When the calendar flipped to 2020, who could have imagined that a thin piece of cloth would hold the power to divide entire families, nations, and churches? Yet here we are, one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, with impassioned opinions on both sides.
“Personally, I have found this to be one of the most divisive issues in my lifetime,” Alex Strauch said.
Alex has received countless calls from church leaders seeking advice about the mask issue. BER asked Alex to share the advice he’s been giving, and this is what he had to say:
What decisions has your church made about masks and social distancing, and what are the primary considerations that influenced your decisions?
The primary decision is the protection of our people from the pandemic. We have already had several people die. So we offer multiple choices: you can go to a service online, a service with masks and social distancing, or a service with people making their own personal choices as to masking.
The reason we don’t have one policy for all meetings is we can’t get agreement on that from everyone.
At our church, we as elders came to agreement to all wear a mask in the different settings.
What feedback are you hearing from your congregation about your church’s precautions (or lack thereof)?
This particular issue is incredibly divisive. Certain people have very strong feelings about following all the government guidelines. Others want to modify the restrictions to meet publicly. Still there are others who think the whole thing is an exaggeration.
There is widespread disagreement on how to respond to the pandemic. There is a conflict between government rules and Christian values. This is not an easy conflict for anyone to solve. Unless we act reasonably and with Christlike attitudes, we will succumb to the anger and divisiveness that is showing itself in almost every church.
What counsel do you give to elders of other churches who ask you for advice on this topic?
Elders need to undertake strong, positive, Christlike leadership—people are looking for it. Leadership must model the virtues and the attitudes of Christ.
Elders need to be cautious of making fun of other people’s opinions on this subject. It has become a very sensitive issue, and that is what will cause your people to leave.
How do you handle the threat of losing members over this issue, on one side or the other—especially the faithful, involved members?
We should not have to lose members since we offer the people three different meetings. However, there are people who will not come because they are simply unable to handle the emotional disagreements over the social distancing and masks.
Every Sunday we’ve addressed the issue and called our congregation to prefer one another and to show deep concern for the opinions and fears of others. It is important to always communicate, and to speak reasonably about the situation regularly with your congregation.
How can a church maintain unity in times like this?
In my book If You Bite and Devour One Another, I laid out biblical principles for handling conflict. I ask people to look at the first chapter, which is from Galatians 5, in which we are either displaying the works of the flesh or the fruits of the spirit.
The COVID-19 virus is a test of whether we are walking by the Spirit or walking by the works of the flesh. The first fruit of the Spirit is love; the last is self-control.