Last week, thousands of events were canceled in consideration of coronavirus, not sparing many church gatherings across the country. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a confusing time for many Christians, as we strive to be a voice of hope to a panicked world while reconciling the necessity to play our part in stopping the spread of severe sickness. As more time at home and less time spent engaging in life’s usual hustle and bustle confines us, one cannot help but think how well the isolation forced by COVID-19 fits into our observance of Lent.

Historically, many Christians have abstained from certain foods during the 40 days of Lent to prepare for the celebration of Christ’s resurrection by pursuing physical and spiritual purity. Nowadays, the definition of Lenten fasting has been broadened by some who instead choose to fast from certain hobbies, activities or pastimes in addition to or instead of abstaining from particular foods. The overall goal of Lent, however, is not to curb an addiction to any food or thing; instead, it’s a reminder to take rest for our bodies and our souls to focus on God. As cancelations caused by COVID-19 have revealed, asking Americans to rest can feel no more manageable than making a toddler sit through a Sunday service in silence.

Officials can try to force us to stay home, but receiving appreciation and cooperation in the effort is a much larger request because Americans are addicted to going and doing.

With social media and all kinds of virtual entertainment available to us remotely, we can still ignore the chance to really rest even when we are isolated in our homes. So many Americans are so accustomed to constant stimulation and entertainment that they are no longer practiced in being bored or alone with their thoughts. Christians are equally affected by this phenomenon, even though it goes against the Lord’s command to be still and know He is God. In fact, the Bible is full of advice about rest that often goes ignored by Jesus’ disciples.

Source: Christian Headlines

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NASHVILLE (BP) — This time a year ago, Tom Tucker, a revivalist and evangelist based out of Rock Hill, S.C., had speaking engagements booked on all but one Sunday. This spring, Tucker’s calendar is empty — all of his plans for the next two months have been suddenly canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For Tucker and others who make their full-time living on the road, preaching the Gospel at various events, conferences and churches, the nationwide shutdown of gatherings is especially financially detrimental.

Just two weeks ago, Tucker was driving home after speaking at multiple church services. His entire spring schedule was filled. But it only took hours for the cancellations to begin rolling in as the government issued guidelines for social distancing and restrictions on gatherings.

“I knew then that pastors would be calling me, and they did,” Tucker said, “and everything was canceled.”

Bill Britt, president of Compel Outreach International in Haughton, La., echoed Tucker’s sentiment.

“Just a few weeks ago, no one would have remotely understood what was about to happen around the world,” Britt said.

Britt, whose organization has had events canceled all across the U.S. and other countries, said evangelists find themselves in a period of waiting. No one knows when travel — and beyond that, speaking engagements — will resume.

Gary Bowlin, president of the Louisiana Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists, said COVID-19 came at the worst time for evangelists.

“Our revivals and events have been canceled during one of our busiest times of the year,” Bowlin said.

“We’re all in a holding pattern,” Tucker added.

Tucker began his ministry as a full-time evangelist only a year ago. He said it took a lot of trust to surrender his life to that call. But as the effects of COVID-19 came to fruition, Tucker found himself asking God what was happening.

“When all this stuff started happening, I said ‘Lord what are you doing? This is what you called us to do,’” Tucker said.

The nationwide shutdown not only eliminates the evangelist’s travel and ministry, but his income. Bowlin noted that many evangelists rely on love offerings and don’t have guaranteed salaries. Britt said the cancellation of spring events could mean the loss of the majority of an evangelist’s income.

“As long as churches are not meeting, then the evangelists are receiving no love offerings from these churches,” Britt said. “The evangelist receives the bulk or all of his income through these events where he is scheduled to minister. Even if the shutdown lasts another six to eight weeks, that will mean no income for the evangelist for months. This could be devastating for many ministries across the country.”

Source: Baptist Press

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NEW YORK, N.Y. (BP) — When the COVID-19 pandemic began hitting New York City last month, the leaders of Bridge Community Church in Queens, N.Y., wanted to help. As a small one-year-old church plant, they knew they could not do everything.

They could, however, do something.

Michael Hill, a Southern Baptist church-planting missionary with the North American Mission Board (NAMB), said the church decided to focus on five specific areas: prayer, creating daily 60-second videos of hope, picking up supplies for people who couldn’t get out, providing a sense of connection for the lonely in quarantine and serving frontline workers who needed to work.

On Saturday (March 28), Bridge Community Church partnered with Jackson Heights Community Church to collect needed supplies for healthcare workers. Hill said that despite rainy weather and the numerous obstacles of organizing a collection drive in the middle of a quarantine, they were pleased with the results and will continue to collect supplies in the weeks to come.

