Church back! | Opinion

[ad_1]

A loud bang interrupted my sleep as I woke up screaming, “Girls,” initially thinking our two-year-old twins had fallen out of bed at once.

But the red bricks of our English house built in 1847 kept shaking. It was September 22, 2002 at 23:53 and I was experiencing the Great Dudley Earthquake of 4.7 on the Richter scale and was felt widely across England. In fact, it was the largest land-based earthquake in the UK since 1990.

The Christian community is shocked by Dr. Bonnie Henry’s announcement. Church websites are full of advertisements that “the church is back”.

Pastors standing in front of their iPhones recording short clips from social media, eager smiley faces finally made the long-awaited announcement, “Church family, time to go back, we’re open!”

Returning, they mean that the doors are open; You can walk to your place of worship without restrictions, and participate in your worship while reminding each other to use common sense, respect and shared morals towards COVID.

But, does the strike’s fault caused by diverse opinions bend and overturn ecclesiastical society?

A slip fault occurs in a region where two plates slide past each other. With respect to the Earth’s surface, sliding implies a lateral movement. Simply put, those who were once allied have slipped through the pandemic – with many viewpoints creating friction.

I hear a consistent set of opinions.

“The government should not shut down churches, this is all a grand conspiracy, our liberties have been violated, we need to work with the government and the honor authorities. They have abused the church. Vaccine is necessary I will not get the vaccine. Make sure to watch and listen to this article.”

Opinions are just huge in my close friends circle as people fall on either side to varying degrees.

But when we meet again, and the pastors are confused, as I did that September morning in 2002. Let us meet with our opinions drenched in divine humility and love, let us give each other grace and kindness, and let us celebrate being together.

The closing of the church doors was unprecedented, with 16 months of separation, loneliness and distance.

In the words of Stephen Covey: “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”

The main thing for the Church is to be good tidings and to share the good news with the world; Our region needs vibrant churches, beautiful patchwork, crazy quilts of God’s love.

Consider Paul’s words.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

Galatians 5:22-23.

Against such things, there is no place for error in the body of Christ. Enjoy Sunday together.

Phil Collins is a pastor at Willow Park Church in Kelowna.

.

[ad_2]