Friends, to be honest, I have wrestled with writing this post. I am not wanting to accuse anyone of anything, or not doing anything. I am not wanting to compare churches to each other and point out anything. That is not where my heart is.
So please know, I am writing this because of what I have observed since the lockdowns began in March of 2020. This is one way of looking at the responses that different churches have taken and the impact on the communities that they serve.
Spring Break 2020...I enjoyed the time immensely with my children, as one of the perks of my job is I have major holidays/school breaks off to be with them. I remember seeing the news of the "virus" picking up. I did attend church that Wednesday night, and my kids participated in children's ministry activities. I do not remember the sermon. I do remember being mad to be honest. That bothers me to this day. Because of the "virus" we moved out of our Chapel to our Main Worship Center, not a big deal, actually that had been a goal when our attendance went up. But they did it because of "social distancing." We were ENCOURAGED to not handshake, hug, or get near each other, in fact we had to skip every other row, and if we could, please wear a mask (this was before the mandates). Signs were up saying hand sanitizer was available, and that extra cleaning measures has been taken.
I was highly irritated through the entire service. But let me be clear, it was not directed at my church or the church leadership. They were doing all that they could to ensure a safe service. And based on what we knew at the time, these measures seemed over the top. Six months later I can still feel that irritation. And minus 2 Sunday mornings in June, I have not attended an in-person service at the church.
Then Thursday of that week.
School districts in our area started to close for 2 weeks, to "help flatten the curve." Now I work for a private Christian school, and we are not apart of any district. But we do try to follow what 2 local districts do in cases of weather closures, etc. Both closed. So we closed.
Everything closed. Business were shut down. Restaurants. Grocery stores modified shopping hours, experiences, how to enter, etc. And even churches. In the first few weeks after Spring Break my hours at work were wonky because we didn't take an extended Spring Break. We started right away that next Monday with lessons at home. Packet pick ups were scheduled, curriculum lessons utilized at home, etc. And I have 2 kids that are school age. When I was at work I do remember hearing my boss say that he never thought he would see the churches in America closed. Many of us shared the sentiment.
Here we are, six months later. The church my family has attended for years started in-person services again a few weeks ago, childcare through age 3 just 2 weeks ago. When we attended in June (the governor had said churches could open in May), there was no childcare, and it was a hard experience having an 18 month old in service. My husband and I alternated the 2 visits by one of us staying in the commons with him, with the older kids sat in service with the other parent. We didn't try the 3rd week, and then churches were "encouraged" to close if they had opened. It's not that we didn't "attend" any services the rest of the time - we did what almost everyone else did. We did church "online!" But videos can not replace in-person fellowship, worship, and instruction. My older kids are in 2 different departments, so they had different sermon video times, plus I was trying to watch the church services (so many tech issues on my end made it maddening!), and I was eventually apart of a class that met at 11 a.m. every Sunday.
My kids got tired of the videos. There were no crafts or projects, and I stopped pushing them to watch. I am an adult and can watch sermons online with no issue. I enjoy it. But my kids can barely watch a movie all the way through. My husband and I did our best to help our children in their walk during this time. We have a devotion book we have used on/off the past few years, the kids have Story Time Bibles that we would read, and we would have prayer times.
I remember having some conversations 2 months into "flattening the curve" about how if churches do not reopen, we are going to have a generational gap. For some, the return to church will be an easy thing to do. But for some, the longer times goes, the harder it will be for them to want to get up, get ready and attend church in person. And that is especially true for families with children.
Folks, its hard getting 3 kids ready for church. Breakfast, clothes, hair, brushing of teeth, gathering of Bibles. It takes work. To make it smoother in our household some of the work is done the night before. "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15 (NASB). And I know our family is not alone in our stance that we will do whatever it takes to attend service, and to have a firm Biblical foundation. But what about the family that barely had started coming to church? The start to come, are getting into the routine, and then massive closures, going on 6 months. Depending on their convictions, it might not occur to them to come back, to search out when the church will open again.
The other side of this issue of churches staying closed when they could be open is members of that congregation who are tired of online videos and not seeing other people might search out a new church to attend. And that attending could be temporary, or it could be permanent change.
About a month and a half ago, I saw a friend share a picture on social media that her little family had attended an in-person service, and it felt so good! I recognized the church, it was one my husband and I attended for about 2 years when we dated and were first married. We loved the teaching, I volunteered in the bookstore, and was active in the Women's Ministry. We only left because I was pregnant. We made the decision to go back to the church he grew up in, I was attending when we met because it was close to family and is the founding church of the private school we wanted our kids to attend one day. We wanted to raise our kids in a church with people they would do life with. And we never regretted the decision. My oldest daughter has been saved almost 2 years now. And my middle born has a heart for Jesus and is on the cusp of salvation. The foundation of faith my children have couldn't be any better.
But roughly 6 weeks ago, we as a family went back to the church my husband and I had attended all those years ago. The main consideration was that their children's ministry was open (birth thru 6th grade) on Sunday mornings. And for the first time in months, my husband and I attended service and worship together while children were with kids their own age learning about Jesus.
It was WONDERFUL! We all came home and started a new week with our cups filled. My kids asked daily that week if we could go to church. And every Sunday morning since, without fail, we get up, we get ready and we drive. This church is not right down the road for us like our home church has been all these years. Its a good 30 minute drive. But we all come home a better version of ourselves. My kids love telling us the stories they studied, the songs they sang, and the new friends they have made. My husband and I discuss the sermon points, and continue that through the week. Last week was great for me and the kids. We started attending on Wednesday nights, and last week was the monthly fellowship meal before service - so we got to talk with other church members. And the great part for me - the Lord's Super. I was able to take Holy Communion.
