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Churches across the country are announcing the closing of in-house worship this coming weekend. Many are prepared for worship online, but most are not. The Governor of Kentucky has asked people to voluntarily not attend worship services for an indefinite period of time.  Our Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has exempted religious groups from his directive about meeting together in public gatherings, but he has encouraged people not to meet in groups larger than 100. No one knows how long or what impact this virus will have on public gatherings or the outcomes of its viral impact on public health.

Church attendance has been in decline for decades. One source published that only 4 percent of 18-35 year olds are actively participating in a Christian community. So, the question has been asked: if the responsible restrictions on public gatherings last for an extended period of time, what impact will it have on church participation?

Past apocalyptic events have brought renewed awakenings in the life of the lukewarm and compromised institution known as the church. For a great awakening to begin to impact the church, let me suggest three essential changes that must take place.

1. THE CHURCH MUST BECOME SMALLER BEFORE IT GROWS

The New York Times columnist, Ross Douthat, in his book, Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics, calls this the Benedict option. The name comes from the monastic saint who is credited with saving Christianity from the corrupting influence of a church lured into nationalistic, partisan alliance with the Roman empire of state. “The Benedict option tends to assume that Christianity (whether Catholic or Protestant) must contract before it grows, with faithful believers forming communities that stand apart from postmodern culture and inspire by example rather than by engagement.” The theologian Stanley Hauerwas, envisions Christianity as a parallel culture- “pacifist, apolitical (political without being partisan), ascetic.”

2. THE CHURCH MUST RECLAIM ITS PROPHETIC AUTHORITY

Climate change, broken economic systems and wealth inequality are global and national issues that must be addressed at a systemic level. Minimum wage issues, tax code changes, segregation by neighborhoods, educational opportunities, healthcare access are important arenas where we need to study, discern, pray and vote as to how the Spirit of God’s revolutionary kingdom leads us. As followers of Jesus we must be full participants in being part of the solution.

3. THE CHURCH MUST REPENT FROM ITS POLITICAL ALLIANCES

As followers of Jesus we must again reclaim that we represent an alternative party that is neither red or blue, capitalist or socialist. We represent allegiance to the party of the Kingdom of God. As Jesus’ disciples, we must be moving forward in the Spirit of Pentecost, tearing down demeaning barriers that divide and destroy. The work of the cross is God’s work of reconciliation. We love God by loving others in spite of our ideological differences. In a world obsessed with building walls to keep people out, followers of the Rebel Jesus must be tearing down walls of exclusion and ideologies that separate and divide people from each other.

By no means is this list exhaustive. Do I have hope for the Church? The journey to Easter reminds us that God brings resurrection from ashes!

*See Revolutionary Kingdom: following the Rebel Jesus for additional insight.

Mike Slaughter, pastor emeritus and global church ambassador for Ginghamsburg Church, served for nearly four decades as the lead pastor and chief dreamer of Ginghamsburg and the spiritual entrepreneur of ministry marketplace innovations. Mike is also the founder and chief strategist of Passionate Churches, LLC, which specializes in developing pastors, church staff and church lay leaders through coaching, training, consulting and facilitation services. Mike’s call to “afflict the comfortable” challenges Christians to wrestle with God and their God-destinies. Mike’s latest book Revolutionary Kingdom: following the Rebel Jesus is available on Amazon and Cokesbury.