COVID: A Blessing in Disguise for the American Church
Disclaimer: Before you read this article, you need to be fully aware of something. I know the title uses the words “COVID” and “Blessing” in the same breath, so allow me to offer a brief explanation. In no way am I attempting to make light of the destruction worldwide by this virus. Any person who has been diagnosed, has/had a loved one diagnosed, and especially those who have lost someone due to COVID have my undying sympathy and prayer. The blessing I am speaking of in this particular writing is one that is applicable to the Western more specifically the American church (in general).
January 20, 2020. A virus which had been making its way through China and then through Europe makes the first confirmed diagnosis in the United States. Little did anyone know the weight and catastrophe which would soon be poured out. Many local churches began to sense a disquieting apprehension that they, in fact, might have to shut down permanently. Many did. Others trudged through muddy waters and began to pioneer their stake in a digital landscape, which was raw and novel to so many. Now, in the 177 days since COVID first darkened America’s door, there continues to be unanswered questions, rumors, guesses, fears, guidelines, restrictions, etc., but through all of it, can there be a silver lining? Is it possible to see blessing in the midst of loss? It can often be hard to see those things, yet there is undeniable sanctification which is beginning to take shape. How? What does this mean?
It is no large secret the modern American church has some problems. One such problem which is certainly nothing new but profoundly prevalent nonetheless, is that of cultural or nominal Christians. In other words, the churches of America are jam filled each week with people who claim to be Christians but have no personal relationship with Jesus as both Savior and Lord. Many may have walked an aisle, said a prayer, and read a tract at a younger age, but they have never acknowledged their depravity, need of a Savior, and trusted in Jesus as the only source for salvation. So now they think they are fine because they followed a few steps or because they live in a “Christian” country and do “Christian” things. Most of these people have no real grasp on who God is, the person of Christ, the need for a savior, or even the importance of the Bible. Pew research suggests some alarming statistics about Christianity in America.
More than 4,700 U.S. adults finds that one-third of Americans say they do not believe in the God of the Bible, but that they do believe there is some other higher power or spiritual force in the universe. A slim majority of Americans (56%) say they believe in God “as described in the Bible.” And one-in-ten do not believe in any higher power or spiritual force.[1]
Simply believing in God has become the only criteria necessary for millions of people who claim Christianity, and so it is no revelation why so many in the western church today are essentially either truly agnostic or atheist for all intents and purposes.
Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton are sociologists who have coined a term to describe what so many of the local churches are really occupied by: “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (MTD).”[2] What does this term actually mean? Smith and Denton elaborate:
1. A God exists who created and orders the world and watches over human life on earth.
2. God wants people to be good, nice and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.
3. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.
4. God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.
5. Good people go to heaven when they die.[3]
This is an alarming ideology because it makes man the central figure and hero, and God becomes little more than a background character in the cosmos. If someone holds to this belief system, they are, by definition, not true believers. Please note, this is not a declaration or insinuation that all people who have fallen into this trap are irreparably damned, but rather it’s an indictment stating many people in the western church likely are not saved, and even many who are get duped into this kind of thinking where self is king. This is seen clearly in reference to many people locked into the prosperity and word of faith movements. Ok, so what does any of this information have to do with COVID?
Now that the stage is set, the heart of this article may be more fully explained. One thing which is certain about nominal believers is once things get real and faith actually gets tested, they are the first to abandon ship. Why? Because a faith not rooted in Jesus is a faith which either dies or withers (Matthew 13:4-7). Cultural Christianity cannot withstand scrutiny of faith. Adherents to this false gospel will buckle under their own weight because their faith is insecurely anchored in their inability. This means many people who were forced to vacate a church building during COVID and go online instead will likely not be returning if and when churches are once again open at full capacity. This is certainly sad on one hand because now they are removed from Christian influence in large part, there is also a benefit which may not be seen immediately but will unquestionably be a good thing as part of the American church’s bigger picture.
In John 15, Jesus famously speaks metaphorically about the vine and branches when he states, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:1-2, ESV). The church must go through a pruning process at times. Part of this pruning may indeed be exposing those who truly follow Jesus and those who merely follow an obscure idea of Jesus. So, while many churches will be faced with a daunting rebuild task, it will be with a firm foundation of people who are truly following Jesus and bearing much fruit because of him. The process of pruning is seldom easy and always painful for a season, but the yield will always be worth the toil.
Lastly, the other way in which COVID has already been a sort of blessing is by exposing the bankruptcy and emptiness of prosperity gospel preachers, word of faith movement, and the NAR movement. These dangerous and heretical teachings are being utter laid bare by a pandemic. Many who were once enslaved to a powerless and hollow teaching are being awakened to the actual gospel of Jesus. It is difficult to preach that the Bible promises wealth prosperity when nearly 20-30 million people have lost their source of income and are scrambling to just feed their families and keep them from being on the street. The new age teaching of the law of attraction which has been adopted by the word of faith and prosperity preachers is now exposed. One cannot merely speak change into their own life.
So, what is happening is, in fact, hopefully the foundation of an awakening. Where Christians are truly trusting Jesus not only as Savior but also as Lord. The American church may be going through a difficult albeit essential pruning. Will it be painful at times? Certainly. Will it have a cost? Without question. Will it be worth it? Indisputably. The promise given by Jesus in John 16:33 is one the church can and must cleave. The world in which we live, and the church therein will face challenges, but each one has already been conquered by the Risen Christ. The great promise given by Jesus about his church in Matthew 16 was that not even the gates of Hell can prevail against it. So Christian, stand strong knowing the same Jesus who holds the keys to sin, death, and Hell in his victorious hand (Rev. 1:18) will be glorified even through a pandemic. Perhaps a reader here has been living as an MTD or just limping through life as a cultural Christian, please hear and believe that biblical Jesus centered Christianity is not only worth more than what is imaginable, but it will free a person from the bondage of trying to fix themselves and have no ability to do so. Confess sinfulness, believe Jesus is enough, and trust in Him alone (John 14:6).
[1] “Americans' Beliefs about the Nature of God.” 2020. May 30. https://www.pewforum.org/2018/04/25/when-americans-say-they-believe-in-god-what-do-they-mean/.
[2] Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton, Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), 163.
[3] Ibid. 163.