LETTER FROM PASTOR DJ ON COVID-19

Mar 26

Dear Imago Dei,

I am writing this letter to give an update about how we are responding to the COVID-19 crisis.

In compliance with county officials and with a desire to limit the spread of this disease out of love for our neighbor, we will be cancelling our public worship gatherings for Sundays until noted otherwise.

As news about this virus spreads, there are two responses I want to encourage you to avoid and one response I want us to be known for. The two we want to avoid are apathy and fear. We battle both of these with love.

We do not fear. God is sovereign. His plans are not being stopped right now. He is not surprised. He is good and even greater, we have gospel reason to believe that God is at work in the midst of this! The Bible is clear that life is filled with suffering and crisis. This is not a moment to cower in fear, but to live in expectant faith. The illusion of control has been taken away and this crisis clarifies that God alone is our refuge and strength.

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” - Isaiah 41:10

We are not apathetic. One of the responses I have observed is apathy and cynicism: “it’s not that bad.”

The concern with coronavirus isn’t the severity of the disease or “mortality rate.” The concern instead is the potential number of infected people and how rapid and resilient the virus is in spreading. Even a small percentage of bad cases in a large population will overwhelm our health and economic systems. This is why (even though you probably don’t know anybody right now with the virus) it is a public health emergency. This is especially true for the vulnerable among us.

We have already witnessed this virus have an impact in the world, in the culture, and the economy. The question now is simply to what degree? We reject apathy and call everyone to work to help mitigate that degree.

As we track the spread of coronavirus internationally, evidence shows that good hygiene and social distancing help limit the spread of the disease. Restrictions will always seem like overreactions because cases are not yet overwhelming (and hopefully never will be). However, I’m reminded of Galatians 5:13 “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” We don’t wait till we are threatened to help protect others. We consider others more significant than ourselves and gladly give up rights for their benefit. Love is our law.

Love means not meeting on this Sunday.

We want to work with our city officials and call our whole community to an ethic of love that seeks to limit the spread of this disease, with an eye especially toward those who are most vulnerable. As Andy Crouch recently wrote: “the measures that will actually make a difference always need to be taken sooner than we think.” Even if this proves to be an “overreaction”, so be it. Our preparation is not out of panic, but out of love. We will not be apathetic. We will monitor this situation and work for ways for us to continue to be together.

We love in caring for the most vulnerable

I am calling you to be prepared to care for one another and especially the vulnerable in our midst. Should this virus spread, it is possible that many may become sick and/or quarantined. It is possible that this could have a sustained economic impact causing wage and even job loss. I write that not to bring fear, but actually the opposite: I want to inspire us toward loving faith.

Church, this is our moment. We are armed with Resurrection hope and must be willing to even put ourselves at risk in order to love and serve others. We get to show the love we have received and count others as more significant than ourselves. We will put systems in place as needs emerge, but be prepared to sacrifice in love by running errands, checking in with one another, and even providing financially. We do not stockpile and hoard to preserve our own well being. We look out for those in need and share generously as God in Christ has been generous with us.

Practically, already be thinking through the elderly and sick in our church and in your neighborhood. Give a call, see if you can bring groceries or make a visit.

We love in continuing to practice life as a community.

We will still preach the gospel and encourage in the word on Sunday via livestream but we will refrain from calling this “church.” The church is not a building. It’s not a Sunday morning. It’s a people. We take Hebrews 10:24-25 very seriously:

“ And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

It is imperative that the church continue to gather, thick and thin. The means and methods of gathering may have to change for a season because of our current circumstance. No matter what though, the need for us to care for one another and encourage each other, to sing and to open the Word, these always remain.

Church, we follow Jesus, who loved us and gave himself for us. We rest secure in his love and power. In our cultural moment of confusion and chaos (which manages to hold both fear and apathy) we want to be known for our confident hope in this Jesus. We will not fear, we will be vigilant in mission, and we will work to demonstrate love for God and neighbor at every turn.

In Christ,

Important Imago Dei Church updates in the coming days

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