Rethinking Church, Ministry, Worship and Service - September 2020
Making the best out of a bad situation - May 2020
Here we are almost out of May and we have not been able to assemble together since the third Sunday in March. We miss the love and fellowship that comes from being together. We miss our spiritual family. We miss the prayers, the songs of praise and yes, I miss preaching the word to SouthCentral. At this time, we have no idea when things will change and when the gates and doors of our location will swing open again. We are getting experience at making the best out of a bad situation.
Times such as these test us and our faith. Our dedication to the Lord and commitment to His church is being tested as well. But our faith in God reminds us consistently that God reigns and is on the throne. Jesus is still our Emmanuel. God is with us. Through this terrible and challenging pandemic we must keep our hopes up and our eyes on the Lord.
We are so very thankful for one another and for the relationships we share in Christ. Since we have been apart life and the issues therein have continued. Babies are still being born or anticipated. Our children have grown taller; our adults have grown wider! The world has changed before our very eyes. Things that were important six months ago are on the back burner. Things that were unimportant are now priorities. This virus has changed our entire culture and our way of living life. We find things now to be inconvenient. But maybe, just maybe it is working for our own good. We had become too accustomed to our own convenience. We were too comfortable in a world that is not really our home. And in the twinkling of an eye—it all changed forever. We will adapt. We will roll with the punch. We will make the best out of a bad situation.
Our giving and tithing has been an encouragement to witness. Mature Christians know and understand that our financial obligations must be consistent. The church has budgets. SouthCentral has obligations, and the only bill we have been able to pause is the janitorial service. Everything else still comes to the mailbox! Your usage of the tools PayPal and cash app have been tremendous. In so doing you’re not only pleasing the Lord, but you are making sure that Sister Loftin, our Executive Director, Director of Finance and the stewardship ministry don’t have to pull their hair out wondering how we’re going to pay our bills. Thank God for this growth and understanding. We are not all there yet, but I am seeing some spiritual success stories through all of this.
I am talking with our leaders and we are visualizing how our church is going to look when things ease up. It will be a learning curve for all of us, but I am glad to have men and women with me with great minds, great ideas and the ability to implement them.
The list of opportunities for the Lord’s church is endless. There is room for everybody in this- young and old…seasoned saint and new ones alike. Yes, this covid 19 virus has created a pandemic unlike anything we have ever lived through. Please keep praying for a healing of our land and the world. Only God can do it-and He will in his own good time. Until then pray that you and I will just trust God and make the best out of a bad situation.
Darryl B. Bowdre,
Senior Minister and Pastor
903-352-2415; pastor@sctyler.com