The crises of life don’t make us or break us.

A crisis reveals who we are and brings out what’s in us. Yet we would be negligent if we didn’t seize every ministry crisis to learn and grow.

This is my number one rule for pastoral ministry during crises. Keep growing forward!

I do confess that this nationwide pandemic crisis escalated relatively quickly and forced stronger mitigation efforts than I wanted to give. I’m not happy that I had to submit to the loss of on-campus worship services for nine consecutive weeks.

Some pastors will probably say that this has been the worst crisis of their ministry. I can’t say that. I will concede that this is the most unique crisis I have ever led through.

1) What did I learn about myself? I learned that I dislike being forced into wide-sweeping changes. But I also learned that God has equipped me for crisis management. The experiences of my past were used by God to help me steady the helm and course for the people of God under my influence.

2) What did I learn about our congregation? I learned just how susceptible we are to the significant influences of media and its mixed voices. But I also learned how flexible they are and how willing they are to follow spiritual leadership. The majority of them were understanding and adaptable in these shaky times.

3) What did I learn about ministry? I relearned that ministry is all about connections. It always has been and always will be. People need to feel connected to their spiritual leaders and one another.

4) Did my ministry practices change based on this crisis experience? Yes. But first, let me say I’m glad we already had an online presence. If we had started this crisis without one, the learning curve would have been extreme. However, we were lagging behind somewhat in terms of equipment and technology. So, I now see the need to spend more money and energy on maintaining a better online presence than ever.

5) I will say that this crisis painfully exposed our ministry’s weaknesses. But it also highlighted the strengths of our church leaders. So we’re learning and growing more than ever.

6) I’m more convinced than ever, too, that God has called His people to assemble together in the same place and face-to-face. I’ve cooperated with the stop-gap measure of being an online-only pastor, but it has reinforced my reservations. An online-only form of Christianity encourages people to consume our services, as if they were just another source of the abundance of content already available.

7) The final lesson I had to relearn has been my need to take care of myself. Attention to physical exercise and nutrition has enabled me to deal with the extra stress. I know that if I don’t take care of myself, I can’t lead my staff, provide pastoral care, or offer spoken ministry.

I’ll end this with one major reminder for us all. GOD is BIGGER than any crisis the church has ever or will ever face!