1. Praise God that we had just upgraded our technology so that we were able to facilitate a livestream during Covid!
2. The special times shared by those who led the livestream.
3. For how our newsletter helped to keep us connected.
4. For how the church members ministered to one another through phone calls, emails, etc.
5. That our livestream and phone in service enabled us to reach out into our community (and beyond!).
6. That even our life groups continued to meet, either online or in small groups at church.
7. That we were able to honour the authorities and love our neighbour while creatively finding ways to continue to be a Church.
8. That we remembered we have a reason to meet and a purpose to exist.
9. That the priority of worship and discipleship were highlighted in the absence of other programming.
10. For the “spiritual refugees” we were able to minister to whose churches were closed when ours was open.
11. For the newcomers we welcomed because we continued to be open.
12. For the multiple micro services we hosted in the 3rd lockdown so that everyone had an opportunity to gather.
13. For the financial health that we enjoyed, no doubt because we kept seeking to fulfil our mandate as a church.
14. And probably many, many more…

However much the Lord uses times of trial in a congregation’s life, like our personal trials, we should never want to remain there. Here are 5 reasons why we need to move beyond Covid as a congregation and get back to normal if you haven’t done so already:

1. Facts over fear: Sadly 42 people died in Grey-Bruce from Covid related issues (elsewhere I had 2 relatives die and know of one person who ended up in the ICU). We can be thankful that more didn’t die and part of that was no doubt the public health measures put in place. But still, Covid was not as dangerous as many first feared. For example, here in Grey-Bruce there is a .0004% chance you might die of Covid. That is about the same risk of dying in a motor vehicle accident, yet we all still drive. Dr. Arra’s letter is a medical case in point to move beyond Covid.
2. Knowing the reason: Disease is a terrible reality. Covid was not successful in bursting the bubble that we can control everything, including diseases and mortality. The truth is that as Christians we know that the general cause of disease is sin (Ro 3:23) and that diseases are not going anywhere until the Lord returns (Rev 21:4). Though we still face the corruption of the body due to sin today, knowing its source and end helps shape our outlook in the midst of it.
3. Faith over fear: Faith in no way grants the believer immunity from diseases or death, however, it does mean that we can face them with the peace and assurance of knowing that to live is Christ and to die is gain (Phil 1:21). We don’t need to have the fear that unbelievers have because this is all there is. Sadly, all too often the cultural mentality shapes how Christians think. We need to be reminded that God gives us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control (2 Ti 1:7).
4. We’re commanded to gather: It is quite clear that Christians are commanded to gather (Heb 10:25). The great dilemma caused by Covid was that we either couldn’t or didn’t in the interests of health. Two years of Covid has not only had knock on effects emotionally, socially and economically but spiritually as well. Some churches have closed up shop. Some Christians have gotten into deep ruts of not physically fellowshipping. To be sure, non-physical forms of fellowship can suffice for a time, but God’s ultimate design is for us to gather. Even if large corporate worship services were a concern for some Christians there are small groups and even one to one opportunities they could have (and could still) take advantage of if for health reasons they are reticent to attend public worship and other church functions. The litmus test I’ve often offered is one of consistency, that if you are visiting others or going to the shops than you can share in fellowship of some form. Covid is passing, diseases will always be with us, what we miss is more than what we’re gaining if we stay away from the body.
5. Virtual church is not the same: A recent article highlighted some key reasons why gathering virtually is not the same:
   1. Attending worship is not a form of entertainment to be accessed from home like a movie; it is an act of worship.
   2. Attending worship is not about what you get but the worship you offer to the LORD. He is the audience (not us), Christians leaders are the prompters but the congregation are the actors.
   3. Even getting ready and making the drive (think gas $, time, effort, weather) is all part of your offering of worship. Worship involves sacrifice.
   4. Together believers participate in worship (or fellowship or discipleship events), something that is all too remote in something like a livestream.
   5. You miss out on the ordinances.
   6. Virtual church makes it easy to perform digital church hopping rather than committing to your local church.
   7. Additionally, we miss out on Jesus’ promise to be with us in a special way (Mt 18:20).

Technology has not been all bad as I shared in the aforementioned celebrations. We’re keeping our livestream as a form of outreach (and for those who are ill, away, housebound or snowbound!). Technology will continue to help us surmount geography and hold those last minute meetings that weren’t possible before Covid. These are good things.

However, if you profess to be a Christian but still haven’t come back to church now is the time to seriously consider coming back because the disadvantages far outweigh the perceived advantages.

