There have been three consistent questions our team has received during the pandemic.
In the first weeks the question was, “When do you think we can return to in-person services?”
As a number of churches began to regather, the question became, “When will more of our church members return to in-person services?”
Today, a common question we get at Church Answers is, “Why are so many of our church members ornery?”
The answer may seem obvious, that we are experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. After all, who would not be concerned, frustrated, and uncertain? But as we dug deeper talking with pastors and other church leaders, we began to understand there is no simple response to the latter question.
Indeed, we are finding the “ornery factor” to be more complex than it initially seemed. Here are ten of the factors putting your church members in a concerned and bad mood:
- They are weary. The cumulative toll of the pandemic is telling. Some are weary because loved ones and friends have COVID. Some are just tired because of the pandemic in general.
- They are confused. It’s difficult to get a consistent story about COVID. Even the organizations of expertise don’t seem to be on the same page.
- They are fearful. It’s easy to tell a believer he or she should not fear. It’s a challenge to fight fear with the barrage of bad news we get every day.
- They feel like they have lost their church. In some ways, they have lost their church. It will not likely return to…
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Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Thom Rainer.