What’s the Biblical Basis for Church Membership? 3 Important Passages That Help Attenders Become Members

by Jed CoppengerBible, Christian living, Church, Ministry, Practical Ministry, UncategorizedPosted on No Comments

Why do churches like Redemption City Church have membership? It’s a question I’ve heard a few times over the years. It’s a question I wrestled with at one point in my life too. To me, the idea of church membership, whatever you call it (stakeholders, partners, etc.) sounded weird and a bit scary. And as far as I’m concerned, if I don’t see it in the Bible, I’d just assume do without it. But after studying the Scriptures, I found several reasons why I think the Bible affirms church membership. Membership in a church is a formal recognition from a church that a particular Christian is a believer who will reign eternally with Christ and a formal commitment between Christians to help one another carry out the Great Commission in a particular church. I affirm this understanding of church membership because of the following three passages (taken in the order that they are given in the NT) and my understanding of them.

Matthew 18:15-20

“15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

These words from Jesus seem to support the concept of church membership in a few ways. First, church membership makes the most sense when trying to figure out how to obey Jesus’ command to bring the “sinner” before the church. He says that if someone who is a part or a member of a church is caught in sin, that they should be brought before the church—if the first step doesn’t work. How do you know who to bring him before if there is no designated group of people like church membership? If there’s no membership, then who do you bring him before? Without membership, it seems like it’d be possible to bring him or her before strangers. It seems more likely that some kind of formal commitment between Christians to help each other carry out the Great Commission (i.e. church membership) exists.

Second, church membership makes the best sense of Jesus’ call to treat someone as an unbeliever. Jesus says that if the sinner doesn’t listen to the church and repent, “he should be treated like an unbeliever” (Matt. 18:17). How does a church treat unbeliever? They certainly want them to come to church right? So that’s not it. Perhaps it is removing him from a membership list? I think it makes the most sense that he’s saying unbelievers should be in our worship gatherings but not on our church member lists. So treating them as “unbelievers” means you remove them from your membership, while inviting them back onto it.

Third, church membership makes the best sense of Jesus’ “binding and loosing” language. After Jesus talks about removing a sinner from membership, he says “whatever you bind on earth is already bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth is already loosed in heaven” (Matt. 18:18). Since the “binding and loosing” corresponds to the removal or keeping of people in the church, it seems that it is pointing to both the reality of church membership and the responsibility of church members to steward this responsibility.

Jesus’ words in Matthew 18:15-20 indicate the need for something like church membership, whatever it is called (partnership, stakeholders, etc.).

1 Corinthians 5:1-2, 9-13

“It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. 2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.”

“ I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”

These passages from the Apostle Paul support the existence and importance of church membership. First, church membership makes the most sense of the Apostle Paul’s words to “remove” someone from among them in verse 2. While there is a lot we don’t know, it seems that someone in the Corinthian church is in the last stage of Jesus’ Matthew 18 process. So Paul tells them to “remove them.” Remove them from what? It seems most likely that Paul is having them removed from some type of membership. If it isn’t membership, what else would it be? Hard to come up with a good alternative. It’s most likely the removal from membership—the church’s public affirmation of their belief that this person is a citizen of Christ’s kingdom.

Second, church membership makes the most sense of the Apostle Paul’s words to “judge” those in the church. While there are a lot of bad connotations that come with “judging,” it seems that there is a type of judging Paul doesn’t want us to do (towards outsiders) and a kind he wants us to do (towards insiders). The first kind only wants to see condemnation. The second kind, which Paul advocates, wants to see restoration. In order to distinguish between the two types of “judging,” it seems like membership needs to exist. Otherwise, how would you know who the “insiders” are? Surely, the church at Corinth doesn’t have to judge every possible Christian. So it seems it is a Christian committed to their church as a member.

While more could be said, it seems that these passages from 1 Corinthians 5 supports church membership.

Hebrews 13:17

“17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”

There are two main reasons why Hebrews 13:17 supports church membership. First, his call to “submit to your leaders” indicates the reality of a unique relationship, something like church membership, between a Christian and a specific church leader. How does a Christian know which church leader to submit too? Seems most likely that there is a church leader that a Christian commits to in a unique way—like membership. It would seem a bit odd for a Christian to have to commit to any leader, right?! There seems to be a way to know who “your” leaders are and who they aren’t.

Second, the writer’s emphasis on the account church leaders have to give for their “soul” supports church membership. This is a sobering passage for pastors. It’s overwhelming. If a church leader takes it seriously, how does he know for whom he’ll give an account? Membership is the most likely answer. I praise God I don’t have to give an account for every Christian. Heb 13:17 supports church membership because it assumes church leaders know which souls they will have to give an account for.

