Defaulting to grace: Part two

Worldviews in the church

I started writing this chapter in August of 2021, at the height of the COVID pandemic. Two-and-a-half years later, most of it still holds. If anything, churches are often more divided over world views, and if not divided, more deeply entrenched in their cultural belief systems, turning away from the simplicity of the gospel to promote a social agenda on either the left or the right.

Politics and pandemics seem to bring out the worst in all of us, whether or not we are in the Church or attending a church. We live in an uncertain and increasingly divided world, and churches often neglect to teach about important issues from a biblical perspective. There is tradition invoked at various conferences, certain Bible verses are pulled out of context to make a point, and the trajectory of the church writ large is a downward spiral, largely because grace does not abound. The post-COVID culture is not tolerant of inauthenticity. It’s easy to blame the culture for how the church is viewed, but unity is challenging unless the Bride of Christ pulls herself together through the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was not a Democrat, Republican, Socialist, or Independent. He was a citizen of Judea, under the rule of Rome. He was not Protestant in any denomination, nor was he Catholic or Orthodox. He was a Jew. The sooner we all remember whom we serve, the more united the Church will be.

The pandemic of the early 2020s illustrated a multitude of uncomfortable truths among church-goers. There was first the argument about closing church doors to “flatten the curve.” When it became evident that COVID-19 would last longer than a few months, some churches rebelled against state requirements for “social distancing” and gatherings. Social media (e.g. Facebook) and business applications (e.g. ZOOM) found new audiences as pastors recorded sermons in empty sanctuaries and eventually from offices and homes. Some churches, however, felt the need to keep their doors open, despite recommendations and mandates to remain closed. The longer the pandemic lasted and the more people began to understand the virus, the more people felt compelled to gather. When states began to loosen restrictions in public places, churches fought for laws to open their doors. One mega church in Southern California spoke out against the government lockdowns critically, particularly as some businesses were allowed to reopen but churches were instructed to remain closed. The church sued the state, county, and city, “saying the state’s restrictions on large group meetings and singing restricted its religious freedom,” and the county sued the church to require the church to close its doors per the lockdown (Shelnut and Shanks, 2021). Church attorneys said, “Our position has been that L.A. County shutting down churches indefinitely amid a virus with a 99.98% survival rate, especially when state-preferred businesses are open and protests are held without restriction, is unconstitutional and harmful to the free exercise of religion” (Cosgrove, 2020). Ultimately, the state and county settled the suits and paid the church a total of $800,000 (Molina, 2021).

The California church may have been the most outspoken, but it was far from alone. Some believers celebrated while others criticized the decisions of churches to open their doors while lockdowns were still in place. It became a source of division within the Body, argued in public forums on Facebook and Twitter. Masks and vaccines were equally argued out loud for all the world to see. Added to the pandemic battles was a surge in nationalism that infected many churches and divided believers along lines that Jesus never suggested. Pastors, once respected for their wisdom, made public statements that isolated large groups of people: women, sexually abused individuals, and members of political parties on either the right or the left, among others. Denominations argue between and amongst themselves over how to rightly treat the mentally ill, same-sex-attracted people, who should be allowed to teach and where, and whether (or to what extent) churches should be involved in politics.

What does the secular world see when we divide ourselves over cultural issues? The pandemic is only one of thousands of politico-cultural beliefs that have infected the people of God. Every day the news tells of extreme activities on both sides of the political aisle. From elementary schools that rewrite world maps to universities that exchange graduations for often ill-informed protests, young people learn that extreme reactions to events are expected, and discourse becomes an all-or-nothing proposition. When leaders in Congress resort to politicking instead of representing their constituents, people lose trust in the whole institution. When being “right” at any cost is more important than seeking common ground, the divide between people becomes more and more difficult to bridge.

When there is no civility in the secular world, it becomes all the more important for the Church to maintain open and honest conversations. Beyond civility, the people who make up the body must take up their positions in love. Proverbs 12:18 says,” There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing” (ESV). Healing is what the Church should be about in this divided world. Moreover, individual believers should prioritize healing words wherever they go, in person and online. Jesus reminded his listeners that “the tree is known by its fruit” (Matthew 12:33) and warned that people who drip with careless words that seek division and destruction will be held to account at judgment. Speaking truth in love unites believers and leaves space for disagreements about non-essential things like politics and cultural worldviews.

Next week, I will conclude this section of the book-that-wasn’t with a look at what it means to speak the truth in love.

Resources

Bellafante, G. (2024, January 19). A Map Without Israel Plunges a Grade School Into a Political Firestorm. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/19/nyregion/israel-palestine-brooklyn-school-map.html

Cosgrove, Jaclyn. (2020, November 8). LA pastor mocks COVID 19 rules as church members fall ill. LA Times.

Molina, Alejandra. (2021, September 1). John MacArthur’s Church to Receive $800K COVID-19 Settlement. Christianity Today via Religion News Service.

Shelnut, Kate and Shanks, Nicole (2021, September). How two megachurches in California kept worshipping. Christianity Today.

Stanton, A. (2024, May 06). Full List of Colleges Cancelling Graduation Services Amid Campus Protests. Newsweek. Retrieved from https://www.newsweek.com/columbia-cancels-graduation-ceremony-universities-palestine-protests-1897560