The Opportunity in the Pandemic



For several years now, I have been saying that we are in the midst of a generational transition, and this emerging generation of believers has an opportunity to be a more authentic expression of the church than any previous generation in America.

As they come of age, they have never known a time when the church has had a good reputation. They have watched the builder/boomer church be homophobic, jingoistic, racist and give an enthusiastic endorsement of DJT as President to the even greater detriment of the poor & marginalized, all while asserting Christianity and a love for Jesus.   This emerging generation is ripe for an authentic expression of God's grace, love & mercy.

The Opportunity in the Pandemic 
And now we have this Covid-19 pandemic, and it has presented an opportunity to demonstrate the grace, love & mercy of God to this generation.  I see this pandemic as an opportunity to teach folks how to share life in ways that demonstrate God's love for those who are the most vulnerable among us.

While our curve flattening pandemic protocols are obviously wise, a deeper analysis reveals that they make those living in poverty even more vulnerable.  And when the pandemic is over, they may not be able to recover.  I see this moment as an opportunity for us to learn how to be the church to this group of folks.

Learning to "Be the Church"

Here are (2) practices to begin now and build upon going forward:

1. Accept and embrace the inconvenience & discomfort during this pandemic, not just to appreciate God's Blessing, but to begin to liberate yourself from the addiction to material wealth & comfort...

2. Identify a few individuals or families that you know are financially more vulnerable than you are, and make a commitment to share resources (time & financial) to help them meet basic needs to survive…

Inherent in these (2) practices are a variety of challenges and learning opportunities that can produce spiritual growth and development in ways that no number of Sunday Sermons or Bible studies can.

If the practice of this type of life sharing can begin to reshape church culture over the next few years, this will not only activate believers of this emerging generation, it will be a more authentic witness to the generation they are called to reach... 

Grace & Peace


 Robert Caldwell is the Executive Director of AnswerPoverty.org and has been a practitioner and thought leader on the issues of poverty & race for more than 25 years.  Visit AnswerPoverty.org 

Comments

  1. AnonymousJanuary 17, 2022 at 1:03 AM

    Play On A Real Casino Slot With Real Money 카지노 카지노 우리카지노 우리카지노 943The fishin reels slot review

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Which came first the chicken or the egg?

Image
(Photo Courtesy of Pixabay.com)   After Tony (not his real name) was born, his mom left him at the hospital.  She was a crack addict and was obviously not in any condition to be a parent.  When the hospital discovered she had left, they called his maternal grandmother, who was listed as an emergency contact on the admissions form, and told her that she needed to come and pick up her daughter's child.  She did and for the next 10 years she did her best to raise him.  By the time he was nine years old he was too much for her to handle. He started running away and staying out in the streets all night.  Soon he began living in the streets, dealing drugs and sleeping wherever he could hustle a couch.  When I met Tony, he was 17 years old and his, life by all accounts, had been Hell.  He was well-built and handsome and used his charm to get women for sex, but he told me he did it mainly to make sure that he had a bed to sleep in most nights.  I don’t know if he had any children
Read more

The Christanity of this land and the Christanity of Christ

Image
The Christanity of this land and the Christanity of Christ To be a friend of the one, is of necessity to be the enemy of the other.  I love the pure, preacable, and Impartial Christianity of Christ; I therefore hate the corrupt, slave holding, woman-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land. Fredrick Douglass
Read more

A lesson in Privilege on Old McDonald's Farm

Image
(Image by VectorStock) Every year on Old McDonald's Farm the Cow goes to the Pigs and the Chickens with an idea to do something special for Old Farmer McDonald's Birthday.  And every year she comes to them with the same idea... "Let's make Farmer McDonald Breakfast for his Birthday!" Every year the Pigs and Chickens reluctantly asked "what do you have in mind this year?"   And every year the Cow says  "Bacon & Eggs of course! It's his favorite meal!" Well this year... the Pigs and Chickens say to the Cow "Let's do Dinner for him this year"   Excitedly the Cow says Ok...what do you have in mind?   " A Steak Dinner!" says one of the Pigs.  "He can have a Rib Eye, Porter House, Filet Mignon or even Prime Rib!"  One of the Chickens says  "He likes Milkshakes too, so we can make him a chocolate Milkshake for dessert!"  Hearing this the Cow's countenance changed. She lowered her
Read more