Whatever you call it, something like church membership needs to exist to make the most of these passages. We know that we don’t have it all figured out, but we are doing our best to base our church on the Bible. There are other Biblical passages, but these are a few key ones that are hard to make sense of without a concept like church membership. Hopefully, this made sense of where we think church membership comes from primarily in the Scripture.

6 Steps Rod Dreher Believes Every Christian Should Take In A World That Is Growing More And More Hostile To Christianity

by Jed CoppengerBible, Christian living, Church, Diversity, justice, Ministry, UncategorizedPosted on No Comments

Rod Dreher wrote Live Not By Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents to equip people to face “soft totalitarianism” that is coming. The title, “Live Not By Lies,” comes from the title of a speech that Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn gave just before he was exiled from Russia. The speech was an effort to help ordinary Russians understand that communism wasn’t too powerful for them to make an impact. They just needed to live in the truth because “the foundation of totalitarianism is an ideology made of lies. The system depends for its existence on a people’s fear of challenging the lies” (xiv).

Dreher’s book comes out of conversations that he had with people who lived under totalitarian states. Often times, these individuals lived in countries where, to the surprise of most of the people in those countries, they became totalitarian states. These “survivors” believe America is in a similar situation without realizing it. “It only takes a catalyst like war, economic depression, plague, or some other severe and prolonged crisis that brings the legitimacy of the liberal democratic system into question” (45).

No, Dreher doesn’t think what happened in Russia, starting in the early 1900’s, Germany in the 1930’s and 1940’s, to name a few examples, will happen in America in exactly the same way. But those he interviewed for the book see a number of striking similarities:

Elites and elite institutions are abandoning old-fashioned liberalism, based in defending the rights of the individual, and replacing it with a progressive creed that regards justice in terms of groups. It encourages people to identify with groups–ethnic, sexual, and otherwise–and to think of Good and Evil as a matter of power dynamics among the groups. A uptopian vision drives these progressives, one that compels them to seek to rewrite history and reinvent language to reflect their ideals of social justice. Further, these utopian progressives are constantly changing standards of thought, speech, and behavior. You can never be sure when those in power will come after you as a villain for having said or done something that was perfectly fine the day before. And the consequences for violating the new taboos are extreme, including losing your livelihood and having your reputation ruined forever (xi-xii).

These characteristics were the starting points that led to the horrific, totalitarian regimes of the 20th century where tens of millions of people were tortured and murdered in the name of godless progress.

While terms like authoritarianism, totalitarianism, get thrown around often without a proper understanding, Dreher notes, while “authoritarianism is what you have when the state monopolizes political control,” totalitarian society “is one in which an ideology seeks to displace all prior traditions and institutions, with the goal of bringing all aspects of society under control of that ideology. A totalitarian state is one that aspires to nothing less than defining and controlling reality. Truth is whatever the rulers decide it is” (7-8). Dreher claims that soft totalitarianism is therapeutic, exercises control in “soft” ways, and “masks its hatred for dissenters from its utopian ideology in the guise of helping and healing” (7).

In part one, the first four chapters, he outlines in greater detail what he sees as “soft totalitarianism.” He looks at its sources and two key factors that help advance it today: versions of the “ideology of social justice” and surveillance technology (Big Business tracking you and collecting your data). This section ends by looking at the roles that key intellectuals can play in leading a country towards a horrible future.

In short, Dreher argues that there is growing pressure to affirm lies in our culture. We are living, he argues, what Orwell talked about in his famous political dystopia, Nineteen Eighty-Four, which said, “The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command” (14).

This reality is shown today, Dreher continues, by the fact that there can be severe consequences if someone doesn’t affirm:

Men have periods. The woman standing in front of you is to be called “he.” Diversity and inclusion means excluding those who object to ideological uniformity. Equity means treating persons unequally, regardless of their skills and achievements, to achieve an ideologically correct result (15).

How should Christians respond to this? In part two, he offers the following summarized guidance.

Value nothing more than the truth because there are many who will tempt you to turn from the truth to preserve other things you might value more – Dreher argues that soft totalitarianism is built on lies and attacks people who live lies built on the truth. That’s one of the reasons that soft totalitarianism hates free speech and promotes doublethink. What’s this look like? Rusanova, someone who has lived through communism, writes, “In high school and middle school, we had to write essays, like normal school kids do. But you never could write what you think about the subject. Never, ever” (103). That’s why Christians have to be committed to the truth, more than they are committed to comfort, a standard of living, a profession, or anything else. If Christians are going to be committed to the truth, they will have to be content with living lives outside of the mainstream. But remember, “One word of truth outweighs the whole world” (100). Dreher does argue that prudence is needed in how best to speak and live by the truth in this culture, but be careful cowardice isn’t advanced in the name of prudence.

