Rodriquez and Jackson say they’re sensitive to health concerns as well as religious liberties, and they “want to work with” government officials. Their proposed guidelines, they say, will allow churches to be “responsible” community members. “A return to worship, teaching, shared service, compassion, and generosity is in the heart of the people,” they say, and “rebirth” will occur as churches reopen gradually and safely.
North Coast Will Serve by Opening Last
Chris Brown, a teaching pastor at North Coast near San Diego, says the seven-campus church plans to serve its community by being one of the last to open, not first. In a video posted to YouTube, he explains that the decision isn’t about politics or religious freedoms but about wisdom and serving.
Acknowledging that “incredibly great churches” are taking very different stands on this issue, Brown notes that reopening safely just isn’t feasible for a large faith community such as North Coast. After calculating various safety paradigms, such as filling only one in every five pews, leaders realized they’d need to offer 420 services per weekend. The results would be subpar, Brown says, and community health would be jeopardized.
Not only would older adults likely stay away from in-person worship right now, says Brown, but parents of young children, people caring for at-risk loved ones, and people of color also face legitimate concerns about gathering prematurely. If public schools aren’t allowed to open right now, he asks, why would churches try to jam Sunday school classes full of children?
“How we prolong our opening is going to tell our community how we actually love them and we’re considering them,” says Brown. He emphasizes that churches never really close—and aren’t just about the weekends. “Church happens in circles, not just in rows,” he says.
While buildings are shuttered, Brown encourages people who feel safe doing so to gather in small groups to watch online worship together, possibly with a barbecue or brunch. That will resemble the early Christian church in Acts, he says, with people connecting and investing in one another.
Citing 1 Peter 5:2, Brown says church leaders must protect God’s flock, and “I don’t want to be the shepherd that goes, ‘How soon can we open the gates?’” when there’s been a danger out in the field. Right now, “We’re trying to protect sheep from other well-meaning sheep,” he says, including people who don’t realize they’re already infected with the virus or are asymptomatic.
“This isn’t politics,” Brown reiterates. “We are doing this out of wisdom and out of serving our community.” The pastor concludes by joking, “Right now you can [worship] in your PJs on the couch… How can you beat that?”