“Ultimately, this is what we’ve been called here to do,” Hill said. He moved to the city in 2017 from Lakeview Baptist in Auburn, Ala., where he served as college pastor. “We moved specifically to New York City to share the hope and love that exists through Jesus only. So, we press into this season, where this pandemic is taking hold of our city. Those are the things people are looking for. They’re looking for hope. They’re hungry for peace. They want to have that joy in life.”

The Bridge Community Church is among a number of Southern Baptist churches in New York serving the city in the midst of one of its darkest periods.

The city has become the epicenter of the United States’ battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. More than a third of U.S. cases and deaths have been in the city. Some hospitals are becoming overrun with patients. Over the weekend, the New York Post reported that the city was experiencing a COVID-19 related death every 9.5 minutes.

Taylor Field is a Send Relief missionary and pastor of Graffiti Church located on the Lower East Side of New York City. He said Graffiti Church has first focused on serving people with whom they already had a connection. For example, the church has had opportunities to serve a number of families that were already involved in its tutoring ministry.

Graffiti has a long history of ministering to the city’s homeless population. This weekend, its ministry served 2,000 ready-to-eat meals to the homeless. Typically, Field said, the church has gathered the homeless to feed them, but because of the pandemic, it has been serving grab-and-go meals. North Carolina and Pennsylvania-South Jersey Southern Baptists have pitched in by sending meals for Graffiti to distribute. The Send Relief Ministry Center in Ashland, Ky., also provided meals.

“People are rallying around to help,” Field said. “It’s humbling to see that there is this crisis across our nation, but still people are thinking about New York City where people are just on top of each other.”

In the process of serving the homeless, Field added, they have needed to teach social distancing and hygiene techniques as they distribute the food. When they distributed food last Thursday, the church marked lines on the sidewalk every six feet to show how far people needed to stand away from one another.

Source: Baptist Press

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My name is Dr. Rodney Howard-Browne. My wife, Adonica, and I are the founders of Revival Ministries International, The River at Tampa Bay Church, River Bible Institute, River School of Worship, and River School of Government in Tampa, Florida. I am the senior pastor of the church. We are a multi-ethnic local church, with an international outreach and influence.

In December 1987, my wife and I, along with our three children, immigrated from our native land of South Africa to the United States. I felt a call from God on my life to preach the gospel and to come to America. I am proud to be a citizen of the United States of America. When I became a citizen, I swore the Oath of Citizenship, before God—to uphold and defend the Constitution—and I have done everything in my power to do just that. My family and I are deeply appreciative to be able to live in this great nation, the beacon of freedom to the world.

The two greatest commandments mentioned by Jesus, to love God and to love people, exemplify my life. My greatest passion in life is to introduce people to Jesus, so they can experience His love and forgiveness.

As you know, I was arrested on trumped-up charges for conducting a church service on Sunday, March 29, which Sheriff Chad Chronister claimed, in a press conference, allegedly violated the Hillsborough County Executive Order that went into effect last Friday, March 27, at 10:00 p.m. The two charges are second-degree misdemeanors that carry a maximum penalty of two months in jail and $500 fine.

The fanfare and drama that surrounded my arrest was completely unnecessary. A simple phone call informing me that I had been charged with violating the Executive Order and needed to come to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office would have sufficed. I would have been willing to turn myself in but was not offered that option. It was unnecessary to send law enforcement to my home. And it was unnecessary to hold a press conference even as I was being arrested.

Before addressing some of the false statements made in the press conference, I want to say that even though the drama and made-for-TV press conference was not appropriate, I do not hold any ill-will toward anyone at the press conference, including Sheriff Chronister. I have the utmost respect for law enforcement. In fact, in January of 2020, I had the pleasure of honoring the Hillsborough County law enforcement by presenting a plaque to Sheriff Chronister at The River at Tampa Bay Church. Afterwards, we held an event for our church community (which includes many from the inner city) to interact with, and build a rapport with, our local police and deputies.

I also want to say that I was treated well and with dignity by the deputies and staff of the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office who came to my home and walked me through the booking process.

Sheriff Chronister made statements at the press conference that the arrest was conducted at my home because the church has an arsenal of weapons. This is patently false. The church, like many churches, had armed off-duty deputies on Sunday to provide protection against anyone who might have ill intentions.

