After the events of the past week, Grant sits down with his friend and fellow pastor Delmar White who pastors New Mount Zion Baptist Church. Pastor White talks about how hard it was to teach this past Sunday as well as how the church should begin to move forward on the issue of racism.
Grant was invited to join Andy Addis, Pastor of CrossPoint Church regarding the WH Journal post he wrote last week titled “When Asking Why is No Longer Enough.” Joining them in the podcast is Pastor/Author Stephen Owens – Lead Well of Mt. Calvary Baptist Church in Bedford, OH. Listen as they discuss their thoughts about what needs to happen next in race relations.
I have been asked for my thoughts concerning the death of George Floyd as well as the despicable act by a young woman in New York who tried to get an African-American man arrested simply because he asked her to keep her dog on a leash in a leash only area.
Before I speak on either of these instances, some backstory. If you are reader of this blog, you know the journey I have been on concerning race relationships in our community. You can read this or this or this or this. I could list more but you get the point.
I am not new to this discussion.
In fact, for the last two years, I have met with a group of African-American pastors over lunch, coffees, and zoom meetings. I have purposely pursued relationship with these men and they have welcomed me as part of the family. I am often the only white guy in the room (we are changing this, adding some “cream” to the mix). These men have become some of my closest friends, a safe place for me and them to ask questions, to tease each other and laugh. We text all the time, check in on each other.
Why have I done this? Why have I purposely sought out relationships with African-American pastors and churches in our community? Why do I show up and listen?
Because I got to the point in my life where I realized that being mad about racism and asking “why” was no longer a good enough response.
Let me be clear. There is no excuse for the actions of those ex-police officers in Minneapolis. None. George Floyd should be alive right now.
But this is not new. The events of this week are not isolated instances. This has been a part of the reality of what it means to be a black male in America for quite some time. The cell phone has revealed a deep, dark secret that we whites have either ignored or been ignorant of and we really should be past the point of being shocked.
And that is what triggered me this week particularly about the white community. Why are we still shocked? Why do the images and video shock us this week? Why is this instance so heinous? What is so unique about the death of an unarmed, handcuffed black man this week that has finally got us speaking out and speaking up? Why has it taken this long for so many of us to see this?
I am tired of seeing press conferences of white people who are outraged by these actions but then return to the safety of their white privilege. I am tired of sound bites and twitter posts but then no intentional change in terms of building relationships with people that look different than you. I am tired of “leaders” who sound fantastic at a press conference but they can not incarnate what they are preaching.
Asking “why” is no longer a good enough response. We know why. Mankind is selfish and sinful. Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
A better question is “Now what?” Start personally before you start corporately. After a week of social media posts, twitter fights, and facebook comments – what is going to fundamentally change in your life? Will you seek out a relationship with someone of color to listen and learn? Will you risk your safety and comfort to stand with other African-Americans?
It is the way of our Lord and Savior…to walk in these places as a redemptive voice.
I am grieving with my brothers this week. I am angry when they are angry, frustrated when they are frustrated, exhausted when they are exhausted. Not because they are black. But because they are my friends. And that is what fundamentally needs to change in our culture moving forward.
Western Hills Family,
I have a special favor to ask from you this week. Actually, it is TWO favors. (I know, I’m pushing it.)
Favor 1: Take this survey for us concerning the reopening of the building.
This will be crucial information for us as we continue to work out the details of when and how to reopen the building. The survey is open to take now and will be for the next TWO WEEKS.
Favor 2: Watch or Listen to this vulnerable and insightful conversation I had with two of my closest friends on the topic of COVID-19 and reopening. You can listen to it on our podcast if that is more convenient for you.
My two friends? Tim Hughes, Lead Pastor at Gracepoint Church and Pastor T.D. Hicks of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church. Couple of warnings about this roundtable.
We laugh. A lot.
Time kinda got away from us. It is an hour long, but I promise you – it is worth the listen.
And we had some kind of power surge or something during the last 5 minutes, so the sound got a little messed up.
But I promise you it will be completely worth it. These two men are not only dear friends of mine, but they have been incredible sources of wisdom and insight. We have talked quite a bit during this crisis and have leaned on each other for encouragement and wisdom. The more we talked, the more we wanted our churches to see this, because it will help explain the “why” behind the decisions we are making.
So PLEASE watch the roundtable!
As difficult as this season has proven to be, I am still confident that the Church – both universal and Western Hills specifically – will emerge out of this stronger than ever.
Why do I believe this?
Because the Church never closed through this pandemic. She rose up and met the needs of our community in unprecedented ways. She provided meals, clothes, shelter, and hope.
Because the Church embraced each other across denominational lines and is standing shoulder to shoulder as the hands and feet of Jesus to our communities.