Men's Breakfast Talk
Markdale Baptist Church
Saturday March 19
Lessons from English Christianity for the Church in Ontario

In Talk Video: https://fiec.org.uk/resources/get-to-know-17 

If you ever pay attention to church names as you drive around you’ll find some interesting ones for sure! A church name tells us a lot about what they believe. One such name is “Full Gospel Church.” The implication in their name is that there are other churches that do not preach the “Full Gospel” but only half (or not at all). Another similar  is that of a whole denomination, the Four Square Gospel Church. Like Full Gospel this is another reference to completeness. The FSGC was founded by Grey Co. native Amy Semple-McPherson in the 1920s. The four squares? Christ as Saviour, Healer, Baptized of the Holy Spirit and Coming King. Any evangelical would agree with the first and the last along with the second if it was defined but not the third.
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This is the key difference between Evangelicals and Pentecostals: baptism in the Holy Spirit as an event subsequent to salvation. Concisely worded, the Elam Ministries (UK) Statement of Faith may be a fair representative of the Pentecostal World:

The words italics speak of this secondary experience that is to be sought and the underlined words that this is experience is necessary for effective ministry.
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Is this what the Gospel (or New Covenant) is, a two staged offer of good news? Absolutely not for the Holy Spirit is given to everyone who trusts in Jesus from the outset. A subsequent baptism in the Holy Spirit is to confuse certain Biblical passages with the clear teaching. In Scripture we see the pattern of believing and receiving (c.f. Acts 2:38 and 40):

Rather that promising a second experience the Gospel offers new life, new creation, a helper to be empowered for sanctification, spiritual growth and maturity, holiness and ministry.

Though guised Pentecostalism really does border upon, or fully enter into, the danger of presenting another Gospel for they add to the Good News/New Covenant as laid down in the New Testament (Gal 1:8; 2 Cor 11:4).

BUT WAIT

Let’s not only critique those who go beyond but those who stop short.

Many evangelicals preached Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sins with a heavy emphasis on the atoning death of Christ (and the atonement is vital). They then offer a Gospel for the forgiveness of sins—full stop. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved [from the penalty of sin]. Because this is part of the Gospel it can evade our radar but we must stand alarmed at this too!
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1 Cor 15:1–4 says:

Jesus died so sinners might be forgiven (the penalty of sin) yet He rose so that they might be given the gift of new life by the Spirit (the power over sin).
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When Peter issued the Gospel in Acts 2:38 the Good News not only included forgiveness of sin but the gift of the Holy Spirit. Not only that, in baptism is also included obedience; not an obedience that saves but one the Holy Spirit promises to help us live out. Faith without works is a dead (Ja 2:26); and how many evangelicals neglect to bear the fruit of faith! The Gospel not only offers forgiveness for our failure to keep God’s commands, it offers us the promise of new life and the power to live it out! As Jesus said, I came that they may have life and life to the full (Jn 10:10).

Both halves of 1 Cor 15 1–4 are needed for a full Gospel, Crucifixion and Resurrection, forgiveness and new life.
Let us not go beyond or stop short of the true Gospel in all its fullness.

I have recently observed a growing distrust, of the news, of government amongst Christians. What shall we make of this? Here are some meandering thoughts.
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Jesus said, “…the truth will set you free.” (Jn 8:32b)

Hold onto those works, we’ll return to them in their context.

First, in our world today there is growing distrust of truth and impairment of freedom. This in turn produces a form of bondage. In the old days news was supposed to be unbiased, a presentation of the facts more or less, leaving the readers or viewers to decide. The pursuit of truth requires a freedom to inquire and follow where you believe the facts take you. It seeks to be objective. The moment freedom is removed or facts are viewed in a biased way then truth itself is compromised. The prevailing philosophy of our time, postmodernism, has no doubt underpinned this as it views all truth as subjective, your truth, my truth, not the truth. The problem is that over time growing subjectivity in the media (on the left and the right) meant that biased news began to be labelled “fake news.” Both left and right used this to advance their agenda and exploit the other side. “Fact checking” became the hallmark of left and right. Echo chambers have paralyzed any meaningful conversation. The recent pandemic has only exacerbated this.  What is true? What is real? A want of truth paralyses society because relationships are rooted in trust and so mistrust becomes a form of bondage.

