in Corinth. And if the “emergency powers” given during a crisis are not relinquished, then the leader will cause another crisis, a crisis of leadership in his church.
Understand the different cultural perspectives on sickness
It is difficult to talk about cultural differences in an international church. It can easily seem like judging to some. But there are differences and the pastoral leadership especially needs to be aware of this.
For example, Westerners tend to view sickness from a mere scientific perspective, and we think of healing as only relating to recovering from the specific disease we are concerned about. Westerners tend to believe that science can conquer all and, given enough time, they will find a treatment protocol, a vaccine, or a medicine against every disease.
People from developing nations may view sickness more in spiritual terms, as being caused by some evil spirit. The purpose of religion, in these cultures, is to find a greater spiritual power over the evil spirits. These spiritual powers are brought into the situation by repeating certain religious rituals, calling on certain spiritual beings (angels or saints), and repeating certain mantras. They are more fatalistic than Westerners and can view themselves as weak and powerless against spiritual powers and sicknesses.
The biblical cultures, however, in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, spoke of healing in terms of “wholeness.” Sickness meant you were not whole, and healing was viewed as a return to wholeness. Any disease, therefore, was indicative of a greater human problem, that always traced itself back to sin and the human need of redemption and reconciliation to God. Satan was involved in sickness (Luke 13:16), but not all sickness resulted directly from the sick person’s sin (John 9:1-5). So to put it in perspective, when sick, Westerners look for a cure for that specific disease, some non-westerners will look for a spiritual power over this sickness, and the biblical message emphasizes redemption and wholeness. Jesus told the parable of the man who had a demon, and the demon was cast out, but then the demon returned to the man with seven
more demons, “And the final condition of that man is worse than the first” (Luke 11:26). And the point of the story is that Christ came in grace to give new life in the redemption and complete victory over all that is wrong with the human condition – spiritually, physically, mentally, socially, etc.
Another fundamental difference between Westerners and non-westerners tends to be on the issue of shame versus guilt. All cultures understand and experience both of these, but the Westerner focuses more on guilt and the non-westerner more on shame. Guilt means I am wrong and responsible and need forgiveness. Shame means I am weak and inadequate
and I need redemption and empowerment. The gospel offers both of these, of course. But in prayer for sickness, even among devout believers, sometimes prayer is said more as a religious mantra, or a vain repetition, hoping to gain some power.
It is good to remember the words of Paul, “For none of us prays as he ought” (Rom. 8:26), and we all need the Spirit to guide us, empower us, and to intercede for us. If this is understood, then, there can be effective and unifying prayer in the church. People grieve in remarkably similar ways, regardless of their cultural background. The five stages of grief – denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance – are very much the same worldwide. A pastoral visit also takes a similar shape, but with non-westerners often a bit more formality is appreciated. To stop and read the scripture and pray is meaningful, whereas with Westerners just a personal visit and prayer may seem like enough.
Be “Present” to your people
Being present is an important part of all leadership, especially pastoral leadership. People do not always need to hear our advice, and certainly they should not feel “oppressed” by our presence, but they want to know that we are near. Presence does not mean that we never delegate responsibility, and we should not try be the center of every conversation, but the people in the church do need to feel our presence. Presence means we care, and when the pastor says that he cares for the people, he is also saying that Jesus cares.
When meetings are cancelled or forbidden altogether, such as in Germany, then we need to be creative for them to feel our presence. In addition to the normal things we have been doing all along – weekly newsletter, for example – here are some things that we have come up with:
Recorded sermons on video: This is a “no-brainer” for most of us. If you cannot do a live streaming of your service, then a video of a new and relevant message also works. In recording the sermon, I have adopted an informal approach, and have delivered these sitting down in a relaxed setting. Last Sunday’s message I recorded on Saturday in the empty auditorium, reminding the people of the church as a whole.
I have kept my messages tighter and briefer than usual, making them about 15 minutes long. More people than usual will be watching these with their children and I want the entire church family to be touched by the sermon. We also have a musical section, in a separate video, from one of our worship leaders.
Personally contact some people each day. The church staff and I have committed ourselves to daily contacting, by either a phone call or an email, five families each. Just a note or a brief call, letting them know we care.
Affirm your Home Group leaders. Delegate others and empower them in the eyes of the church family. You can inspire confidence in them by naming them individually and speaking about them in a newsletter.
Without overdoing it, send photos. I am rather shy about showing my face – I was on a church staff years ago where I thought the pastor sent too many pictures of himself – but there is a benefit to doing it some of the time.
Be compassionate and gracious
Take advantage of the opportunities to share the faith. Many people in times of crisis are asking deeper questions about life and are more open to the gospel than before. Be gracious and faithful in your witness for Christ.
There will be other people who might disappoint you in times like this. They may be afraid to help others, or they may be panicky themselves during these times, or they may question their faith. But this is a time when we need to be compassionate and caring, not negative or judgmental. If someone says that they are unable to help someone, then leave that matter with them. We are responsible to ask, but we must leave the response with them.
This is a time when people need to experience the grace of God on a personal level. God forgives our sins, and He deals with us patiently and kindly. Even when our faith is not what it should be, He is tenderhearted.
The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him. (Psalm 103:8-11 NIV)
I spoke last night with one of our small group leaders, and he asked me how to deal with those who are fearful about this virus. His group is mostly made of Southern Asians.
In an international community we should always remember that many of our people are nervous about sicknesses because they are living in a foreign land. They are unable to emotionally assess the danger, or to find the usual things that they depended on for protection. So naturally, when we are out of our native elements, we feel more insecure.
I know of no more effective way to approach this problem than to simply teach the Bible and to pray with people through it. One of my favorite passage as a pastor of an international church overseas is:
Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; If I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settled on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. (Psalm 139:7-12)
A good pastoral manner is not only to proclaim and teach the truth, but to gently stand beside people as they absorb the truth into their hearts. Remember, that at Lazarus’ death, Jesus did not lecture Mary but merely wept beside her. Presence can be comforting and powerful, even if it is just presence experienced over the telephone.
Pray much
We cannot make too much of prayer, for prayer invests in the power of God, and His power has no limits. I believe we do need to distinguish between the different ideas of prayer. We often speak about the power of prayer, but we should be careful not to suggest something unchristian. Praying by itself does not create spiritual power, rather prayer is the dependence on the power of God. By praying and requesting God to act we find limitless power, but it is God’s power.
I say that because false religions will also offer “prayer” and someone from a non-Christian cultural background may assume that our prayers are merely some spiritual rituals to gain power with God. This is the type of praying that Jesus condemned as “babbling like pagans” (Matt. 6:7). It is prayer offered as a kind of penance or as a ritual that may gain favor with a god or a spirit. We are to speak to God as our Father with whom we have a direct relationship through Christ, and not as some distant uncaring, uninformed deity such as is found in other religions.
Our God cares and our God is near. We are to pray and ask Him confidently, fearlessly, boldly, and submissively. God will hear the prayers of all His people, and who is to say that the single prayer of the youngest believer would be less important to God than the prayers of thousands of others? God hears all our prayers, so we should pray boldly and with faith.
Closing:
I pray that this little paper will be of help to you and to your church during this time. I believe it is essential also for us pastors to trust in the Lord personally during these times, surrendering to Him daily. I believe that God can use every pastor He has called. We know the devil will tempt us also, seeking to destroy us. But if we will honor Christ in our hearts, remain true to His Word, then the Lord’s Spirit will guide us and empower us.
Blessings to you and to your family and to your church.
David Packer
