At the very beginning of the COVID spread, we addressed a few of the issues that were at play in our decision-making process, with regard to the importance of church and our responsibility toward our neighbors. We have also addressed the options that we have in regards to following the health department regulations and recommendations. As an eldership, we came to the conclusion that our best option was to act in partnership with the local health officials whom God has equipped for the task:
The elders of Communion Church have chosen to work with the local health officials who we believe God has given common grace to and guided them to the position to help oversee the public in times like these. They are in agreement with state and national health professional in recommending the wearing of a mask. While I don’t particularly enjoy it, nor would I come to the conclusion of mask-wearing without input from the outside, I am thankful that God is caring for His creation through the people that He has specially equipped to care about pandemics, to develop plans in case of a novel virus, and all of the work that they are doing to try to get the community to work together toward a return to normal.
This does not mean that we will always land here. The elders have tried to be clear that our commitment to being good citizens of both heaven and earth requires us to constantly discern how risk and value relate. Up to this point, the elders have concluded that the recommendations of the health department fit with our considerations of risk and value (as it relates to the church). Finding the balance between risk and value can be difficult. Before we work through that, let me explain what I mean by these two terms:
RISK
The issue of risk has to do with transmission rates, effective means to slow/stop the spread of the Coronavirus, and even projections of dangerous hospital loads. Knowing the risk is having an accurate picture of what we are dealing with.
Risk is the part of the process that we have to rely heavily on outside sources for. I am not an epidemiologist, a hospital administrator, or a health expert, nor are most people. There is a place for acknowledging our ignorance and approaching studies and reports with humility.
VALUE
While the health experts have a better grasp of the risks associated with COVID, this does not give them a greater understanding of what is most important in the lives of individuals. As the church, the value that we place on our weekly service: with prayer, singing, and the preaching of the Word, is given to us by God. We have personal feelings about all of these things, but we have also been told that the regular act of meeting together has a value beyond our comprehension. It is a value that no earthly institution is going to feel the weight of.
As we make decisions on how to operate as a church, it is not as simple as many want to make it. It is not simply about living by faith over fear, or obeying God rather than Caesar. Instead, your pastors need to decide whether the risks determined by the health professionals justifies setting aside the practices that we (and God) place a high value on. Time plays a role in this as well; there are things that we can sacrifice for some amount of time, but cannot give up for an extensive period; we need to consider the spiritual health of the people that we lead along with their physical health. We have more variables, not less, than secular businesses to consider. The decision-making process of pastors was summarized well in an article from 9marks, which stated:
On the one hand, the biblical commands and beliefs listed above [Biblical call to meet, sing, and pray together] clearly establish a normal pattern and practice for the believer that should not be set aside lightly. On the other hand, none of the commands and beliefs listed above categorically requires that it be observed in-person, indoors, every week, by every member of the church body, without delay or deferral or flexibility. As elders of this church, we must account for all relevant circumstances as they exist at the time we are being asked to comply with the COVID-19 order, ignore inaccurate and irrelevant facts and opinions, and then prayerfully make a judgment call as to whether the order goes “too far,” such that obedience to the State becomes disobedience to God. Ultimately, I believe that the bottom-line question is this: Do the relevant circumstances as we know them justify the departures from biblical patterns and practices that the COVID-19 order is demanding?
In conducting this analysis, I recommend that we focus in particular on whether our COVID-19 safety protocols have been effective in reducing the transmission of the virus, whether our congregation has been complying with those protocols, and whether our area is experiencing such a significant spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in comparison to previous weeks that meeting in person seems unwise. We should give appropriate weight to the scientific data and expertise of health authorities, but at the same time, we should avoid abdicating our own responsibility to weigh that scientific information against the commands of Scripture, the sovereignty of God, and the reality of eternity—ultimately, the question whether we should depart from the biblical norm is a spiritual and moral question, not a scientific one.
Up to this point, we have answered the above question: yes. We feel that the health officials have worked to limit potentially high-risk situations and have adjusted based on spikes in the cases and hospitalizations. Church worship has not been targeted or given more restrictions than other business and institutions. We have been willing to do our part, sacrificing for the common good.
Tuesday, Governor Inslee extended all current precautions, which includes no congregational singing for the church. Over the last two months, we have gone along with this, as we also petitioned the local and state agencies for case studies (or other data) of church transmission through singing in churches that were following mask and social distance guidelines. At this point, they have not been willing (or able) to share with us the data that led them to the conclusion that restricting congregational singing is necessary. Singing is an important part of exercising our unity as the church; to suspend it has been spiritually draining, especially through the Christmas season. In order for us to justify setting aside this aspect of our biblical patterns and practices would require a greater risk assessment than is currently being provided. After prayerfully considering our options, we have decided that the value of singing together is too great when compared with the risk involved. We will resume singing together as a church, starting next Sunday, January 17.
We know that not everyone will agree with this decision, or want to take part in singing corporately. For some of you it is wise not to. As we make decisions for a body of believers, we need to differentiate between the restrictions that everyone should adhere to (masks, distancing) in order to help stop the spread, and those where a person’s conscience should be allowed to have a choice. The lines that we draw are not just about how each of us, as individuals, approach these restrictions; we have to think about how the body best operates in its diversity. As the article quoted above goes on to say:
If our area is experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases and we think that a livestream-only service is wise and consistent with Scripture, it matters little whether a COVID‑19 order is legally valid. There is also something to be said for deferring to the governing authorities when possible, and for avoiding needless tensions when the restrictions are tolerable. We’re not out to pick a fight! (See Matt. 17:24–27.)
That said, when we are deciding whether to voluntarily adopt new restrictions as elders on behalf of the church—whether in response to a new COVID-19 order or on our own initiative—we should bear in mind that cancelling services and events prevents individuals from making their own decisions about attendance based on their own consciences and health circumstances. If, for example, we decide to continue with an in-person Sunday morning service, individuals with concerns about COVID-19 or legal compliance may still decide to stay home and use our livestream, which is by no means a full substitute for meeting together but still provides some spiritual edification. By contrast, if we decide to do a livestream-only service, members who would have desired to gather in person will not be able to do so. Who knows what opportunities for discipleship, confession, encouragement, exhortation, or prayer would be missed?
AT THIS TIME, we believe that the issue of congregational singing fits here: as an issue of conscience that the church should offer to those who desire it, weigh the value over the risk, and who are craving the spiritual benefit of worshipping God with one voice.
As with any decision that has numerous variables, things may change. For now, we are looking forward to praising God together in song next Sunday.