Last week I shared some of my own reflections from my bout with COVID-19. By the way, thank you for the prayers and kind words of encouragement. I returned to the office this week and feel pretty good, generally speaking. I’m grateful that I had a rather mild experience and I seem to be on the other side of it. This week I want to ask the bigger question of what have we learned over the course of the past year?
In the coming week, we will mark one year since COVID-19 began to disrupt our normal way of life in profound ways. None of us could have imagined what we were about to face as we navigated those early lock downs last March. Most of us were preparing for weeks, certainly not months. Now, nearly a year out from the initial disruptions, what have you learned through this past year? God doesn’t waste anything. There are lessons to be learned if we’re willing to pay attention.
What have you learned about your congregation?
What has surprised you about the way your local congregation has handled the pandemic? What has disappointed you? What has shown you new possibilities or opportunities that you wouldn’t have discovered without walking through this past year? What changes have you made that need to stay even beyond the pandemic? What changes do you still need to make to be faithful to God’s mission? What has digital technology brought to our congregation. What are we missing in our digital expressions? What have you learned about discipleship over this past year?
What have you learned about your community?
Who in your community has been most impacted this past year? Who is falling through the cracks or prone to be forgotten or left behind? Where are the needs going unaddressed? Who are the people that God is specifically calling you to love and serve? Where are the needs of your community strategically aligned with some of the strengths or assets of the body of Christ?
What have you learned about yourself?
What have you learned about yourself over the course of the past year that’s surprised you? What have you lost in this past year and what has your journey with grief taught you? Where are you most resistant to change and why? In what ways have you been most aware of God’s grace at work in you over the past year? What do you fear most when you think about the future? What do you need to unlearn?
This isn’t an exhaustive list. I’m sure there are some other questions that could be asked right now. My encouragement to you is to take some time in the next several days to ask some of these questions of yourself, or better yet, gather with a group of brothers and sisters and spend some time asking some good questions of one another.
A major part of the life of a disciple is slowing down and asking the question “what is God saying to me and what should I do about it?” It’s a great time to slow down and ask some intentional questions about what God may be wanting to teach us about our congregations, our communities and even ourselves.
Christ’s Peace,
Lance
CGGC eNews—Vol. 15, No. 10