These Are Crazy Times
Dear Pastors
These Are Crazy Times
Psalm 65:5-7
“You are the hope of everyone on earth, even those who sail on distant seas……….You quieted the raging oceans with their pounding waves and silenced the shouting of the nations.”(NLT)
“Earth-Tamer, Ocean-Pourer, Mountain-Maker, Hill-Dresser, Muzzler of sea storm and wave crash, of mobs in noisy riot”- (MSG)
In just 12 short months the world as I have known it has changed and I think it has changed forever. In my 67 years of life on this planet I have never known such an upheaval, a disruption of mammoth proportions. In these last 12 months we have lived through (and continue to live through) a global raging pandemic, polarising politics like there is no tomorrow both at home and abroad, and to add a layer of confusion and contention a raft of strange prophecies and even stranger conspiracy theories. Seriously, these are crazy times, aren’t they?
And by no means are we done yet. We continue to live in a Covid world with all the associated issues that go along with life in this new world. I think 2021 is going to be as interesting and challenging and perplexing and ‘unprecedented’ as 2020. Maybe more so. We will need to cling to Psalm 65 and all the scriptures that remind us of God’s sovereignty. He really is ‘Lord of all the earth’.
Here are a few other observations.
- Some trends have been accelerated by Covid-19.
- Physical attendance and frequency of attendance will continue to decline at a faster rate then over the last 10 years. There is no doubt that church size is shrinking in NZ. On-line Church engagement is growing but from where I sit the jury is still out on this one at least as it is in NZ. I know it is different in the UK and the US.
- Churches that can figure out how to do community and connection really well are going to be at the front of the pack, I think. Content (the quality of sermons etc) is already of far lesser importance. My prediction is that if people find a real sense of ‘home’ when they attend church they will attend more often and contribute more regularly. Good content can easily be found on-line. By the way I am not minimising the importance of good content. It’s very important.
- I believe we urgently need to have a new conversation amongst Christians and churches, locally, regionally and nationally.
- What does it mean to be a Christ Follower in this brave new world? How then should we live? How do we meaningfully engage with our culture so that like Jesus we are ‘full of grace and truth’. What is the role of the Christian, the church and the State?
- What is the churches role in helping fix our nation’s big problems. Such things as, the beginning and end-of-life issues, inequality, housing affordability, mental health especially amongst our young people, freedom of religion and speech etc.
So Pastor I have a few questions for you. What are you thinking about at present? What are you praying about? What are you reading? What are you going to talk about that will help your people navigate the uncertainties and challenges of 2021? What are going to be the topics of conversation when you gather with your colleagues this year?
And finally, I would love to hear what you think 2021 holds? What do you hear God saying?
Blessings
Alan