Cultivate cultural memory because there are many who want to revise the past in a way that will ruin the future – In 2019 a survey found that 57 percent of millennials believe that the Declaration of Independence does a better job of offering freedom and equality than the Communist Manifesto (112). That’s why novelist Milan Kundera said that while “nobody will defend gulags” today, “the world remains full of suckers for the false utopian promises that bring gulags into existence” (113). Ex-communist, Polish intellectual Leszek Kolakowski observed, “the great ambition of totalitarianism is the total possession and control of human memory” (114). That’s why it’s so important, Dreher writes, that families, churches, and christian schools come together to cultivate an accurate cultural memory, which is made up of the “stories, events, people, and other phenomena that a society chooses to remember as the building blocks of its collective identity” (114). But it won’t be easy. One survivor noted that “thirty years of freedom has destroyed more cultural memory than the previous era” (116). Everything, Dreher writes, “about modern society is designed to make memory–historical, social, and cultural–hard to cultivate” (113). Be careful, therefore, to understand as much of the past as you can so that you can learn from their mistakes, not repeat them.

Create Christian families because families are one of the greatest threats to oppressive governments – “Under communism the family came under direct and sustained assault by the government, which saw its sovereignty as a threat to state control of all individuals” (132). Dreher argues that the attacks on the family are growing more today. People are using legal means to attack the family, new policies, and more to attack the Christian family structure. Divorce and consumerism impact people’s views on the family in more subtle, but no less significant, ways. Dreher argues that “families must allow for neither patriarchal tyranny nor crazy feminist excesses and also reject the worshiping of children and catering to their every desire” (133). Instead, families should model moral courage, fill children’s moral imaginations with the good, be courageous enough to be weird in society’s eyes, prepare to make great sacrifices for the greater good, teach kids that they are a part of a wider movement, and practice hospitality and serve others (136-143).

Cultivate a real relationship with Christ because he alone provides the power to persevere through persecution with peace – Dreher observes, “every single Christian I interviewed for this book, in every ex-communist country, conveyed a sense of deep inner peace–a peace that they credit to their faith, which gave them ground on which to stand firm” (151). After sharing several inspiring stories (one of which I shared in another post), Dreher concludes, “if you are not rock solid in your commitment to traditional Christianity, then the world will break you. But if you are, then this is the solid rock upon which that world will be broken. And if those solid rocks are joined together, they form a wall of solidarity that is very hard for the enemy to breach” (163).

Stand in solidarity with others, especially in small groups, because the coming culture wants to divide and conquer – Some of the survivors that Dreher interviewed said that the way that they endured the religious persecution was through small groups. The pastors were arrested and houses of worship destroyed, so believers met in small groups, sometimes hidden in the walls of homes, to care and encourage one another in the faith. They even locked arms with those outside of their faith traditions, carefully. Dreher challenges his readers to step into this kind of community today, even you aren’t already. Individualistic Christianity makes a person more vulnerable than they realize.

Suffer with faith in God’s mysterious purposes because the wrong view of suffering can crush you – Jesus taught his disciples that they would suffer. The reason that they can suffer without losing hope or hardening with hatred is because they have a God who works all things for their good (Rom. 8:28). When you understand this, you see that you don’t have to fear potential or actual suffering, because God will use it to grow you. That’s why Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn, who was imprisoned and tortured for years, could write, “I turn back to the years of my imprisonment and say, sometimes to the astonishment of those about me: Bless you, prison! . . . Bless you, prison, for having been in my life” (194)! How could he say that? Well, he believed that God used that horrible time to teach him to truly love. Jesus says that his followers will face resistance and persecution. Let’s make sure that we have a high enough view of Jesus that we believe he can even use it for our good.

Dreher’s book is sobering, challenging, and provocative, to say the least. Most of the people he interviewed who experienced totalitarianism never thought something like totalitarianism would happen to their cultures. Regardless of where our current culture goes in the days ahead, let’s walk in faith, not fear, love, not hate, trusting in our heavenly Father who works all things for our good.

Answers to Specific Prayer: When God Provided Cigarettes in a Soviet Jail

by Jed CoppengerUncategorizedPosted on No Comments

As I was reading Rod Dreher’s, Live Not By Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents, I came across a story about a specific answer to prayer that I had to pass along to you. It’s the story about how Alexander Ogorodnikov, who was unjustly thrown into prison by an oppressive Soviet government, saw God work in an unusual way. He was one of the most famous dissidents of the late Soviet period (195). Although he was a rising start amongst the communists, even catching the attention of the KGB, he converted to Christianity in his 20’s and ended up in prison.

Dreher quotes Ogorodnikov, telling one of his stories from prison:

When they put me in the cell with the other inmates, I said, ‘Peace be with you!’ One of the prisoners asked if I was a Christian. I said yes. He told me to prove it. Another inmate said, ‘We are the scum of the earth. We don’t even have cigarettes. If your God will give us cigarettes, we’ll all believe in him.

