Managing congregational anxiety in the post COVID-19 reboot

From Dominic Steele at The Pastor’s Heart:

“We are addressing how we care for and lead our congregations on the way back. We are seeing states quickly move through the different stages of opening up.

How do we handle the fear of change, and navigate the decisions of starting to meet again. How do we help our members flourish in community while keeping a physical distance? How can we come through this stronger? What about the feelings that they and we are experiencing, and how can we support them through the next few months?

The best advice for Australian churches is still to expect a protracted period with congregations limited to 100 people, with one person per four square metres, for many Churches, this necessitates change, with congregations to be divided or planted.

Jenny Brown heads The Family Systems Practice, is an experienced family systems therapist and the author of Growing Yourself Up.

Nigel Fortesque is the senior minister of Christ Church St Ives.”

– Watch here.

The Coronavirus Crisis as a Wilderness Experience

“To what might we compare this unexpected and unsettling coronavirus season? We might think of it like “Groundhog Day”: a repeating monotony of locked-down life.

We might think of it like the holding pattern of an aircraft coming in to land: an interminable period of waiting– like that of refugees waiting for a safe place to call home.

A related question to ask is, where the current pandemic fits into each of our life stories? It’s a question worth pondering, for, as Alistair McGrath puts it, ‘the story we believe we are in determines what we think about ourselves and consequently how we live.’

The Bible throws up an intriguing answer to both questions …”

– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Brian Rosner shares some thoughts on how the Lord continues to work in his people.

SRE at Learning at Home now available

Writing on the GAFCON website, Youthworks CEO Craig Roberts writes,

“…the COVID-19 pandemic has forced schools to go online. Youthworks has modified some of its SRE lessons for parents to use at home with their children AND the government has put a link to our resources on every school website.”

– Read his report here – and you can also access the SRE material here.

The importance of Priest and priest

“Who needs priests? For many in our society, there is a real cynicism around the word ‘priest’ and the idea of a religious establishment.

Yet there are some who have an earnest desire for priests. Perhaps we want people who are holy because we know deep down that we are not very holy, and we like to outsource. So we want people who have dedicated their lives to knowing God, who are trained in handling the Scriptures, paid to look after our spiritual wellbeing… and that way we don’t have to think too much about it.

But both the writer of the book of Hebrews and our Anglican tradition expose the folly of these attitudes. …”

– At The Australian Church Record, Ben George points us back to our great high priest.

Adaptive Leadership in COVID-19 with Brian Tung

“Brian Tung says leading our churches successfully out of COVID-19 is going to be much more complex than the journey in.

He says don’t squander the God-given opportunity to make ‘real’ change in the COVID-19 rollback.

How do you fix it even when it’s not broken?  Note, People don’t hate change. They hate loss. How do you make the most of the productive zone of disequilibrium. …”

– The latest episode of The Pastor’s Heart.

Is “Church Online” Church? (Lionel Windsor, Mikey Lynch, Andrew Heard)

Lionel Windsor writes:

“In this discussion for the Reach Australia network’s podcast, I join Mikey Lynch (leader of Tasmania’s Vision 100) and Andrew Heard (lead pastor of EV Church on the Central Coast of NSW) to think theologically about the current realities of church life, church approximation and online church.”

– Watch or listen here.

Church Seating & Stage Three – the implementation – with Michael Stead

“Today we get totally nitty gritty/extremely practical and we are talking church seating in stage three.. with the Bishop of South Sydney Michael Stead.


The road map – from Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison – indicates that there is going to be a moment that the government is calling ‘stage three’, probably/potentially mid July when meetings of up to 100 people will be able to take place.”

– Another very helpful edition of The Pastor’s Heart.

‘Repent or You will Perish’ — COVID-19 and God’s Gracious Judgments

“Every death, every disappointment, every illness, any suffering, any frustration, any loss, any regret, any pain that we experience is a gracious judgment of God. And every one of God’s gracious judgments is a message from God, a wake-up call from God. For every one of them:

Are not each of these messages that we desperately need today? These gracious judgments can equally well be described as ‘severe mercies’. …”

– Read and share the whole article by Peter Adam at The Gospel Coalition Australia.