Because this season has sharpened our focus to live out the reality of Jesus to every person, in every place, all the time.
Because the hearts of our pastors – both at WHC and throughout our community – are FOR Jesus and FOR people. It is larger than just the buildings we meet in.
Because more worship has happened in homes during this pandemic than ever before.
Because we are navigating this together. Imperfectly, for sure, but completely reliant on God’s grace which is exactly where He wants us to be.
Love you, Western Hills.
And thanks for doing me these two favors.
I hope you have been frustrated over the last few weeks.
I hope you have had moments where you got angry for no apparent or good reason.
I hope you found yourself inexplicably tired a night or two… or three.
I hope you got irritated because the cereal companies have conspired to make their plastic bags only open when you apply the force of a jaws of life.
I hope you found yourself staring silently at your kid trying to find the words to explain new math, which makes absolutely no sense at all.
I hope these things, because they are a reminder that we are still a work in progress. That the transformation project that Jesus tackled in our heart is still in full swing. These moments of failure should be roadsigns that we see as proof that God is indeed not finished with us.
These failures are like breaking down on the side of the road. It is inevitable. Cars break. Tires go flat. Batteries die. These things happen. That in and of itself is not a surprise. What is often a big surprise is our reaction to the event.
Do we sit on the side of the road and scream profusely at the inconvenience of it all? Do we curse the day we were born? Do we find someone to blame for this tragedy that has befallen us? Do we panic and wallow in the shame and guilt of not up keeping the car the way we should have?
I have experienced all of those things, and what is astonishing is that after all of that emotional energy is expended, the car still isn’t fixed.
Sometimes the fix is obvious, a flat tire or a dead battery. It is something that, with a little help from some friends, can be fixed in straight order. And life continues. It’s an opportunity to teach a kid how to change a tire or get a battery and alternator test at an auto parts store. It costs some time and relatively little amount of money.
Other times, it requires a tow truck and someone with more experience and knowledge than I. So we call for help.
Either way, an action must be taken. A decision to quit rolling around in self-pity and actually do something that could help the situation.
This is true in our transformation journey with Jesus as well. There are going to be failures. A sharp retort. A quick response. A lustful eye. A careless attitude. Some failures are going to be more catastrophic in their consequences than others. Some failures will require more than an apology and humility. Others will require a more extensive visit to the repair shop.
The point is, the true failure in a failure is when the failure itself gets the last word.
The only thing worse than falling down is not getting back up.
So I hope you see this list differently now – as opportunities to experience the grace of God in a deeper way.
And I hope after you experience these things, you get back up and grab His hand. Again. And again.
Last Sunday morning, I dealt with two very different sets of emotions as our family gathered in our living room for worship. I desperately missed you. I missed our band. I missed our worship team. I missed catching up with everybody. The chaos of kids running in the hallways.
BUT I loved being in my living room. With my family. Worshipping. Singing. Laughing. Talking during my own sermon. Our times of worship have never been deeper and more meaningful than these last few weeks. Our living room has become our sanctuary.
So I’m living in the tension of missing the old days AND loving these new ones. Can you relate to this? Do you find yourself in this same tension?
After the events of this week, it appears that we may have to live in this tension just a bit longer.
As many of you know, the governor released a statewide plan to reopen our communities. There was a lot of information to digest, so let’s walk through the highlights and then talk about how it impacts Western Hills Church.
Phase 1 starts May 4th and lasts a minimum of 14 days.
Phase 2 would begin no earlier than May 18th for a minimum of 14 days.
Phase 3 would begin no earlier than June 1 for a minimum of 14 days.
After June 15th – Local governments will have home rule and be able to enforce their own guidance.
There is a major disclaimer to these phases remaining on “schedule.” COVID-19 cases must not increase during each of these phases. If another outbreak occurs or the numbers remain even, the state of Kansas has the authority to either hold at a certain phase or even backtrack to a previous one.
So what does all of this mean for us at Western Hills Church?
The Church Council and staff have spent a lot of time praying and thinking about the best options for us as we move forward. We have talked with many healthcare professionals as well as other churches in town. Taking all of that into consideration, we have made the following decisions:
During that time:
While we do have plans for phases beyond May, recent history has shown us how fluid and flexible those plans must be.
Here’s the bigger picture to see: The church never closed. Yes, we had to change our strategy. And we may have to keep changing our strategy as we move forward. And that is okay. We will keep trusting God and doing the next right thing.
This has been hard for us all. We have had to grow in our leadership and deal with things that we never could have imagined. We have got a little bit further to go. We can do this. AND, we have a lot to be thankful for.