Dreher continues,

Ogorodnikov told his fellow prisoners that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and smoking fouls it. But, he continued, God loves you so much that I believe he would even give you cigarettes as a sign of his mercy. Ogorodnikov asked them all to stand and pray together for this. Everybody laughed, but they stood respectfully as he led them in prayer.

Ogorodnikov continues,

That cell was very crowded, but it became very quiet. We prayed for fifteen minutes, then I told them the prayer was over and they could sit down. At just that moment, the guards opened the cell door and threw a bunch of cigarettes into the cell.

It was incredible. There was the sign I had prayed for. The prisoners shouted, ‘God exists! He exists! And that is when I knew that God was speaking to me too. He was telling me that he had a mission for me here in this prison.

As I read this story I couldn’t help but think about what the psalmist said in Psalm 115:3, “Our God is in the heavens and does whatever he pleases.” God is often more eager to answer our prayers than we are to offer them. I pray this story encourages you to pray for the specific things on your heart today, whatever situation you find yourself in.

Answers to Specific Prayers: 3 “Small” Prayers That Revealed Hearts With A High View of God’s Love

by Jed CoppengerUncategorizedPosted on No Comments

Is your view of God’s love big enough that you believe he actually cares about the small things in your life? Our prayer lives are usually the most accurate answer to that question. When we only pray for “big” things, we show that the answer to that question is “no.” When we pray “small” things, the answer is “yes.”

As I’ve helped people grow their view of God’s love for them, helping them to see that God cares for and is available to help them in every aspect of their lives, I’ve noticed that people still struggle to ask God for help them with small, specific things. Usually, offering a few specific examples helps them get started. That’s why I’d like to offer a few examples I’ve prayed or others have prayed over the years.

God answers a prayer for someone to sit by at a crowded event – This guy and his kids were headed to a crowded basketball game. Seating is always an issue. The guy thought it’d be fun if there was someone that he or his kids knew at the game that they could sit with. He also wasn’t looking forward to trying to find the “right seat” in a crowded room. So he asked God, as they were walking towards the gym, to provide a seat that’s easy to get to and for someone that they’d know to sit with. When they walked into the gym, sure enough, there was someone they knew who had a seat for them! These friends had never been to this event in the past. Was this a huge concern? No. But the guy understood that God cares and loves him enough to work even in the small things.

God answers a prayer for encouragement by the end of the day – This guy had an alright day. But he noticed that he was just a bit discouraged. He wasn’t totally sure why. So he prayed that God would encourage him in some unusual way by the end of the day. Later that night, he received an encouraging text message from a friend that he hadn’t heard from in a while. While that would have been great to receive even if the prayer wasn’t offered, the specific prayer request added to the encouragement and joy he felt in that moment.

God answers a prayer for an assignment to be found – The young girl couldn’t find her assignemnt. We’ve all been there. She looked and looked but couldn’t find it. So she stopped and prayed that God would help her find it before she had to leave in 30 minutes. Then she continued to look. And sure enough, she found! She told her parents, who didn’t know that she couldn’t find the assingment or that she prayed that prayer, what happened. How awesome is it for a kid to grow up praying her problems with specificity. She genuinely grew her awareness of and confidence in God’s powerful, loving presence that night.

God cares about the “big” and “small” things in our lives. Let’s pray in a way that shows we believe that.

What “small” things can you pray for today?

Answers to Specific Prayers: God Solves A Difficult Staffing Issue

by Jed CoppengerBible, Christian living, Practical Ministry, Prayer, UncategorizedPosted on No Comments

Specificity leads to visibility. When we get specific with our prayers we give the invisible God an opportunity to become visible to us in a way he wouldn’t without our specific prayers. And when God becomes visible to the eyes of our hearts and minds, hope, peace, and so many other life giving realities increase.

One of the ways God often helps his children pray with greater confidence and specificity is by hearing about how other people prayed specifically and saw God work. To this end, I’d like to tell you about how God answered an employers work, prayer request about 5 or 6 years ago.

The employer found himself in a situation that many employers find themselves, with an employee that wasn’t a good fit. He was wrestling with how best to handle that situation. With the company being a small business, relationships were deeper. Deep relationships brought great joys, but the challenges were great too. He knew, for the sake of the business, he had to remove this person from their role. But how could the employer have this difficult professional conversation without ruining the personal friendship?

While there are certainly different approaches that someone can use in this kind of situation, this particular employer started praying that the employee would find another job on her own that she was excited about, and that it would happen within 30 days. He wrote the prayer down and prayed it daily, during his normal devotion time. About a week and a half later, the employee came to him and told him about a new opportunity that she would be taking!

