Thoughtful Reflections on Faith and Life
We have been taking things very carefully at Queen Street Baptist Church when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic. My philosophy has been that I would rather be accused of being too cautious than too reckless. We have been meeting in person again for a number of masks. But this past Sunday was the first … Read More “Good News: Singing in Church” »
We are not exactly post-pandemic yet, but it is time for us to reflect on what blogging will look like post-pandemic vs pre-pandemic. The basic principles will remain the same. There is a need for quality content that is relevant to those searching and written by people who have some knowledge in the area. Here … Read More “Blogging in a Post-COVID World” »
I’m thankful that last week I was able to get my second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. I don’t think that vaccines are a “magic” solution but they are important. I have a compromised immune system because of some medication I’m one and so I’m thankful that I have this added level of protection. … Read More “Good News: Second Dose” »
Where I live, things are finally getting better after about a year and half of pandemic. We have just started meeting in-person again, although at 25% capacity. Most of our programs are still on hold and we still wear masks on Sunday mornings. Wherever pastors and churches are at in this process, I know that … Read More “What Pastors Need to Consider for Post-Pandemic Church” »
For the last year and a half, we have been putting the worship services for Queen Street Baptist Church online. For a short period in there we had both in-person and online but must of that was online only. Yesterday was, what we hope to be, our last online only service. Of course we cannot … Read More “Good News: Our Online Services” »
As a Christian, one of the most important days for me is Easter Sunday. This is not just a cultural observance, but something that reflects my belief in the actual resurrection of Jesus. Last year, we were not able to have an in-person church service for Easter Sunday. That was a strange feeling. It was … Read More “Good News: Easter” »
It has been about a year since our world turned upside down with the COVID-19 pandemic. I still remember the hope: “Twoo weeks to flatten the curve.” The battle has been far more difficult than what any of us expected. So how is this good news? I can’t speak for myself but I am thankful … Read More “Good News: Through a Year of Pandemic” »
James Coates, pastor of GraceLife Church in Edmonton, Alberta was arrested after refusing conditions that had been placed upon him after he continued to keep his church operating in contradiction to current health restrictions. You can read about it here. This is a completely different story from something I posted on here. A number of … Read More “Is Canada Arresting Pastors For Preaching?” »
It is usually the beginning of September when we rejoice that the kids are back to school. This time it is the second week of February and it is with a twist. The relief for us is not just the kids aren’t at home all day. Although that is there. Rather it is that they … Read More “Good News: The Kids Are Back to School!” »
One of the hardest things about the pandemic is that we have hardly seen our children, Logan and Abby. I have only seen them face-to-face three times in almost a year. As hard as that has been, we have at least had technology to facilitate some communication. I email Logan fairly often. We also do … Read More “Good News: Thankful For Technology” »
The Church is meant to worship God, disciple their own and reach out to others. I think many congregations have begun to get a handle on worship and discipleship (not that there isn’t room for improvement). First we have to acknowledge that opportunities for outreach have changed. This is especially true for congregations in communities … Read More “Doing Outreach in a COVID-19 World” »
This pandemic has been difficult for everyone. However, I am particularly proud of how well my children are doing with having their world turned upside down. Logan and Abby live in a group home. One of the effects of their autism is that change is routine is difficult. Yet, they have have done far better … Read More “Good News: Proud of My Kids” »
Yesterday after our worship service at Queen Street Baptist Church, the leadership agreed to stop in-person worship services and go back to online only. This is because of the rising numbers of COVID-19 in Niagara. That hardly sounds like Good News! And yet it is. The reason that they decided to do this was not … Read More “Good News: A Church That Loves” »
I am tired. I am tired of COVID-19 and I’m tired of not doing ministry the way I enjoyed doing ministry. I will admit that when the pandemic started that there was a sense of excitement. We had to figure out how to worship and minister in a totally new environment. There was a fun … Read More “Self-Care For Pastors During a Pandemic” »
Among my various roles, I am also one of the chaplains (padres) at the Lincoln and Welland Regiment. I absolutely love being a part of the regiment as I get to work with some talented men and women. Like every other area of our world, regimental activity was hit hard by COVID-19. We are a … Read More “Good News: Regimental Leadership” »
The Church has gone through a radical shift over the past year during this time of the COVID-19 pandemic. I remember when we first closed our church doors and thought we were just taking a break for a couple of weeks. We looked forward to “getting back to normal.” Even when a vaccine is made … Read More “5 Ways Local Church Ministry Will Never Be the Same” »
When people ask me how I’m doing during COVID-19, they usually are asking about health, finances or church. But when I think of this pandemic, I think of six months of not being able to see our two oldest children. Logan and Abby live in a group home 1.5 hours away from us. Because such … Read More “Good News: Six Months is Over!” »
For the first time since March, we opened up our building to our congregation for Sunday morning worship. We have had three test services before this but this was the first one open to the entire congregation. We had about half our regular pre-COVID Sunday attendance, which is about what I expected. A number of … Read More “Good News: Back in the Building” »
