Restoration Blog

The elders are continuing to navigate this difficult time in our community, striving to determine what is right, safe, and wise. Relative to this pandemic, we have discovered that very little is black and white. As we journey through every changing shade of gray, our elders wanted to take a moment to clarify our position in order to avoid any confusion and alleviate any concerns.

Paul loved the churches he planted and served. Because Paul was often imprisoned or otherwise hindered from being with his people, he often writes about his desire--how he longs to be with them face to face. I remember when the emergency orders first came down in March. The gathering of the church was halted and, for the first time in 15 years, I didn't gather with our church on Sunday. Every morning for the last 15 years, with few exceptions, I have pulled a trailer, set up church, checked a PO BOX, bought donuts, opened a building, unplugged a toilet, vacuumed a room, finalized a sermon, prayed or otherwise prepared for a Sunday service. This Sunday felt weird...even wrong. I longed to be with our church, face to face.

Yesterday in our Sunday service, we spent our time in Mark 9.14-29. In this passage, Jesus responds to the pleas of a faithful Father and heals his demon-possessed son. His disciples had attempted to help the boy while Jesus was on the mountain. They had been authorized and empowered to "cast out demons" by Jesus (Mark 3.15; 6.6.7) but could not help this particular boy. The disciples privately asked Jesus why they could not cast out this demon. Jesus responded by saying, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer."

Fearless, Hopeful and Helpful - Part 1 In the summer of 1854, a cholera epidemic hit London, where a 19-year-old Charles Spurgeon had recently begun his pastoral ministry. He would go on to have a prolific preaching ministry becoming known as the ‘prince of preachers.’ In a sermon given on February 18th, 1855, Spurgeon said,

Fearelss, Hopeful and Helpful - Part 2 While we see clearly that we are not to fear death, we also see in Scripture that we have gospel-centered reasons to participate in the efforts to preserve lives. The reasons we see in Scripture for working to preserve lives are all rooted in love for others. Jesus said that the second greatest commandment is to love our neighbors, and Christians who work to preserve lives are often doing so in fulfillment of this commandment. Let’s consider the reasons that Christians have for helping to preserve lives.

Fearless, Hopeful and Helpful - Part 3 We see in Scripture that we should not fear death and we see that we have Christ honoring reasons to help preserve lives. As we make efforts to preserve lives, we are called to look for opportunities to labor for the gospel. With this in mind let’s consider how we can apply these truths to our lives in the midst of the current pandemic.

Dear church family, As many of you know, Governor Inslee issued a statewide mandate requiring facial coverings in public, which is set to take effect on Friday, June 27th. The statewide mandate requires people over the age of 5 to wear face coverings generally while they are in any indoor or outdoor public space. Masks will not be required outdoors when people can stay more than 6 feet apart from each other, while indoors at home with others, or while alone in a vehicle. Unlike previous requirements, there appears to be no discrepancies between the application of this mandate for businesses and churches.

We are 10 days into Phase 2. Some churches have not decided to meet yet. Some of the churches who have begun to gather are following very few recommendations, many are following most, and several are following none of them in accord with their respective consciences. Our elders are taking a measured approach, evaluating each week and seeking to discern what is right, wise, and safe. We do not expect every church nor Christian to agree in this regard; but we do expect everyone to exercise the kind of forbearance--for the purpose of love and unity--that Paul details in Romans 14 as we each make decisions.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, I pray that this letter finds you trusting in the goodness of God’s purposes and hoping in the certainty of God’s promises. It has been over a month since our last update concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. Since that time, various social restrictions have expanded, and stay-at-home orders have been extended multiple times. In our first update following the initial shutdown, we expressed our great hope to resume gathering on Easter Sunday. As you know, this did not come to pass. In compliance with our government’s orders, we have chosen to gather virtually for the safety of ourselves and our community. While we are thankful for the technology that makes connection possible, we all recognize the relational deficiencies of this medium.

Thank you for your faithfulness during this unique moment in our region’s history. Many will be tempted to ask: “What is the church doing to help the community?". As a reminder, the church is not a building or a program, it is a people that gathers AND scatters. In other words, the church is YOU! As the people of God, we have a confidence that Jesus is King over Satan, Sin, deadly viruses, and death itself. But that confidence is not given so that we can hide away, rather, we are called to be salt and light. That begins by loving one another and overflows into loving our neighbors.