The employer was so grateful that God answered his specific prayer in a way that helped him both professionally and personally. But even more importantly, when you hear him talk about what happened, you understand that the experience of God’s love and control was even greater than the specific answer. The day that his prayer was answered was a day he sensed the powerful, “I’m-working-at-your-work-too” presence of God. And as he walked in this awareness of God’s presence and power, it ignited more hope in his heart. God’s greatness was more recognized in his heart which caused the size of his other problems to decrease there too. He walked home in hope that day. That hope drove him to ask specifically for God to do more with other problems and plans on his heart.

I know what some of you are thinking. Maybe that employee would have moved on anyways? Perhaps. It’s possible God would have done that without the employer’s specific prayer. But that’s not what happened. The employer prayed specifically. And because he prayed specifically, he, in a very real sense, saw the invisible God at work. Specificity leads to visibility. Of course, God doesn’t always answer our prayers with a “yes,” but he always does what’s best. That’s why we offer our specific requests with childlike trust.

What specific problems and plans are on your heart and mind today that you can turn into specific prayers?

George Floyd, Racism, and 7 Ways Christians Can Work For Racial Justice

by Jed CoppengerBible, Christian living, Church, Diversity, justice, Missions, Practical Ministry, Prayer, UncategorizedPosted on No Comments

When I was younger, I thought the people writing on topics were “experts” who had it all figured out. But after years of working in the publishing industry and getting to know online heroes, I’ve learned I was wrong. It turns out that every blog or book was written by people still trying to figure out their topic — still a work in progress.

That “still trying to figure it out” position is certainly the place from which I write this blog on racial justice. When I was asked to do this a couple of years ago, my first inclination was to run and hide, not write and post. As anyone engaged in the discussion understands, the issues surrounding racial justice are complex, the grace shown to one another is often low, and the progress slow.

Yet here I am writing. I’m writing because Christians are called to speak to issues their God has addressed as well, issues he cares about. And he certainly cares about racial justice. He cares about George Floyd, how he was horribly treated, and the countless issues that are connected to everything that is going on in America right now in 2020. And the church is called to lean into these issues as his ambassadors. Although I write from a “majority culture” perspective, I’d like to share seven ways I’m pursuing racial justice that I’d ask you to consider as you pursue the same.

Pursue racial justice prayerfully. Anyone pursuing racial justice recognizes the issues are challenging and complex. That’s why we ask God for help. That’s why we start with prayer. Prayer starts when we have a high view of God and his abilities, and a low view of ourselves and our abilities. Pride kills prayer, because it doesn’t believe it needs to ask for help. A prayerless pursuit of racial justice is a prideful pursuit, one that ultimately will fail. It says we don’t need God’s help to achieve God’s goals. The pursuit of racial justice is designed to be a prayerful pursuit. He can do more in a moment than we can do in a lifetime.

Pursue racial justice with understanding. One of the most overlooked, yet important, steps to advancing racial justice is accurately understanding the terms of the discussion. People may use the same word in a conversation, but that doesn’t mean they are using it the same way. When some people use the word “justice,” they define it as “equal outcomes,” while others mean “equal opportunities.” You need to understand what “redistributive justice” and “retributive justice” mean. There are different views on “economic justice,” “procedural justice,” and more. These different areas of justice all touch conversations about racial justice. Understanding the terms enables you to see where you agree and disagree, where you need to adjust and where you don’t think you do. Conversations about racial justice move in a constructive direction when the terms being used are understood.

Pursue racial justice by listening humbly, critically, and widely. We don’t know what we don’t know, which is why we need to be a listening people. We listen humbly, because we know there is truth we don’t see, can’t see, and that we need others, even people outside our tribe, to help us see it. We listen critically because we know that while it’s true we can’t see everything, it’s just as true that others can’t either. It’s possible to work against what is just in the name of advancing justice. That’s why we have to listen critically, like the Bereans, so we can figure out what words are in step with God’s Word and what words aren’t (Acts 17:11). And we listen widely because discussions about racial justice have been around for quite some time, and there is a wide range of “authoritative” perspectives on these issues. Listen to people outside your “tribe,” find the main streams of thought on an issue, and step out of your time period for some historical perspective. The pursuit of racial justice is a listening pursuit, so let’s listen humbly, critically, and widely.

Pursue racial justice proportionately. Racial justice issues aren’t all created equal. That is to say, some racial justice issues are clearer than others. Racism is clearly evil. But the right position on issues like minimum wage, particular education policies, what responsibility people have for their ancestors’ sins, and other important issues like these, aren’t as clear. All of these are important issues, but the answers aren’t equally as clear biblically. Because of this, I’ve found the discussions about racial justice move forward more constructively when we pursue it proportionately.