For the past 8 years, at our home church, we have taken communion quarterly, and always on Easter. We make sure to always attend the Lord Super services, and with my daughter accepting Jesus as her Savior we have her join us for the services too. With the lockdown going in place in March, we were unable to meet at church for any of the Easter services or events that we always partake in, including the Lords Supper. Now, we did partake at home. I found a recipe for unleavened bread, bought some grape juice, and my husband read the scriptures. But in the months since, it didn't cross my mind. So to have a Pastor lead it last week was wonderful.
Additionally, my husband encouraged me to join the Women's Bible Study. It's only 1x a month (plus an additional monthly meeting for prayer), and this Tuesday was the first monthly meeting. Oh how wonderful it was. (Ha, I realize I am using that word a good deal, but I truly feel this way!). Worship, study, group discussion and fellowship. My heart is at peace.
I do not know what the future holds. 2020 has taught all of us many lessons, #1 should be, "Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away." James 4:14 (NASB)
None of us, even the most devout to Bible prophecy study, could have predicted what 2020 would bring. Or the changes to our lives. Mask mandates, church closures, distance learning at schools, schools not having in-person instruction.
The church closures is one point that weighs heavy on me. I came across an article online last week, 1 in 5 churches facing permanent closure within 18 months due to COVID-19 shutdowns, and it saddens me. While a building is not the church, a building can be where believers come together to worship, study, fellowship, and be encouraged.
So, I titled this post "Causing the Great Apostasy" and let me get to that now. I know I laid a good amount of foundation above, but I hope you will see where I am coming from and where I am going. Let us start by defining the word for those who are uncertain:
a·pos·ta·sy /əˈpästəsē/
noun
the abandonment or renunciation of a religious or political belief.
"the execution of their leader for apostasy brought widespread criticism"
My salvation story is that I was saved at revival at my church after hearing and being taught the Book of Revelation. And the message of the apostasy to occur in the last day was strongly emphasized. So for 20 something years, I have been aware of the fact that in the "Last Days" there will be a falling away of believers. The verse referring to this event is, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 (NASB) "Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, 2 that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction."
I want to break 2 Thessalonians down some from my studies. The gathering in this verse is generally considered the Rapture, in the Greek harpazo. In verse 2 Paul is writing to the church at Thessalonica because a letter came to them, telling them they missed the Rapture. Paul was writing to reassure them that they had not.Verse 3 talks about being deceived - and folks I am afraid that so many are deceived these days as this group of believers back then almost was. Having studied the Bible, I stand firm on the belief that the Rapture is a Pre-Tribulation event. And the rest of verse 3 helps to confirm that. Paul outlines the timeline of events:
• Apostasy
• Rapture
• Man of Lawlessness Revealed
Before the Church can be raptured to heaven, there will be a falling away. For the past several years, many "BIG" names in Kingdom work have "left" the faith.
And every time, I have heard the same conversation, "God did say there would be a falling away."
But when I think of falling away - a person here, a person there feels more like a trickle, not a mass exodus. So these situations with these individuals, while disheartening and distributing, I don't think they reach the mark of a true apostasy.
On the other hand...churches in America closing their doors for 6+ months, having online services only. Now that to me sounds like a falling away.
Every church, every denomination has been impacted. I will say, not all churches have stayed shut. I do believe almost all did close for a week or two, because we are a "civilized" society, and we have a sense of patriotism of coming together for the common good. But, it did not sit right with some churches, a with some individuals, the continual closure of life that has transpired. Two weeks has spread to six months. Governors of almost all states mandated church closures for a while, and in Texas that was rescinded in May. But many churches opted to stay closed. That is their decision.
But the churches that chose to open - they have seen growth in this time as families have sought out places of worship (my family included) where all members of the family can actively participate in their faith.
Some states have gone a bit draconian though, and you can easily see the politics of these issues when you see the party affiliation of the sates where churches are still banned from opening. In the midst of the virus, our country has become more divided. Cities have been destroyed, police departments defunded, and riots with looting have occurred in many major cities. And the perpetrators have not been punished, or even looked for. In fact, many victims to these crimes have had charges brought on themselves, for defending themselves.
Isaiah 5:20 (NASB)
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;
Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
And because of this lawlessness, many churches have fought back by opening up.
- You can Protest (loot/riot) but Not attend Church
- Pastor John MacArthur, in fact has opened up his church and is facing eviction from a parking structure his church has used since 1975.
- And churches in Nevada have attempted to legal action against the state because abortion clinics and casino's have been allowed to open, but not them.
I heard one pastor recently say, they chose to open because if people need to find a place to go, let it be the church (not a bar, or somewhere worse). And Pastor J.D. Farag, oh, he brought the word this past Sunday.
Sermon Link He will not be closing the doors to his church. Listen to his very words. Impactful!
Each Pastor has to decide for himself how we will act. Will he open or will he be closed. You and I are not to judge. We have to believe that all pastor's have been in prayer over this matter, sought the counsel of the LORD, and acted accordingly. We as parishioners if we do not agree should seek the LORD in a likewise matter. Our household needed, yearned for in-person fellowship and found a warm & welcoming congregation to be apart of. We do not know if we will stay where we are at, or come back to the church that we have called home these last eight years. We are praying over it, my husband and I.
So to each, pray. Pray for our country, pray for our leaders, pray for the pastors, pray for your family. I believe we are in the apostasy right now. So next on the Biblical timeline is the Rapture. Are you ready? Will you hear the trumpet call? Or will you get to know who the Man of Lawlessness is?
