"New Normal"

Hello friends, and co-laborers in Christ.

Our world, and our understanding of the "new normal" under which we find ourselves living today, continues to evolve by the hour. While we may be reluctant to face or fully admit it, the reality is that we are in the midst of a 100-year crisis event, global in scope and unprecedented in any of our lifetimes. As such, many of the old "rules" and assumptions that until very recently shaped our expectations and plans for life, work, ministry, etc., simply no longer apply; life as we have known it is on "hold" for the time being, and when we can except a return to "normalcy", no one can say. We are facing a new and still largely unknown/unquantified challenge, and so for the time being, the future remains likewise unknown.

This is not say we are to be governed or directed by fear, or lose sight of the fact that, as followers of Jesus our hope, our strength, our future is rooted somewhere, in SOMEONE, deeper than any and every circumstance, even global pandemic. "Fear not", we are commanded again and again throughout scripture, and in the end the reason we are not to fear is that we are not ALONE. In the midst of profound uncertainty we worship and cling to the God who draws ever NEAR to his people; the "Emmanuel", God WITH us, and God for us, incarnate and co-suffering in Christ. Fear not.

So, we are not governed or motivated by fear. No matter the circumstance, we KNOW our God and we know our calling: to draw ever nearer to our Father, through a conscious dependence upon and the empowering of the Holy Spirit, through the self-giving love and ministry of Jesus the Son; growing day by day in faith (which is living trust), and in greater Christ-likeness. No matter what our circumstances may be, THIS is our calling, and that does not - WILL not - ever change.

However, while no circumstances, no matter disruptive or dire, can remove us from the presence of Christ or change the fundamental nature of his calling over our lives, circumstances CAN and will change what this looks like, on a day-to-day basis. The actual outworking of this faith in our lives, and in our life together as the Church, will look different as the world and circumstances around us change. And, there is no mistaking that present moment constitutes a real and dramatic change in our world and in our circumstances.  

At our last GATHERING it was announced that as a proactive, neighborly and missional response to our "new normal", The Commons would be shifting to an all-TABLE rhythm between now and Easter. In the days since, my impression and growing conviction is that these stated changes and plans are neither substantive nor far-sighted enough. We are all discovering, day by day, just how dramatically our lives and rhythms are likely to be impacted in the days ahead, and the same is true for our life together. 

First, as the pandemic continues to develop and spread globally, it is becoming clearer and more certain that when it comes to social "containment" measures, we are likely talking in terms of months, rather than weeks. Our conference leadership is encouraging church leaders to be thinking and planning for no less than 100 days of corporately limited/shifted ministry conditions, which puts us beyond the end of June. We can hope, and should certainly pray, that the spread of this virus will be contained well before then. However, we will be well served to plan for an - effectively - indefinite shift in how we think about community and ministry. Offering an "end date" for this season, at this time, would simply be arbitrary. We need to be planning to live and minister under these constraints until such a time as the circumstances and physical/social realities around us make it reasonable to do otherwise.

Second, as intimate and "nimble" as our TABLE structures are, already (and as such, seemingly well-suited to face the challenges before us) for the time being it appears that even these groups, in some cases, may be too large to feasibly or responsibly gather together. This presents us with a new/different manner of challenge that we must contend with, and discern our way through. How will we continue to encourage and equipping our community; continue fostering fellowship, mission and worship, when we are significantly limited in our ability to come together? This is the question I have been wrestling with profoundly, in recent days. We certainly don’t have everything “figured out” yet, and I fully expect our circumstances to continue to shift and evolve in the days ahead. But I wanted to share where we are, presently, and what you can expect for this coming Sunday, and beyond.

1.) Digital and Video "Content" for home-based worship and discipleship: I am still working on the details of this will look like. But we’re going to provide TABLE-style, inductive study and teaching content for our folks to engage with in a self-directed manner, including a weekly scheduled live stream teaching from me on Sunday mornings. This will likely take place through ZOOM and/or Facebook Live, and I’m hoping to work it out such that we can foster some “real time” interaction; comments, questions, prayer requests, etc. in that context.

These resources could be used at the level of the individual or family, OR folks who are healthy, able and willing could arrange to gather in small groups (4-6 people) to do a study, watch and discuss a video teaching, etc. together. In this manner, we can hopefully encourage connection and fellowship where circumstances and wisdom allows for it, while allowing people to discern and self-select based on their own convictions and context.

Additionally, in a world where many of our everyday rhythms are being disrupted, encouraging and equipping people for some shared spiritual disciplines becomes ever-more important. My family is considering going to a discipline of "fixed hour" prayer, afternoon and evening in addition to our existing "morning prayer" rhythm. I would like to put together and offer a liturgy for daily prayer, and invite our community into this discipline, together. It seems significant that, cut off though we may be from regular fellowship, we could know that three times a day the Church is united and bound together in prayer.

2.) TABLE-based personal connection and pastoral care: Even when circumstances dictate that our normal TABLE / Outpost connections are disrupted, that CONNECTIVE structure remains vital to the health, care and flourishing of our community at this time. Your TABLE/Outpost leaders will be taking the lead to try establish some points of connection, but please feel free to pick up the phone and instigate some connection, yourself. What this means for a your group will likely look different than it does for another.

If your group is small - or circumstances / health / self-selection of some members MAKE it small, for this season, it may be that "micro-table" gatherings can continue in some fashion. 4-6 person threshold? Can you "buddy up" pairs/small groups of individuals or family units for some intentional fellowship and prayer? You will need to discern what will best and most responsibly serve one another, and pursue that.

In the absence of an ability to gather in person, how will we help ensure connection and care? Video chat technology is easily accessible, these days, and is becoming the go-to for most meetings and conversations. Does some rhythm of video chat/conference call for prayer and conversation make sense for your group? Can you set up a plan for regular phone call "check-ins" with one another?

The one thing we can be sure of in this season is that meaningful fellowship and vital connection will simply not happen on accident. It will take intention, it will take discipline and a plan. And, in the economy of The Commons, it will be the responsibility of ALL of us, through the fellowship structure of our TABLE communities, to ensure that these connections happen. If someone in your community falls ill, needs help with errands or the like, it is the TABLE/Outpost, and your intentionality, that will ensure those needs are known, prayed for, and met with whatever practical resources are available.

Make no mistake: this is a historic moment, the implications of which will likely ripple through the Church, and our world, for the rest of our lives. How we struggle, how we press in, what we learn about what it means to BE the Church, caring for one another and exercising living faith when the world we had known gets pulled out from beneath our feet, will change us. The Lord intends to use this moment; he has not been taken by surprise, and he purposes as ever to draw each of us deeper into the life that he intends for us. The life of trust, obedience and self-giving love, into a deepening abiding and greater reflection of Christ, through our lives, day-by-day. And I pray that we, the people of The Commons, would take him up on that invitation - RESPOND to that call - in these unsettling times.

And I am with you. I am FOR you. I am learning this way of trust and rest and more desperate reliance on the Spirit of God right alongside of you… And together, I trust that we will witness God turn this storm of uncertainty into transformation, deeper wells of grace, and the furthering of his Kingdom purposes… For all the anxiety of the current moment, I’m excited to see that.

So, we’ll be in touch. Keep your eyes open for resources and opportunities to connect as they become available. Draw near to Jesus, and allow his grace and word and rhythms to shape your days. Take deep breaths. Learn how to pray. Call one another. Find ways to serve one another. Love one another well. 

Grace, Peace, and Prayer.

Pastor Chris