A statement was also made that I was “reckless” for holding the church service. With all due respect to Sheriff Chronister, the church went above and beyond the requirements for secular businesses to protect the health and well-being of the people who attended. None of this seems to have been taken into consideration but appears to be a knee-jerk reaction to hyped-up reports by media (who were not in the building at any time).

A statement was also made that we ignored repeated warnings. This is patently untrue! On Thursday, Sheriff Chronister spoke to some of our staff by speaker phone. I was also present. After we told Sheriff Chronister that we were enforcing six-foot social distancing, had installed over $100,000 of high-grade hospital air purifiers, and were taking other actions to protect the health of anyone who attended, he said the church could operate on Sunday, and that he had no intention to close the church or arrest anyone. The order then became effective on Friday night at 10:00 p.m. On Saturday, we prepared our building, and our staff and ushers, to take all possible, reasonable precautions. On Sunday, we held our usual meeting with the precautions (listed below) in place. At NO time, before or during the service, did we receive any “warnings” from the Sheriff or any other official. 

The March 27 “Safer-at-Home” order contains, in paragraph 3, 42 sub-paragraphs of exceptions, including “religious personnel.” Following this long list of exceptions, in paragraph 5, the order adds another huge exception: “Businesses which are not described in paragraph 3, and are able to maintain the required physical distancing (6 feet) may operate.” (emphasis added). In other words, any business that is not in the long list of specific exceptions, is also exempted if it is able to comply with the six-feet separation between people. In such case, there is no limit on the number of people who can be present. 

The church took extra precautions to more than comply with the Executive Order, which included the following: 

The church sanctuary has moveable chairs. Chairs were removed from the sanctuary so that the remaining chairs were separated by six feet. Any small group that may have been closer than six feet were family members that came to the church together. This six-foot separation was maintained throughout the church. 

The church took every precaution to protect the people who attended. In fact, the kinds of precautions the church undertook cannot be found existing in many commercial business establishments that freely operate in Hillsborough County under this Executive Order. 

The Executive Order on its face, and as applied, discriminates against religious services and gatherings, despite the fact that the First Amendment provides express protections to houses of worship and assembly. There is no similar constitutional protection for commercial businesses; yet houses of worship and religious gatherings are singled out for discrimination. The State of Florida’s Executive Order exempts churches, as does the Orange County Executive Order, and many other county orders. Yesterday, Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a new Executive Order that states attending “religious services conducted in churches, synagogues and houses of worship” are “Essential Activities.” Surely, Hillsborough County could follow their lead and not violate the Constitution. There are other means available to achieve the interest that we all share to protect human life. 

The word of my arrest has traveled around the world. While I have received vulgar verbal abuse and death threats from people who do not know me and are not familiar with the facts, I have also received many words of support and prayer. Many people are deeply concerned that in America a pastor would be arrested. 

As my wife and I prayed about what we should do this weekend, we have decided to close the church for this upcoming Sunday service, for the protection of our people in this antagonistic climate, in large part created by media hype and misrepresentations, which have undoubtedly been exacerbated by Sheriff Chronister’s exaggerated and outright false accounts of the situation. We do not make this decision lightly. This is Palm Sunday. We are entering the time of year that is most important to Christians around the world in which we remember and celebrate the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

We did not hold church to defy any order; nor did we hold church to send a political message. We did not hold church for self-promotion or financial motives, as some have wrongly accused. We held church because it is our mission to save souls and help people, and because we in good faith did everything possible to comply with the Executive Order. Indeed, Sheriff Chronister told us last Thursday that we could hold church. 

At this point, we believe it is prudent to take a pause by not opening the church doors this Sunday. This will allow an opportunity for people to take a deep breath and calm down. No matter your view on this matter, I encourage you to take a step back and reconsider the options. I believe we can better balance the health and safety of our community without throwing out the Constitution. 

At this time, I have not made any decision about Easter Sunday or services thereafter. Adonica and I are praying and seeking the Lord for wisdom. I will say, however, that the church cannot be closed indefinitely. We believe that there are less restrictive means available to balance all the various interests. 

My attorneys at Liberty Counsel will vigorously defend me against this unlawful arrest. I have also authorized my attorneys at Liberty Counsel to file a federal challenge to the Hillsborough County Executive Order. As I said earlier, this order violates the First Amendment and is unconstitutional. I have authorized this constitutional challenge for several reasons. 

First, I have already been arrested once on trumped-up charges. I am a law-abiding citizen, who respects law enforcement. Like any normal law-abiding person, I would prefer not to be arrested again. A second arrest could escalate to a higher criminal penalty, or even a felony. No one wants to face criminal charges. My attorneys at Liberty Counsel are representing me on the criminal case, which we will move to dismiss. 

