Earlier this year we came face to face with a global pandemic that has rocked the world ten times over. The rise of COVID-19 now seems like ages ago, but the reality is that for most churches the impact of COVID-19 came around the month of March. Many churches had to close their doors temporarily, and in the face of an international pandemic, the pace of the world seemed to slow down just enough for God to give us a brand new perspective.
Much of what we have collectively seen over the last several months has led the world in general, and our country specifically, to sit up and take notice. Everything from racial injustice to healthcare disparities has been highlighted as we collectively try to navigate a world were ‘normal’ is being made anew.
One of the challenges I constantly face is change. I struggle with change quite a bit, but in that regard I don’t know that I am all that unique. I think the reason why change is difficult is because it often feels like an indictment on the past. Change sometimes whispers condemnation deep into our souls and it is hard to shake. Change means that the old way is no longer working. Change means that a new way is begging for opportunity. Change is the future dragging us away from the past, all while reframing how we feel about the present.
Change is hard. Yet the reality is that other than Christ, change is about the only thing that we can be certain about.
All around the globe, the Church has had to adapt to change. Some churches have had to embrace the use of technology for the very first time as they scrambled to provide their congregants with access to weekly worship experiences. Other churches have had to restructure activities, making all of their in person programming available online for the first time ever.
When you examine the biblical text, you see God leading a chosen people group through a series of steady changes, changes that took them from location to location and also changes that helped them learn how to live out the simple values of loving God, loving neighbor and loving self.
After a long period of living under Egyptian oppression, God sent Moses to deliver His children from the hands of Pharaoh. What follows is a series of challenges and changes that take place. God helps them navigate the wilderness as they traverse toward the destination and the destiny that God has planned for them.
One of the most startling and perhaps the most profound of all the changes that God required His people to make is found in the book of Deuteronomy.
“Your pattern of worship will change. Today all of you are doing as you please, because you have not yet arrived at the place of rest, the land the Lord your God is giving you as your special possession.” (Deuteronomy 12:8-9 NLT)
According to God, the path to the place of peace, the promise that He had given to His people, required them to change the way they worshipped.
Photo credit: Suzanne D. Williams on Unsplash.com.
In the time of civil and medical unrest in our nation, I can’t but help to think that with all the changes we are being forced into making in our churches, the way that we worship God must be at the very top of the list of changes that we are seeking to make.
For many families impacted by disabilities and special needs, this is perhaps the first time that the Church has ever made accommodations for them, by providing access to all of the programming from the comfort of their own homes. The pattern of worship is changing, and it is beginning with our perceptions of participation.
As a pastor, I love to see a full sanctuary on Sunday mornings. It often feels good to see so few empty seats, but the global pandemic has forced us to take a sobering look into our patterns of worship. Have we been “doing as we please” because it pleases us? Has our pattern created problems for those in the disability community who want to participate?
One of the reasons that God asked Israel to change their pattern is because it was highly exclusive, and God knew that the only way to fully enjoy the place of rest that He was preparing for them was to change the way they worshipped.
All across the country churches are beginning to slowly reopen. Best practices are being put into participation in weekly gatherings that are both safe and sanitary. I think it is safe to say that for the foreseeable future, we will have to change the way we worship.
As we return to in-person worship, let’s be sure to remember the disability community. If we are to learn and grow and become a better, more disability inclusive church, let’s become more intentional about building on the tools that we have developed to give people access to our church during this pandemic. Let us be sure not to leave them behind, just to return the type of worship that only serves the needs of the able-bodied.
Our pattern of worship must change, especially if we are to be the type of people that God is calling us to be in our communities and in our country. The world needs the Church. Let’s give them what they need.
Lamar Hardwick is the lead pastor of Tri-Cities Church in Atlanta, GA. Visit his website www.autismpastor.com for more information.