Pursue racial justice relationally. Everybody experiences injustice in some way, but not in the same way. That’s why hanging out with people who aren’t like you is so important. When you hang out with people who aren’t just like you, you learn about injustices that oftentimes aren’t even on your radar. When you love people who are different from you, their problems become your problems. Even if we don’t agree with a particular perspective, we often consider it more carefully when it comes from someone we love. We’re also able to ask questions and have discussions that aren’t possible publicly, especially on our social media platforms. Invest in relationships with people you don’t normally invest in. Pursue racial justice relationally.

Pursue racial justice actively. You can’t do everything, but you can do something. For most people, your best opportunities to pursue racial justice will be local. In my context, I’ve served on a board of a racially diverse Title I school (which means it receives a great deal of funding to help families in need), I’m involved with “affordable housing” discussions, I’m currently part of efforts to help people go through the immigration process, the church I lead is partnering with local ministries that are working specifically on this, our church is growing thousands of pounds of food on our property to make a difference locally, and more. The teams I’m part of are racially diverse, and the people we are trying to help are racially diverse. We don’t always agree, but we are doing our best to make our local context better, more just. While Christians can’t do everything, we can do something. Don’t just talk about racial justice, actively try to bring it about. Get involved. Show up. There are opportunities all around us.

Pursue racial justice restfully. There’s always a tendency for our identities to slide into what we do. The better the cause, the more likely it is to become an identity thief. That’s why I think it’s so important to pursue racial justice restfully—resting in our identity in Christ and who we are as His son or daughter.

The Coronavirus, Fear Reducing Facts, and 6 Christian Ways To Respond

by Jed CoppengerChristian living, Church, Disaster Relief, Evangelism, Missions, Prayer, UncategorizedPosted on 4 Comments

The coronavirus is here and it’s making its presence known. Schools are shutting down. Stores are limiting the amount of water and hand sanitizer you can buy. New York has called the National Guard into certain neighborhoods. The governor of Kentucky asked churches to stop gathering for worship. Washington State is prohibiting gatherings of more than 250 people in Seattle. The Warriors will start playing home games without fans present. Panic is high. The world seems to be coming apart.

In the midst of all of this, it’s tough to know how to make sense of the stories and data that are being thrown around. Some stats are more daunting than others, some countries are having more trouble than others, and the opinions as to why there are so many differences are many.

At this point, a little over 1,000 of the 327 million people in the U.S. have the virus, with over 30 having died from it. More cases will, of course, be reported. New measures will be taken. Endless stories will tell us many of the details.

As we continue to deal with this, consider appropriate responses, and try not to lose our minds in the process, I’ve found the following information helpful in facing the coronavirus with facts and faith, rather than fear.  

Learning what the words “outbreak” and “pandemic” actually mean reduces fear – I don’t know about you, but when I hear the media use these words every other word, I feel the panic starting in my germaphobe mind. My mind flashes scenes of the movie Outbreak and every horror film or stat I’ve ever come across. But once I found out what those words actually mean, it changed how they impacted me. You probably already know, but if you don’t, here’s what two key words mean:

  • Outbreak – “Outbreak” simply mean there are more cases than expected. So, since they were expecting 0 cases of the coronavirus, 2 cases would be considered an “outbreak.” So every time you hear “outbreak,” hear them say, “we have more than expected.”
  • Pandemic – “Pandemic” simply means that the “outbreak” (more than expected) is taking place in countries across the world. Since the world wasn’t expecting this virus and it has reached lots of countries (which isn’t hard to do in our day), we are in a “pandemic.”

The next time you hear “outbreak,” remind yourself that they mean, “more than expected.” And the next time you hear “pandemic,” remind yourself that they mean, “more than expected in the world.” This doesn’t mean it’s not serious, but it helps you avoid making it more serious than it is.

The coronavirus is harder on people with weaker immune systems (older people, people with cancer, diabetes, etc.) than the flu, but easier on young people than the flu – The Washington Post noted that the death rate for the “over 70” population in Wuhan was up around 20%; for those under that age it was .8 or less (flu), for those younger it was less. One of the main reason Italy is struggling significantly is because Italy is the oldest country in the world. The elderly continue to make up most of the deaths by far. Let’s pray for the elderly across the globe facing this fierce virus. Let’s ask God for their protection, healing, wisdom on what changes they need to make, and that all would know Christ.

The more time goes by, the lower the initial, scary coronavirus data gets – With each passing week the death rate numbers go down. “The death rate is a calculation of the number of known deaths out of the total number of confirmed cases.” None have gone up. Why? Because the number of people infected is believed to be much higher than initially reported. The higher the number goes, the lower the death rate goes. That number is believed to be higher because for most people the impact of the coronavirus is “mild” so they wouldn’t even think to get tested and many places didn’t have “enough tests” to actually find out how many people had the virus.

