More than a song (carpe diem)

Thank God for technology. When COVID-19 forced us out of the building, it was great to be able to maintain some semblance of church community online. We thank God that we had that luxury as not everyone did. It was a good and wise thing to go online, but it just wasn’t the same. Despite valiant and heartfelt efforts to reach out and communicate within the congregation, it’s been hard not to be able to experience Sunday morning worship together in a packed-out house of like-minded believers and spiritual seekers. God had been really moving in the house when the pandemic came and evacuated the building.

It was exciting when early autumn came and it seemed as though the pandemic trends were headed in the right direction. We were at least blessed to gather in groups of one hundred. It was the cloud the size of a man’s hand; a sign of hope on the way. And then — the resurgence. Here we are again, forced out of the house for the second time.

Meanwhile, life outside of the church building has taken on powerful new dimensions of worship to those who will seize the time. People are hurting through this crisis. Loved ones are dying, jobs have been lost and food insecurity is on the rise. Depression and despair are rampant.

It’s not the time for church folks to grow comfortable listening to sermons from the comfort of their beds. It’s time to be light in the darkness and rays of hope to those who need practical encouragement now more than ever before.

It’s time to sing new song, a song that’s “more than a song” as the lyric from Matt Redmond’s classic, “The Heart of Worship” suggests. Our love for the Lord isn’t always best expressed in what we sing, what we say, or what we feel at any given point in time. Sometimes our love for the Lord must be expressed in what we do in His name! Love is an action word.

No, we have not been able to gather like we used to inside a building. And yet, like so many other houses of worship, our streamed services are being watched around the globe. Perhaps more significantly, though, we have been able to serve thousands of hot meals in His name. We were able to distribute 1,000 Thanksgiving baskets with turkeys and all the holiday fixings. We were able through our own stationary and mobile pantries to put groceries on the tables of many households each week. And in partnership with other churches who also essentially have been locked out of their houses of worship, we have distributed thousands of Farmers to Families Food Baskets throughout the region. It’s all just an extension of our worship.

Many churches will beckon the masses to come visit when their doors reopen. Those masses rightfully will ask, “Where were you when I needed you?” It’s time to shine, not retreat. Seize the time to look for creative ways to bring a healing balm to a hurting world. This is not our time to be prodigals who left home forgetting who we were, squandering our moments in selfish indulgences. This is the time to worship the Lord together with much more than a song! Carpe Diem.