Second, the rise of authoritarianism threatens truth and freedom. Putin’s authoritarian coverage of Ukraine is a prime example of this. Today I listened to a Russian living in Ukraine trying to convince his Russian father that what he was being told on state media wasn’t the same as reality on the ground. But this is where truth and freedom come closer to home. Here in Canada Covid states of emergency shut down reasonable discussion over the virus and our response, Bill C-4 has restricted expression and investigation into areas of morality and identity, the recent use of the Emergency Act allowed political dissent to be deemed as treason, and the controversial Bill C-10 would grant further powers of censorship. But this should not surprise us because neo-liberalism—a prevailing ideology—places the group ahead of the individual and uses tactics of demonization and power to advance its agenda rather than logic and truth. Thankfully we’re not so far along in this process as other countries in the world but the development is disconcerting. Even journalists of our own state funded media outlet, CBC, have quit the company over this sort of culture.  We should be rightfully concerned over the normalization of cultural and state promoted authoritarianism and what this will mean for tangible freedom.

However, given the news and politics we shouldn’t stop believing everything or to believe the opposite as some are inclined to do or embrace conspiracy theories. We must remember that thinking is part of God’s common grace (c.f. Mt 5:45), a non-saving gift to all (or most!) of mankind. For example, even though we may disagree with someone’s worldview in country X,Y, or Z we may still trust that the product they produce can be worn, eaten, driven or used.

I encourage people to do a number of things: diversify the sources that you read for your news and think about what is presented (I read many of the major global news networks). Also ask good questions like what are the facts? are the sources trustworthy?  am I approaching this subject in an unbiased way? am I thinking about it logically? Am I really interested in the truth?

We’ll find a measure of freedom in these two things.

More importantly, let’s return to that quote from Jesus and see what true truth is and how to find real freedom.  Here is John 8:31–32:

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

When we come to believe the ultimate truth, our Creator Jesus, and accept Him as Lord and Saviour then we are freed spiritually from the bondage to sin and the lies of the enemy. Not only is our soul freed but our mind; we gain a new worldview to see things rightly through the lens of Scripture. This is all very liberating.

The irony is that those who may be physically free in this world (free media, free countries) may indeed be spiritually enslaved, and those who are physically oppressed and enslaved (c.f. a Christian in a North Korean work camp) are actually spiritually free.  
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Freedom is important. The freedoms we enjoy in the West are a result of Christian influences. However, the greatest freedom we can possess is the freedom of our soul, a freedom that no one can take away.

Throughout history God’s kingdom, that is the restoration of His rule on earth—particularly under the New Covenant—has sometimes surged forward, grown in revival, persevered in faithful labouring, plodded, seemingly retreated, but over-all has been advancing like that mustard seed growing into a tree (Mk 4:30–34).
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But like a soldier caught in the thick of the life and missional battle to which we’ve been called, it can be difficult sensing the greater plan and knowing our place in it. What are we to do!

This week was St. David’s Day, the patron saint of Wales. Wales is a beautiful country dear to my family’s heart from our many explorations there (we enjoyed some Welsh cakes to celebrate). David was some sort of protégé of the great evangelist Patrick who ministered in Ireland leading to that islands conversion from Paganism. David sought to do the same in Wales.

A Welsh maxim says, “do the little things in life” (i.e. when you don’t know exactly what to do, begin by doing what needs to be done). This is from David who said, ‘Be joyful, keep the faith, and do the little things that you have heard and seen me do.’ (an echo of Paul in Phil 4:8–9). As a result of his little things much of Wales became Christian. The Lord uses us to do much when we are faithful in the little things He has commanded His Church to be about (e.g. worship, prayer, Bible study, holy living, evangelism, charity).

This sentiment was also shared by James Culross over a century ago. In writing a biography of John Ryland Jr., he said:

“unlike those most useless persons in Christian circles who are always waiting for great things to do, and who neglect the opportunities which lie to their hand, young Ryland always did the little which lay to his hand, and found that by doing the ‘next thing’ life became rich in opportunities of usefulness.”[1]

This was certainly true of the early Church for while it enjoyed seasons of rapid advance (think the day of Pentecost) its first centuries have been characterized by the phrase, “a long obedience in the same direction.”

Regardless of what season we find ourselves in as Ontarian Christians today, the call to readiness (Titus) and to be faithful in little to be made faithful in much apply today (Lk 16:10).

What Ontario needs today are not super-Christian who are trying to do great things but ordinary Christians who will faithfully serve Christ in a steady advance—doing the little things today, tomorrow and the day after that in service to their Lord. That is how Christ’s kingdom will come, through a steady advance. Even so we pray, come Lord Jesus come.

*For more see listen to the Extraordinary Ordinary that is being encouraged as we approach our post-Covid world.


[1] James Culross, The Three Rylands (1897), 73.