1. Make a full plan and ACTUALLY GET all necessary supplies before going public with it. First of all, if you make a good plan, go public with it, and then find that you can’t get any of the gloves or Purell your plan depends on for another four weeks, your good plan just evaporated. Furthermore, if you can’t get masks, then there’s a chance your dentist can’t either. If you can’t get Clorox wipes, then there’s a chance the Dermatology office is also waiting in line. If you can’t find hand sanitizer, then think about the local restaurant owner that you appreciate so much. Only these peoples’ very lives depend on the speed at which they can get back up and running.
2. Know the plan for businesses/activities in your area… you are not a modern-day Martin Luther [or MLK Jr] if you have not taken the time to hear the other side. Ignorant antinomianism is not civil disobedience in the cause of justice. Know the criteria that are being used by your Governor, Mayor, or County authorities. Take the time necessary to hear their thoughts and understand their approach. It may not be as crackpot or Draconian as that guy on Facebook made it out to be. Have you done your due diligence? Start with the Johns Hopkins Guidelines to Governors for Phased Reopenings. It’s a great, reasonable resource.
3. Know the plan of other churches in your area … don’t be slavishly bound to it, but don’t be too proud to be aware of and informed by what others are doing. Like me, you might learn a thing or two from others in Christ’s body nearby. There is also a strong possibility of an increased testimony from Christian unity as well as potential legal protection if you are able to act in concert with other churches in your local community.
4. Continue livestreaming – it is either disingenuous or unkind or both to give your high-risk folks “permission” to stay home during the uncertain transition-back period, and not continue to livestream for them during that time.
5. Consider Polling – finally a good reason for a congregational poll! … I’m almost always against church member polls, but in this case, there is a lot of value that can come to Church leaders by knowing where folks are – how many are comfortable returning? How many would prefer to stay home another month? How many would wear PPE? How many would insist upon it? How many would object to it? This is really good information for those whose planning depends on willing participation from their folks.
6. Take Attendance – if you have multiple services, be specific. The doctors are telling us a ‘cure’ is likely a long way away. If someone in your church tests positive four months from now, it would be helpful to know which service they attended that week and who was near them. For some techie churches, it may be as simple as a mid-service, wide-angle snapshot.
7. Eliminate high-touch surfaces as much as possible. Passing offertory plates or communion trays from row to row, each touched by a hundred hands before making its way into yours… that shouldn’t be happening right now. Consider going to bulletins or a projector as opposed to hymnals and prayerbooks [the traditionalist in me cringes to say it, but as a temporary measure, it’s worth considering.] Put bulletins on chairs, rather than on a common pick-up table/basket. Most churches don’t have automatic doors. Consider propping doors open at start/close of services. Our deacons are forming cleaning teams to wipe down arm rests, door handles, light switches, thermostats, bathrooms, etc. between services. And our facilities manager just purchased an HVAC air purifier. Lots of churches are investing in hand sanitizer dispensers by entry/exit points. Don’t forget trashcans. There will be lots more wipes, tissues, masks, and gloves than normal. Where are these going to end up?
8. Think in terms of households. Hey, it’s a category all over the New Testament! :-) Medical guidelines suggest at least 6 feet of separation [more if singing btw] between households, not individual members. The assumption being, everyone in the same household already shares the same level of exposure. They don’t need to be separated from one another. This may or may not help with seating. Many reopening guidelines are based off of seating capacity, rather than a total number anyway. Lots of churches are temporarily resuming service attendance on a sign-up basis. Once the sign up list is full, assigned seating is arranged according to households. A strange but effective approach for this unusual season. Whatever your plan, be sure to have something in mind for those who might show up without signing up first [the same for those who arrive visibly sick or symptomatic.] Even the most callous Calvinists among us would have a hard time turning away visitors at the door. :-)
9. Children’s ministries are in a different category – kids have zero concept of personal space and social distancing. You know this. So do our authorities and policymakers. Kids’ activities are the last to resume. If your church operations are interdependent so that you can’t restart regular worship services without children’s church going simultaneously, reopening will take longer. In other words, the bigger your church, the slower your restart will likely need to be.
10. Expect big changes – Lowes, Walmart, McDonalds have all had to make big changes. So will you. Going out in public feels different now. Church will not be an exception. Remember to manage expectations [theirs and yours] by communicating this.
One extra – if I may humbly suggest:
11. Make vital mental distinctions – Brothers, remember that this is not the Church being persecuted or singled out unnecessarily. Again, read the Hopkins Guidelines. Church activities are being reviewed alongside every other community activity and rated according to very rational criteria for risk vs modifiability. Church services are potential superspreader events. It’s just a fact. Be patient as our authorities try to reopen the right way. Good grief – they are talking about cancelling the NFL. If that doesn’t show you how serious this thing is across the board, nothing will! Be willing to wait in line and recognize that there are lots of folks in line ahead of us whose lives and livelihoods depend on them restarting before we do. We are not being told to stop preaching in Jesus’ name [Acts 4.18]. We are being asked to continue doing so online for some number of weeks more. Recognize that while we are doing this, everyone else around us is sacrificing.
Also, be willing to do the nearly impossible work of mentally distinguishing personal political philosophies you hold from truly Scriptural Convictions based on plain Scriptural Commands [IOW, do not confuse the traditions of men, even good, Conservative, Christian men, with God’s Words and God’s Commands!] As much as we may hold them dear, “don’t tread on me”; “no king but Jesus”; “all men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”; or “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the right of the people peaceably to assemble” are not phrases we got from the Bible. They are political concepts we might hold, I hope for good reason, but I also hope not with the same degree of zeal or affection that we do the tenets of our most holy faith and commands of Scripture. Be self-aware enough to recognize this. And for Pete’s sake – stop the spread of misinformation and specious arguments! There are reasons Walmart and liquor stores are allowed to stay open in times of public crisis while church buildings are closed. It’s textbook civic management. Be patient with your authorities. It is no easy thing to run a city [let alone a county, state, or nation!].
photo credit: Vatican News