The church has risen to the occasion. The church of Topeka has lived out the reality of Jesus to our city and county. We have bought meals, delivered groceries, sacrificially provided resources when the public sector couldn’t. We are continuing to help our communities navigate this pandemic with the grace of Jesus. We have not served our city alone. Dozens of churches, thousands of Christ-followers have been the literal hands and feet of Jesus to Topeka. This pleases the Father’s heart.
There is more prayer and worship that is happening in homes now than ever before. Kids are seeing their parents worship and study. Living rooms have become sanctuaries.
Can you see now that regardless of the business hours on a door, the Church can not be stopped? I hope you can see and know beyond a shadow of doubt that there is no power on earth can close the Church. No government. No fear. No pandemic.
Nothing can keep us from the love of God, and nothing can keep us from living out the reality of Jesus to every person, every place, all the time. I am reminded of the words of Paul in Romans 8:35-39.
Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?
No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.
No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Let’s keep living out the reality of Jesus to every person, in every place, all the time.
Let’s go be the church.
Last month was our first VIRTUAL LEAD Night, and it was such a HUGE success, we are going to do it again! Monday night, April 20th, at 6:30pm. You can sign up here. We will send you a zoom invite. It’s going to be great.
Who is LEAD Night for?
If you serve in any capacity at WHC, LEAD Night is FOR you. We want to invest in you, give you some encouragement and some soul care. If you are interested in serving in any role at WHC, I’d encourage you to check out LEAD Night. It will get you around some of our leaders, you’ll get to make some new friends and experience the culture here at Western Hills Church.
What should I expect from VIRTUAL LEAD Night?
You can expect a 15-20 minute dose of encouragement/food for thought alongside an opportunity to participate in a smaller group (think 5-7 people) discussion about the topic at hand. We’ll end the evening praying for and with each other.
Sneak Peak at LEAD Night
One resource that I want to put in front of our leaders is the incredible insight that Dr. Henry Cloud, Christian Psychologist and author, has just recently re-released: Four Principles To Maintain Well-Being During A Crisis.
Here’s the first one: Stay Connected.
What is core to being human is to be connected – to our God and to each other. COVID-19 has impacted this ability in unprecedented ways, but it does not have to keep us isolated from each other. We need to continue to be intentional in connecting with people.
For the English family, we’ve adopted a couple of different new traditions for us. First, is our Connect Group on Wednesday nights. We meet via Zoom, and the first half hour is utter chaos as the group tries to reconnect with each other…. at the same time. It’s funny and loud, but it hits the spot. We eventually get to the Bible study part… eventually. Sometimes.
We also have game nights at our house. This is with our family around the table. Carcassone and Rumikub are the favorites, but we also do this via Zoom with a few friends. There are a couple of board games via apps that we are learning to play, and it’s quite fun. (Ticket To Ride is a good one.) We’ve also had driveway visits.
The larger point is that these little connections go a long way to maintaining our sanity through this process. We need each other, and staying connected is crucial to navigating this crisis well.
Want to know the other three? Come join me on LEAD Night to find out!
Register for LEAD Night!
So this will be the first ‘digital’ Easter ever. Right?
Crazy to think that this Easter will be the 2nd craziest Easter in history. (The first Easter, of course, was by definition the craziest Easter ever.) Church buildings around the planet will be empty on Easter Sunday. All of the productions and plays, music and lights – gone. All of the pomp and circumstance, the hype and the dressing up and eggs, bunnies, and chocolate – gone.
And maybe it’s better this way.
Over the last few weeks, families have had to CHOOSE to worship. Yes, many churches have put their services online, but I’d argue that doesn’t necessarily make it easier for people to worship. In fact, it may be harder. It sounds crazy to say that, but it may be more difficult to worship in our living rooms than it is to drive to a different place to worship. Because when I worship in my living room, I feel like I’ve somehow invited God into my space instead of me showing up at His.
Theologically I know how ridiculous that sounds. I do. But it doesn’t make it any less true. Or at least how it feels o
n Sunday morning. We wake up the family, and we choose to gather around the TV. We sing – just us. No other noise to hide it. We pray. We take communion. Our living room becomes our sanctuary, and that feels vulnerable. There’s no buffer of the drive to another location.
Every time we gather in the living room now for food or play – we are reminded that God is here. When we argue and fight – He is there. When we cry and laugh – He is there. This has become our… sanctuary.
I know how un-theological all of that sounds. I know He is ALWAYS there, but now I’m more aware that He is there because I have purposely invited Him here. The ottoman is both a place to put our feet and a place to kneel for communion. And maybe that’s too sacrilegious, but then again maybe it isn’t.
Maybe that’s how it should be. How it was supposed to always be.