Countries with government run healthcare have had a more difficult time responding to the coronavirus – It’s a scary thought to turn the keys to healthcare over to the same people that run the DMV. It’s even scarier to do that for countries who have governments that couldn’t run the DMV as “excellent” as we do here. But that’s the reality. When you look at stories out of Wuhan, China (ground zero for the coronavirus), you find a healthcare system that was an absolute mess. The hospital situation was run by a communist party who ignored previous year complaints that new hospitals were needed because of a lack of space for such a big city (11 million in Wuhan). At the end of 2018, their hospitals were 94% full. Their requests were ignored, which is why you can find stories of elderly people with the coronavirus trying to get into 3 hospitals with no success. In Italy, their government run healthcare system produces a wide range of experiences for people, some great and some awful. The same disease has vastly different recovery rates in different parts of the country. This means that the people who often most need the help won’t be able to get the needed help. Everything I’ve read about these government healthcare systems make total sense of my experience with them in the twenty or so countries I’ve been too. Pray for their healthcare system. Pray for ours. The coronavirus is a problem, but it’s made worse in countries that have handed their healthcare system over to the government.

The spread in Wuhan, China was enabled to a significant degree by the lack of willingness of Chinese government officials to talk about the disease while it made it’s way through one of the largest and most dense cities in the world – China took about a month to communicate what you’re hearing non-stop today. Not only that, they kept quiet while the virus was passed around in one of the best places to pass it around, a huge, dense, city (Wuhan). That’s why the rates of infection are much higher there than anywhere else in China. Be thankful that information is out and people are being more intentional about cleaning their hands, etc.

The coronavirus is serious. That’s why it’s so important to think through what we’re hearing and seeing. When you do, you see that it is significantly more dangerous than the flu for older people and those with a compromised immune system (have had cancer, have diabetes, had an organ transplant, etc.), but the same or less dangerous than the flu for folks the younger you get. How it has been handled differently has a lot to do with various approaches to government and healthcare.

As the number of cases continues to grow, the information we can learn does to, here are a few ways I’d encourage you to respond to our current coronavirus problem.

Pray This Problem – Jesus said that we are to bring our “weariness” and our “burdens” to him (Matt. 11:28-30). Let’s make sure that we aren’t just meditating on the burdens created by this situation, let’s pray them. Pray for those that have it or will get it. Pray for the people unusually at risk. Pray for wisdom for government and church leaders. Pray, pray, pray. Every problem is an opportunity to pray. Don’t miss out on this one.

Do Your Part – The best medical advice in all the world about fighting this virus is the same medical advice, for the most part, that we get every year. Wash your hands. Don’t touch your face. Sneeze and cough into your arm. If you feel sick, stay home. Wipe off surfaces. If we do these basics, we are doing our part. It will make a huge difference.

Avoid Overreaction And Underreaction – I’ve found that people either tend to overreact in these situations (looking at you, “Mr. I Bought All The Toilet Paper From Costco”) or underreact (looking at you, “Mr. I’m Going Stop Washing My Hands College Student Just To Make A Point”). Figure out your tendency and battle it. This isn’t Ebola that killed 50% of the people who got it, for most people it’s closer to the flu’s .1%. But this isn’t just the regular flu either, especially for older people and those with pre-existing conditions like cancer, diabetes, and those that have had organ transplants. Let’s be sober-minded and steady as we do our part.

Give People Freedom To Process This Challenge – Everybody responds differently when they are reminded that they aren’t in control, they are vulnerable, and death is real. Pray for everyone to look to Jesus in the midst of this. Give them space when they respond differently than you. Take a long term approach relationally.

Consider Recommended Courses Of Action Critically – Just because a government leader recommends something doesn’t mean it’s the wisest course of action. Today the Governor of Kentucky recommended that churches stop gathering for worship. Curiously, he didn’t recommend that other types of assemblies stop meeting. Nothing was mentioned about Kentucky Basketball games and March Madness. Their schools are still meeting. Even if churches listened to him, which most won’t, it’s unlikely to do much good with all of these other assemblies continuing as is. Again, let’s pray for our government leaders, listen to their perspective, but I wouldn’t follow them uncritically.

Meditate On The Power And Love Of Christ Until You Trust Him Enough To Rest – Inner peace doesn’t come from knowledge, delusions of control, or defeating the coronavirus. Death is always at the door in a world like this. No, inner peace comes from trusting in a God more powerful than death who lovingly sent his Son to rescue from eternal death. Trust doesn’t replace action, it reorients it. In this world, you’re always more vulnerable than you realize. In Christ, you’re always more secure than you realize. Trust him. If he went to the cross for you and defeated death, he won’t leave you now. Find a few Bible verses to meditate on in these times as you do your part.

