March 4, 2020
Leadership Notes
People have lost their minds. Okay, that's a slight exaggeration. Less than everyone but more than a few people are spinning out of control.
One of Richard's Rules is that in most situations, most of the time, things aren't as bad as the doom-and-gloomers want you to think, and things aren't as good as the power-of-positive-thinking crowd want you to believe. I'm usually skeptical of the whole "The apocalypse is coming," or "Armageddon is howling outside your door," way of thinking. It may sell books or draw eyes to the news programs, but it's not a worldview I share.
I know, sometimes things get worse before they get better. And sometimes the worst-case scenario remains just that…never materializing. Life is funny. That's why we trust God in all things. Remember, worry is worshiping your fears. How many times do we need to remember that?
I read an article about how stores, especially wholesale club stores like Costco, are running out of toilet paper, paper towels, and bottled water. How those purchases help with our virus-panicked culture, I'll never know. And then yesterday, after the Federal Reserve cut the yield on the benchmark 10-Year U.S. Treasury note, many news outlets reported it was in response to the threat of the coronavirus. A little misleading, and not wholly accurate. Another headline read, "Managing Coronavirus-Related Anxiety."
My favorite so far is what the pastor of a megachurch in New Zealand said last week:
Tithe-paying, Bible-believing, Holy Spirit-filled Christians have a Psalm 91 "protection policy" against the coronavirus.
Yup. You read that right. He goes on to say:
The prince of the power of the air, Satan, has control of atmospheres, unless you're a blood-bought born-again, Jesus-loving, Bible-believing, Holy Ghost filled, tithe-paying believer. You are the only one that can walk through atmospheres and has a, literally a protection - the Psalm 91 protection policy around you.
Has a virus handed us our new stewardship campaign theme?
We live in a crazy world. I thank God daily for how He is equipping the reasonable, faithful, devoted followers here at Covenant Church to be salt, light, and leavening even in the weirdest times.
Be of Good Cheer,
Richard