Maybe this is not the Easter we wanted, but it is the Easter we need.
We need to invite the resurrection of Jesus into our homes. The resurrection of Jesus matters in my living room MORE than it does in some building that happens to have the name ‘church’ on it. Maybe we need a resurrection of our faith. Our hope. Our marriage. Our children. Our priorities.
Maybe this Easter will not be the worst Easter ever but instead will be most needed Easter ever.
And maybe empty churches will remind us of an empty tomb that promises a full heart and full life. And maybe our living rooms will become cathedrals of praise and our front porches places of proclamation.
And maybe that will be more than enough.
As our unemployment rates rocket to historic levels, there are resources to help those who have lost their job, unable to work, or find their small business unable to generate enough review.
We have tried to put a list of these resources here. This is by no means an exhaustive list. If you have more information and would like for us to add another resource, leave us a comment here.
UI and COVID-19 FAQ: Kansas Department of Labor
Unemployment Benefits: Sign up online
Unemployment Benefits Get Started Application
Kansas Department of Labor Contact Page
If you own a small business, the latest information we have been told is to talk to your banker IMMEDIATELY. There are loans available for payroll protection and the laws and guidance from the federal government is constantly changing. However, your banker should be on top of these situations and can help you.
LEGAL DISCLAIMER:
Western Hills Church is not responsible for the content on these websites. We list these as a source of potential help but everyone should do their own research. Listing of a website here is also NOT an endorsement for any organization. It is also possible, given how fast things have changed that the information on these sites is dated and not accurate.
Another week, another 1,000 changes to how we now “do life.” The Governor issued a “Stay At Home” order for the whole state that went into effect today at 12:01 AM, but not a whole lot will change for those of us living in Shawnee County as we were already under a similar ‘Safer-At-Home’ order.
What exactly does a “Safer-At-Home” order mean? According the Shawnee County Health Department, it means only essential personal are allowed to work away from the home. The County has a list of who exactly those essential people are, and if you are one, your employer would have already told you. It means NO public gatherings of ANY size. This is why we’ve closed the church these last two weeks and, there is to be NO activity up at the church at all.
You CAN exercise outside. Just maintain the minimum 6 foot distance. You can go to the grocery store or get food. You can go to the doctor to receive necessary care.
You can drive up to WHC and use the WiFi. We know that some families will start school this week, and they have no internet access. We are keeping the WiFi on for our community to use it as a hot-spot if they need it.
You can also drive up to WHC to use our locked drop-off box for your giving as well.
You can stay connected online.
Our Connect Groups, small group Bible studies, and ministry teams are still meeting. It’s all online, using tools like Zoom, Google Hangouts, and FaceTime, but it’s still incredibly effective in staying connected. If you don’t have a Connect Group, we can get you in one!!! It’s super easy and fun.
Our groups are telling us some incredible stories of connection, playing board games, and having ‘dinner’ with each other online as well as praying and getting into the Bible. In my own Connect Group, that time together has become the new normal for us, and just seeing those faces and hearing those voices encourages us so much. IF YOU DON’T HAVE THAT – YOU NEED IT! AND YOU CAN HAVE IT!
You can join us for LEAD Night.
Tonight (Monday) at 6:30pm, I will continue the tradition of LEAD Night. This is where our leaders get around the table and we get better. We take care of our souls. If you serve anywhere, you are a leader. If you are INTERESTED in serving, you need to be at LEAD Night. Heck, if you just want to hear what we are doing and wrestling with through this pandemic, you can be at LEAD Night.
I’ll be talking about how we are leveraging technology to stay connected through this time and how each of us can do the same. Plus what we are looking at in the future to continue to get better at being the church ‘scattered’ instead of ‘gathered.’ I’ll be issuing a prayer challenge for us through this crisis.
If you’ve never been to a LEAD Night… If you are feeling just a bit overwhelmed…. If you need just a little dose of encouragement… make LEAD Night a priority tonight. Sign up. We will send you a link to join us via Zoom. All you need is a device that can get to the internet OR just a phone that can dial a number. That simple.
UPDATE ON PASTOR TD HICKS
Many of you have asked about Pastor Hicks of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church. He is improving every day! He’s walking. He’s getting his strength back. I’ve had many text and Face-time calls with him, and I’m very encouraged about where he is and where he is heading. He won’t be preaching for another month or so, but he really appreciates the prayers and encouragement from all. Keep praying.
Just a thought…
I wish we weren’t going through this as a community, as a nation. But I’ve purposed to not waste this opportunity either. To get closer to my family. To get better as a leader. To get closer to Jesus. How can I do that? How can you do that?
We’re going to be exploring this idea all this week. Together. So come take the journey with me.
Grant