This has been a difficult time for Christian ministry since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope that things are getting better and that more restrictions will be lifted. But there will be costs affect ministry that will last for a long time. I’m not talking about reductions to budgets because of drops in … Read More “One of the Ministry Costs of COVID-19” »
Yesterday at Queen Street Baptist church we had our second test service. Before opening the church building to the entire congregation, we are having test services to make sure things are going well. You can read about our first test service here. I’m so proud of our congregation and the way they have adapted to … Read More “Good News: Taking Steps Toward Church” »
Many congregations are beginning to or are at least thinking about opening their church buildings for in-person worship services. Most churches have for the past number of months been having online services only. What should congregations do with their online services once the pandemic is over? One option is to end the online service. That … Read More “5 Reasons to Keep Your Online Service After COVID-19” »
Many communities, including my own, are requiring congregations to wear masks as we return to our buildings for in-person worship services. But should we wear masks? Is this a threat to our personal freedom. Some Christians are taking this as a place to take a stand.The government shouldn’t be telling the church what to do. … Read More “Masks, Personal Liberty and Loving Others” »
During COVID-19, churches have been forced to radically simplify. We have had to go to online worship services, online prayer and in some cases online Bible studies. Much of the ministry was done on the phone, checking in on our brothers and sisters. What happens once we are out of this situation? I understand that … Read More “Are Churches Too Busy?” »
When COVID-19 hit, local church ministry was turned upside down. We went from live in-person services to recorded YouTube services. We went from visiting in person to phone calls and Zoom meetings. There was part of this that I enjoyed. It was kind of exciting to be thrust into an unknown world that seminary hadn’t … Read More “Good News: Encouraged to Take a Break” »
At the time I am writing this, we are beginning to make plans to return to physical worship services. We have been told by medical professionals that congregational singing is a dangerous activity and that we should avoid it for the first part of our return. But can we even worship without singing? Before we … Read More “Can We Worship Without Singing?” »
I have joked that “I don’t mind change as long as it’s the same kind of change we have always had.” I actually don’t hate change that much but use it to share how many in the church feel. I have heard from many people in many churches that they just can’t change. It’s too … Read More “COVID-19 Proves Churches Can Change” »
I am hearing from a number of pastors who are very eager to reopen their churches. Some are already allowed and some whose governments are not allowing it are petitioning to be able to reopen as soon as possible. But I am not in a hurry to reopen my church. It is not that I … Read More “Why I Am Not in a Hurry to Reopen My Church” »
As I write this, we are still in the COVID-19 pandemic. But we are getting through. The lockdown is easing up and some businesses are opening again. Church is still online only and may be for some time yet. I wouldn’t say that things are over, there are still plenty of areas of concern. But … Read More “Random Pandemic Thoughts” »
Most of the conversation about pastoring during our current pandemic has revolved around technology. Pastors have rushed to learn how to livestream, to record YouTube videos, to setup online giving and to lead Zoom meetings. There are going to be some pastors that are totally in their element. They have thrived on technology and finally … Read More “How to Pastor During a Pandemic Apart From Technology” »
In this age of COVID-19, the church has been forced to reinvent itself and adapt to our changing environment. It is easy enough to provide worship music and preaching online but what about communion? Our church is planning on having online communion tomorrow. We have let people know that they need bread and juice (or … Read More “Is Online Communion Even a Thing?” »
We are in the midst of a worldwide pandemic. It would not be surprising if people saw this as an indication that we are about to experience the end of the world. We get such predictions when everything is fine, so this time of pandemic is ripe for such claims. See Coronavirus is bringing a … Read More “Is COVID-19 a Sign of the End-Times?” »
I can’t remember anything like the way things are right now with the COVID-19 pandemic. Even 9/11 wasn’t as disruptive to “normal” life as this pandemic. At least within my circle of life. In terms of ministry, my work both as a local church pastor and as an army chaplain looks a lot different than … Read More “Good News: Surviving the Pandemic” »
In the latest episode of my podcast, I share some thoughts on what it means to be the Church during the COVID-19 crisis. I hope you find it helpful. Some related COVID-19 posts: Social Media and Blogging During a Crisis COVID-19 and Autism What Would C.S. Lewis Say About COVID-19? Being the Church During a … Read More “Christian Reflections on COVID-19” »
The whole world is upside down right now because of the Coronavirus pandemic. This includes the churches. We are currently not having physical services at Queen Street Baptist Church. So yesterday we had our first online service. We have been streaming our sermons for some time but this was the first time that we streamed … Read More “Good News: Online Service” »
I’m writing this during the Coronavirus pandemic but what I’m going to talk about is relevant during any major crisis. As I have spent time on social media, mostly Facebook and Twitter, during this past week, I have noticed something. Almost everything that was shared was either very discouraging or very encouraging. Not much in … Read More “Social Media and Blogging During a Crisis” »
