Preparing to Lead

On Monday afternoon (May 4) I was in a Zoom session with about 25 other pastors in Rochester. It was hosted by the Mayor of Rochester. She emphatically declared the need for clergy and churches to be engaged in our community, and to have churches be on the front end of our reopening process. She declared her support of local clergy and affirmed that she would advocate with the Governor for considering our churches essential to our community health.

I happen to agree with her that we are and should be considered essential. So many are struggling with loneliness and depression, and anger and idle time do not make for healthy bedfellows. Our communities are in need of hope, vision, and love, and our churches need to be on the front lines of engagement. My colleagues on the call all affirmed the same. I learned some interesting ways that other churches are engaging, though the vast majority are trying to do things mostly online. A couple of churches have tried drive-in church, and one church describes a “drive-through” church complete with a bulletin/sermon text, prayer, and a station for giving as you drive through the parking lot. In all of this, many of our sisters and brothers in faith are considering how they can re-engage and be part of the solution and rebuilding process.

That’s where I want New Hope to be. New Hope (a.k.a. God’s church!) needs to be considered as a resource demonstrating leadership and offering hope as the community looks for trustworthy places to re-engage. In order to do that, we have to develop a re-opening plan and combine that with new strategies based on what we’ve learned (and continue to learn) through this time of isolation and crisis. We will continue to be in prayer for wisdom and guidance. We will continue to learn from scripture and apply best practices to our strategies. I’ve asked all leaders and I reiterate here: What has God called us to reconsider in our overall structure and ministry portfolio? What works and what hasn’t worked? What will look different moving forward? We must find ways to continue engaging our community so that we are truly “essential.”

To this end, the team of clergy along with the Mayor are drafting a set of guidelines that will serve as the foundation for any re-opening strategy. These will be submitted to Governor Cuomo for his review and consideration. The hope is that with appropriate measures in place, he will consider putting churches into Phase 2 (if not Phase 1) of his re-opening plan. We will need to be ready with our own plan and consider when and how to re-engage. (For anyone not familiar - Phase 2 would begin around the beginning of June).

Rest assured, we will not force this process on anyone. I know many reading this will not be comfortable in a public church setting for quite a while. There is no pressure and no rush. As we consider when we want to re-open, we will do so with all the necessary precautions, and we will adopt as many safe best practices as are recommended. The Mayor is committed to helping our churches accomplish this. We will simply have to have our own plan to augment what the Mayor is able to provide (think hand sanitizer and masks). The reality is that we probably won’t be able to even have a full sanctuary for quite a while. So, we couldn’t even accommodate proper social distance if everyone decided to return at once. Thus, online options will remain part of our plan, and probably consistently moving forward either way.

All of this to say, there are things happening that we hope will result in the church being influential in the recovery and re-opening process. What that means for us locally will be worked out by your New Hope leaders in the coming weeks. We have already begun by assembling lists of things to purchase. We will be developing a more formal plan for review, and once adopted, it will become public for everyone to consider how they want to engage with it.

I want to stress that all of this is simply part of a broader commitment to our community, and to be a light during these dark times. I believe the church has an opportunity to help lead the way back. I believe the church has been fundamentally changed. We will be looking at all of this as we move forward. We have much to be thankful for in the ways our own church has responded to meet many needs. We have been adapting, stretching and learning as we go. I’m grateful for all of our leaders and their personal growth and investment during these times. As I preached about this last Sunday, this season of radical upheaval is akin to other seasons of upheaval in the life of God’s Church. Each season offered opportunities for a fresh perspective, and fresh investment. This is our own season of preparation. I’m praying that we find ourselves open, ready, and willing to invest with a fresh perspective.

I invite all of you to join me in prayer. Your first opportunity could be this Thursday, the National Day of Prayer. I will hold a Zoom prayer meeting that will start at 6:30 AM (yes, for you early birds!) so email me to request a Zoom link. In the evening, you can join two other events; 1. The FMC Bishop’s Unite at 7 PM, and 2. The National Day of Prayer national gathering at 8 PM. Beyond these events, find some time to journal, pray, and share what God is saying to all of us.

There are some other good conversations happening that I will do my best to share with you in the near future. They revolve around church growth and discipleship. They have stimulated my mind and heart toward a renewed emphasis on reaching those that don’t know Christ. Stay tuned for more on this. Let me remind you that this year we wanted to reach those outside our church. We have that opportunity now as much as any time before. Let’s be prayerful, and hopeful, that the good news spreads!

With a Shepherd’s Heart and an Apostle’s Vision,

Pastor Scott