How Do We Pastor in a Pandemic?

Benjamin Kreps

Hey everyone. Welcome to the Mark Prater podcast, where we aim to connect our global family of churches to our Executive Director.

 Mark, a couple videos ago, we talked about the COVID-19 pandemic. It was just really starting. So perhaps some of our reflections on that weren't reflective of what is actually happening around this. Things are developing every single day. Things are changing. So, continuing to process through this pandemic, through this crisis, really, culturally, what thoughts do you have as you continue to think about this for us as pastors and when it comes to us pastoring our churches?

Mark Prater:

Thanks for asking. It is changing almost hourly, isn't it? A pandemic is something we've never faced before. So it presents leadership and pastoral challenges. We feel like we're in uncharted territory. I mean, my very first thought is, with all that's coming at our pastors in Sovereign Grace, the main thing I want them to know is the Leadership Team is praying for them and exists to serve them. And as we just watch what our pastors are doing, they seem to be leading and pastoring so well. So that's my very first thought.

The second thought is, pastors shouldn't feel pressure to try to apply all the practices that are being passed around on media in particular. I think the main thing a pastor needs to do is obviously know his theology (and his ecclesiology in this case in particular) and then to know his church and then determine based on those two things what will best serve his church. Pastors shouldn't feel pressure to do livestream for example (which isn't wrong to do, but you shouldn't feel pressured to do it if you can't pull it off).

Benjamin Kreps:

We didn't learn about pastoring through a pandemic in the PC, but your encouragement is helpful because what you're saying is there's grace actually for pastors to navigate through this when it comes to practice. What kinds of things have you seen that you think do serve principally during this season?

Mark Prater:

In terms of just talking about a Sunday service, for example, obviously there are churches that have the ability to livestream. I don't think churches or pastors should feel the pressure to do that.

 You could record a sermon and put it up online as an option and ask your folks to watch it on Sunday morning. You can record that anytime during the week. If you're not able to do that, you could create a devotional of some kind or find devotional resources and send that to your folks and ask them to worship at home. I think that's an option.

You were telling me, Ben, I think you're recording your service on Saturday. Is that right? Tell me what you're doing.

Benjamin Kreps:

We did last week and we're looking to do that this week. It's not a rule. We'd actually prefer to livestream. It would just seem a little bit more connective. But our tech guy had some concerns. 

So yeah, we're recording tomorrow, mid-morning, and then later we'll put it up for our folks to watch together. We are inviting people at the regular time around 10 o'clock to gather as families and to watch together.

We did that last week with Dave Odom and it worked well. We had a lot of people that got back to us and said they in fact did gather as families right around the time we normally meet (about 15 minutes late, because that's the normal way that we meet) and it served folks.

Mark Prater:

That's great.

Benjamin Kreps:

Here's an issue that guys are thinking through: What do you think about having Communion during this season of social distancing where most of us, I imagine, (basically all of us) have suspended our Sunday gatherings? What do you think about an idea that I've heard some guys kick around of passing out the elements perhaps at a different time during the week and then leading through Communion in homes through the video or livestream?

Mark Prater:

I actually hadn't thought about it until yesterday when that question came up. And as I've thought about it just a bit more (and I want to study this more myself in terms of what is my sacramental theology), I personally would not recommend doing it that way, for this reason: The two sacraments that our Savior gave His church (water baptism and communion—the Lord's Supper) are meant to be shared in the gathered church when we are together.

The Communion or the Lord's Supper certainly is a meal. Obviously, He instituted it at a Passover meal where people are present. So there's something that we want to preserve there and there's something that we experience together in the gathered church that's unique in that moment that we want to preserve. So where I'm at personally is I wouldn't recommend doing Communion via livestream.

Benjamin Kreps:

Well, Mark, thanks for calling us to prayer, which is our first and most important work. I don't think this video will be posted today, but March 20th is a day of prayer for Sovereign Grace Churches. Thanks for leading when it comes to helping Mickey get the church development website up (I would encourage guys to look at their resources there as you lead through these things), and we trust that God will in fact lead us and strengthen us through these confusing days ahead. So thank you, Mark.

Mark Prater:

You're welcome. By the way, the church development website address is sgcleaders.com. And that's available to pastors both in and outside of Sovereign Grace.

Benjamin Kreps:

Wonderful. Thanks, Mark. We'll see everybody next time.