Second, because of the publicity, the vitriol and death threats that have been directed at us and the church, I feel compelled by these threats to not meet this upcoming Sunday for the protection of our pastors, staff, and congregation. Also, I love my pastoral staff at The River, and they love us and are in agreement with our stance to obey the Word of God and also to stand up for our constitutional rights. If the church holds service this coming Sunday and the Sheriff chooses to arrest me again under this unconstitutional Executive Order, he will probably have to arrest all of our pastors for preaching in my place. Personally, I do not want to put my pastoral staff in a position of having to choose between criminal arrest or carrying out our God-given mission to worship together and lead people to Jesus. 

Third, The River Church provides many ministries more than services where we physically gather together to worship. We have various training schools, and we also provide food and clothing to people in need. The Farmer’s Market and the weekly food boxes we provide are greatly needed at this time to help needy and hurting families. These ministries need to continue to operate to help people. We have many inner-city people who do not have the luxury of watching church online at home. We feel obligated to continue to serve them in person and to make sure we continue to provide groceries to them every week. People in our community need help more than ever in this time of crisis, and the church is where many of them turn for spiritual and material help. We need to be able to minister, without unreasonably restrictive measures, to their spiritual and material needs. Church is a body of believers that cannot be substituted online, especially for people who do not have access to the internet, or their internet is too slow to watch video. Our church helps hurting people and those in need, both spiritually and physically. There is no substitute for meeting together to help one another. This can be done while also protecting the health and welfare of those who attend. 

No one wants to face arrest for a criminal charge just for exercising a constitutional right. The threat of arrest, and worse, actual arrest, operates as a significant chill to the exercise of constitutional rights. No one should have to choose between the two. Even in times of crisis, the courts are open to protect our constitutional rights. We hope and trust that the authorities in this case would re-consider their actions and choose to uphold the Constitution, for all of our sakes, basing their decisions on actual facts and correctly applying any and all of the law, rather than succumbing to pressure from certain antagonistic media.   

May God grant us wisdom and blessings as we approach this sacred time of Palm Sunday and Easter. 

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MOUNT PLEASANT, Texas (BP) — A chocolate factory owned by a couple of Southern Baptists is among the factories that have converted to make medical face shields to supply hospitals with personal protective equipment needed in the COVID-19 fight.

Michael and Angie Moss own Sweet Shop USA, the largest handmade chocolate manufacturer in the country, in Mount Pleasant, Texas. The company was founded in Fort Worth nearly 50 years ago before relocating to northeast Texas, and they supply thousands of retailers nationwide, including Nordstrom.

With the slowdown of sales at retail stores because of the coronavirus pandemic, Sweet Shop USA wasn’t receiving as many orders and had to lay off about 10 of their 80 employees. The Mosses, members of New Beginnings Baptist Church in Longview, were praying about what to do when they heard President Trump mention the Defense Production Act.

“My husband remembers his grandparents talking about World War II and how companies did other things during that time to meet needs in the supply chain,” Angie Moss told the TEXAN.

On March 20, Michael Moss woke up with an idea to make medical face shields. He contacted a vendor in New York who usually supplies the chocolate factory with packaging and asked if he could cut plastic shields with a die cut machine. The vendor told Moss he was planning to close his doors the following Monday because of a lack of orders, and he was delighted to have something to make, Angie Moss said.

Sweet Shop USA started spreading the word that the company would be able to supply face shields, and within hours hospitals in New York, Chicago and Seattle were interested, said Moss, who also serves as vice president of sales.

Six days after Michael Moss looked into the idea, the first face shields rolled off the converted assembly line. The Mosses’ college-age son planned to personally deliver 14 cases to a hospital in Tyler the next day “just to get them to them faster because they need them urgently,” Moss said.

“We presold in the first three days almost 300,000 facial shields,” she said, adding that many hospitals usually order from manufacturers overseas, such as in China, but the pandemic has severely disrupted those supply chains.
The face shields now produced at the chocolate factory are called “Waymaker,” Moss said, because Isaiah 43:16-19 has been important to them in recent days. The passage says in part, “Behold, I am doing a new thing. Do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the desert.”

To make the shields, Sweet Shop USA converted its packing area — 20,000 square feet of the 80,000 square feet facility. They set up tables “sort of like stations, and we’re trying to practice social distancing. They’ve got masks on too, trying to keep everybody safe,” Moss said.

Source: Baptist Press

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