The coronavirus is serious, but it has an expiration date. As Christians, let’s be more effected by the presence of Christ than the presence of the coronavirus. That way we’ll be marked by peace more than panic. Sure, let’s stay up to date on all of this, but let’s meditate on something better as we pray for those all around us and pursue God’s best in these coming days.

The Coronavirus, Williamson County, and Redemption City Church

by Jed CoppengerChristian living, Church, Prayer, UncategorizedPosted on No Comments

As news of the first case of the coronavirus (COVID-19) to hit Williamson County and concerns are rising, I wanted to let you know some important info about it and how Redemption City Church is responding. Hopefully, this will help you “germaphobes” out there like me process all of this in the right way.

What We Know About Coronavirus – The coronavirus is a novel respiratory disease that has been spreading globally since late 2019. The coronavirus’s health risk to date appears to be comparable to that of influenza, which many of us have experienced. Here are a few key data points:

  • While the flu has killed close the 20,000 people in America this year, the coronavirus has killed around 14 (and a little over 3,000 people worldwide).
  • Of those that were killed by the coronavirus, it seems that usually they had significant pre-existing health conditions, smokers, or older folks.
  • Children do not appear to be more susceptible to coronavirus than adults. In fact, no deaths have been reported among the young.
  • Based on existing cases, it’s estimated that about 80 percent of people who are affected experience mild symptoms.
  • While some estimated that the coronavirus would have a 2-3% death rate, it already appears that these were wrong. Thankfully, the latest numbers put it basically at the same place as the flu’s .1%.

What We All Can Do – Officials recommend that we do what we should always do during sick season and practice good hygiene basics like:

  • Wash your hands frequently, and for at least 20 seconds, with soap and water to protect yourself and others from germs.
  • Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.
  • Keep your hands away from your face, because germs routinely spread when a person touches something contaminated with germs, and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth. This is the reason why the CDC recommend that healthy people not wear masks.
  • If you feel sick, stay home and contact your doctor.

What Redemption City Church Is Doing – Redemption City Church will continue to follow the health protocols that we have in place. I hate sickness and so does my family (ask anyone who knows us!). That’s why we made sure from day one that we had great health protocols in place. As you would expect, this list includes not allowing kids in Kids City who have been sick or showed signs of sickness in the last 24 hours. Also, every classroom has been “deep cleaned” this week and will be every week moving forward by the Kids City Team! The rest of the church is cleaned weekly as well. In light of the current concerns, a greater level of cleaning has taken place and will continue to be practiced for the foreseeable future.

Our leadership team obviously will continue to carefully monitor the situation and considering all recommendations from government officials. We still plan to gather together for our regular gatherings this weekend at 9 & 10:30am. As always, we are committed to doing whatever we can to provide a safe environment to welcome you, your family, and your friends.

If you’ve lived very long, you know that there have been versions of these kinds of sicknesses before. Whether it’s the SARS of the 2000s, the coronavirus of today, or whatever is coming next year, let’s pray this problem, trust our God, and take the common sense steps recommended. Hope to see you Sunday!

How Can You Help Those Impacted By The Tornadoes This Week?

by Jed CoppengerChristian living, Church, Disaster Relief, UncategorizedPosted on No Comments

With a day of serving under our belts, we feel like we have a better picture of how people can help over the next few days. Like I said in an earlier post, let’s continue to pray, give, and serve with Hands On Nashville. But we also wanted you to be aware of a unique opportunity to serve some folks that need some help in Mt. Juliet.

If you want to help us over the next few days, here’s the info you need to know.

When and Where Can You Serve? Thursday-Saturday morning at 9:30am, RCC will have a team member present at Kerry Bural’s house at 4002 Omaha Ct., Mt. Juliet, TN 37122. They’ll be there for a few hours working to help the Bural’s in any way that they can, along with any surrounding neighbors. If you’re coming on Thursday, Tyler is our point of contact (713-819-5661). If you’re coming on Friday, Manny is our point of contact (615-739-7140). If you’re coming Saturday, Abigail is our point of contact (540-454-9101).

What Will You Do? Today, we did all kinds of things. We moved things, picked trash up, boxed up breakable dishes, hugged and prayed for homeowners, walked to other neighbor’s homes to help, and more. There are neighbors who aren’t connected to anyone, so we did our best to help them. You’ll probably do the same on your day. The key thing is to be patient and flexible as you help.

What Should I Bring? Bring water, gloves, and anything else you think might be helpful. If you have a chain saw, that could be great. There’s a lot of work, requiring a lot of different types of tools. Bring what you can.

How Long Will We Work? You can stay as short or as long as you want. I’d recommend staying for a couple of hours, if possible. If you can stay longer, that’s awesome!

Each time we serve we learn more about how we can serve more helpfully. With each coming day, I assume that will continue to be true. We’ll do our best to continue to update you along the way.