When I was 7 years old, I used to bring home Sunday School material, stand on our hearth in front of the fireplace, and read the material out loud pretending like I was preaching. It was around this time that the minister at my church, Jack Bunch, would let me stand beside him and shake people’s hands as they walked out of the church. I would dream of standing in front of all the people at church to preach.
When I was 14, I was asked by my church youth leaders to preach as a part of a youth service the teenagers were putting together. My minister at the time, Monty Cooper, helped me prepare a 20-minute sermon. I stood up in front of what felt like a million people to deliver that 20-minute sermon and it took me all of about two and a half minutes. I was scared to death, but I did it.
When I was 20, I took my first ministry position at a small church in Keavy, KY. Every Sunday I would put on my jacket and tie (I dressed that way to preach back then. That was a long time ago.) and stand up in front of a humongous crowd of about 20…on a good day…and give the message. I loved it
When I was 35, I began to expand my speaking into businesses and other organizations. I was able to have more interaction with the crowd in a training atmosphere. I later became the minister at another church that had a slightly bigger crowd than the 20 I served in Keavy, KY. I discovered that the most comfortable place in the world for me was in front of a crowd helping people climb to their God-given potential.
All of those experiences led me to my most recent experience. At the age of 47, I moved 800 miles from Kentucky to New York to become the minister at Glen Cove Christian Church. The biggest pull for me to decide to make that big of a move…the people who make up the Glen Cove Christian Church. This is our home. We loved coming together every week to worship and to fellowship…
Then…
Covid-19 happened…
All of a sudden…everything changed!
Instead of seeing and talking to our family, shaking hands, hugging and personally connecting with people, we started connecting as best we could through a screen. This is our present reality.
As someone who has grown-up with a desire to be in front of and intermingle with a crowd of people (which is odd for an introvert such as myself) it has been a struggle to simply talk to a screen while sitting in the building where all those people used to come together.
I still go to the church building to bring the message, but it is different when I look out into the seats and I see my wife and kids and I wonder “where are all the other people.”
Then I am reminded…
All the people are still there. It is just in a different format. That has been an adjustment for me.
For someone who feeds off of the energy of the crowd, it is difficult for me to speak to an empty room. But, again, I am reminded that everyone is still there, it is just a different format.
We have all had to make adjustments during this time. The time is coming soon when things will return to some sense of normalcy. Until then we will continue to connect as we are doing.
Through all of this, it has been tough, but we have grown. Some bad things have come out of this, some good things have come out of this, and some great things have come out of this.
Many of us, if not all of us, have suffered some emotional pain from being separated from those we love for such a long period of time.
We are doing things online we did not even dream of doing just 4 months ago. In some ways, I believe we have grown as individuals, as families, as churches, as we have overcome some tremendous obstacles together, even when apart.
We are stronger together. We have become much more creative. We have become much more intentional.
We have been able to walk with people through their pain during this tough time.
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” -Galatians 6:9, NIV