(Photo: St. Helen’s Bishopsgate.)

John Chapman: Encouragement for Evangelism

“Do you really believe the gospel can convert your friends?”

[We posted this in February 2020. The pandemic is an excellent time to be reminded of this encouragement.]

In June and July 1977, the Sydney University Evangelical Union ran a major campus-wide mission. It was a big undertaking for the members of the SUEU, and a great blessing to many at the university.

John Chapman (Director of the Department of Evangelism in Sydney Diocese from 1969) and Paul Barnett (Rector of Holy Trinity Adelaide since 1973, and previously Rector of St. Barnabas Broadway) were the missioners.

Several months before the Mission, SUEU President Adrian Lane asked Chappo to record some words of encouragement for SUEU members. This 6 minute and 34 second tape is the result. We hope you find it a real encouragement.

 

Or right click on this link to download the 3.2MB mp3 file.

Related:

Phillip Jensen on Chappo, March 2013. – The Briefing, Matthias Media.

The preaching of John Chapman – Simon Manchester, The Briefing.

John Chapman – a personal reflection from Mark Thompson.

John Charles Chapman (Chappo) – by David Cook.

Chappo’s contribution to the Anglican Diocese of Armidale – Tim Stevens.

Archbishop Sir Marcus Loane remembers the beginnings of the SUEU – ACL.

(1980 photo: AFES.)

New resources from Dick Lucas

St. Helen’s Bishopsgate in London has made available a swathe of talks on preaching by Dick Lucas – recorded in the last decade.

They are featured in the most recent talks on their website, as well as in the special Teaching from Dick Lucas section.

The “New Normal” and the Same Old Story: Evangelism in a Virtual World

“I just want to see my friends!” This was the frustrated – and completely understandable – cry from one of our teenagers as we entered another week of isolation with no clear end in sight.

Although these friends had been chatting (and gaming) online, they knew it was a far cry from seeing each other. Yet this is the “new normal” under COVID-19.

By necessity rather than choice, online interactions are rapidly taking the place of physical contact. And this is all happening in the midst of other serious challenges: uncertainty about finances, job loss, unfulfilled dreams, loneliness, increased anxiety, depression, bereavement, and the ever-present fear of sickness and death itself. …

– Lionel Windsor calls us back to the main game.

COVID-19, the restart & strategic change – The Pastor’s Heart

On this week’s edition of The Pastor’s Heart, Dominic Steele speaks with Bishop Gary Koo, chairman of the Sydney Anglican COVID-19 Taskforce and Adam Lowe, Senior Pastor of St. Barts Toowoomba, a psychologist by background.

Their topic? “COVID-19, the restart & strategic change”.

EMA 2020

This year’s Evangelical Ministry Assembly will be streamed live from London – Tuesday 23rd – Thursday 25th June 2020.

“We really hope that you will be able to join us for EMA online, no matter where you are in the UK or around the globe.”

Ideal evening viewing in Australia.

Paul, Philosophy & Knowledge — Edwin Judge

God on the Ground podcast speaks with Emeritus Professor Edwin Judge AM.

Fascinating.

Partnership is a special gift of God

“Our world is in great need. That is more obvious every day. People are lost without Christ and they do not even realise it. A culture that is moving at breakneck speed away from its gospel heritage is unravelling and doing immense but unrecognised harm.

We need more men and women who are deeply immersed in the Scriptures, whose lives and teaching consistently re ect God’s truth and his gracious, loving character, and who are gifted and thoroughly prepared for the joys and challenges of this moment and the moments to come.

We cannot afford to take shortcuts in preparing people for a lifetime of word ministry in the world and among God’s people. There is too much at stake, and Christian leadership in this form is under constant assault from the evil one. …”

– Moore College Principal, Dr. Mark Thompson, writes about the great value of gospel partnership in the latest (Autumn 2020) Moore Matters.

Read online or download the PDF file.

(Photo courtesy The Pastor’s Heart.)

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