COVID-19

Church Comorbidities

Comorbidities. Preexisting conditions. These words rank up there with unprecedented in a competition for word of year in 2020. Prior to March of 2020, few of us ever used the word unprecedented, we didn’t speak of preexisting conditions, and we may not have even known what a comorbidity was. But, that was time before COVID. …

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Stop Eulogizing The Local Church

We criticize online news sites for their click bait approach to news, but a few websites dedicated to church ministry and pastors need to be reprimanded as well. In an effort to promote clicks during COVID, there have been a number of eulogies written for the local church. We have been told that it will …

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Ecclesiology: Moving Toward Our People

This Sunday morning, there will be two options for worship on our campus. People can join us outdoors in our parking lot or can participate in worship on screens inside the sanctuary. For those of who have been joining us via livestream, that option will continue. Why are we going backwards? No one has asked …

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Pandemic Pastoral Priorities: Wading Into Indoor Worship

I know that many churches are wrestling with the same questions we are at Malvern Hill. As a pandemic continues to rage, we have to make decisions about how we will move forward with corporate worship. At Malvern Hill, we have been blessed to be able to be outdoors for worship since Easter while maintaining …

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Tend Your Own Garden

This morning, I sat on my porch before there was enough daylight to read my Bible. It is unseasonably cool. 65 degrees and breezy. There, I sat with my coffee and my dog enjoying the beauty of creation. The birds sang. The dog ran. The porch lights behind me flickered just a bit. Then, I …

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Preparing Your Church For The Second Wave

We’re all beginning to breathe a sigh of relief as it appears the lock-down measures are being slowly relaxed across our country. Many churches are worshiping outdoors, some are even beginning to return to indoor worship services. But experts across the country and the world urge us to be prepared to live with COVID-19 for …

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Detox: A Post-Quarantine Plan to Simplify Your Life

One of my favorite books on the approrpriate uses of technology in our lives is Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism. Newport doesn’t argue that technology is bad, but that the uncritical consumption of technology serves to distract us and keep us from living lives of focus, intentionality, and joy. One of the strategies he espouses for …

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Navigating Next Steps for Churches

On Sunday, March 8, 2020 I preached a sermon titled, The Apologetic of Fulfilled Scripture from Mark 14. On that Sunday, we forced ourselves out of bed after losing an hour of sleep to daylight savings time, gathered with our LifeGroups, shook hands, hugged friends, and crowded into our sanctuary shoulder to shoulder. We had …

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Stronger Through Corona

The coronavirus pandemic clogs all of our news outlets and consumes our thoughts. The grocery store limits the number of people who can shop at one time. I’m wearing a mask in public and hand sanitizer is like gold. Signs of the coronavirus are everywhere I turn. As a pastor, COVID-19 has affected nearly everything …

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Episode 9: Why Online Worship Leaves You Wanting More

Are you participating in online or parking lot worship services right now? For many people, these experiences have been an important lifeline during the coronavirus crisis. However, most people acknowledge that these online or parking lot experiences leave them a bit dissatisfied. Why is that? On this episode of the Podcast we hear from Dr. Ricky Stark about why it is that online and parking lot services are helpful, but certainly do not serve as a replacement for more traditional (and biblical) forms of worship.

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