April 26th, 2022, was a HUGE day for the State of South Carolina. Governor McMaster signed into law the Religious Freedom Bill that ensures that churches are deemed “essential” during times of urgent public health concerns and government shutdowns, like that of our most recent global pandemic crisis. This piece of legislation is not making its way to mainstream media outlets, and I can’t imagine why (note the sarcasm). I want to thank Gov. McMaster for his continued leadership dealing with some very difficult issues and navigating the treacherous waters of depraved politics. We have most certainly come a LONG way in the last two years from the Governor’s initial shutting down of public boat ramps trying to limit COVID transmissions through lake gatherings! That little move really caused folks across our state to begin pushing back against fear and nonsense. Yesterday, however, proved just how unfortunate and blessed we really are as a people in the United States of America. That’s right, I used “unfortunate” and “blessed.”
The Pandemic exposed so much about the modern American psyche. Sometimes, I wonder if the nation would have responded differently had this event happened closer to 9/11. Take the Presidents, from Bush to Biden, out of the equation for a moment, and just think back to those days when the nation hung on tightly to words of unity and ideals of hope after that day of infamy. Our churches were filled with people looking for answers… Some found God. Some found a religious experience. Some found a way to numb the pain and grieve collectively. Some just followed. In the months following 9/11, Americans grieved together, and strangers became friends. We looked at each other with a sense of hope and a renewed collective spirit in our nation. Much of that collective spirit was birthed in our churches!
Fast forward to 2019, and the same nation that, not so long ago, cried together now wanted to rip each other apart. [Insert Pandemic Here]
Now, put politics aside for the moment! This mess is well beyond politics. This is about you and me. It’s about how we will or will not look one another in the eyes. It’s about how we treat one another when we completely disagree. It’s about keeping strangers as strangers and refusing to mourn together, and folks, there are numerous things to mourn in our nation. Unfortunately, during the time between the church surge post-9/11 up until the pandemic, the spiritual atmosphere in America had been wooed complacent by our own accord. Sure, we like to point fingers at politicians and the media giants for the division, but the reality is we are the ones who are RESPONSIBLE for those elected to office and it’s our fingers in control of the power button (literally). Throw a great unknown fear into this hot mess of Americanism and bad things happen(ed)!
Hence the word, “unfortunate.” My four sons are growing up in an America that is foreign in its very nature and essence compared to the one I grew up in in the 80’s and 90’s. They literally may never know the kind of unity our nation is capable of if the peacemakers (SHOUT OUT TO ALL YOU JESUS FOLLOWERS) in our nation fail to pull their weight. That reality hurts my heart because my heart is just as guilty as the next man! It’s a major area of my spirit I am constantly working on by the grace of Christ.
But wait, there’s more! How unfortunate is our state of affairs that it has taken 2 years for any elected official to designate churches as essential?? It’s unfortunate that our Governor had to sign such a law at all. This Religious Freedom Bill is merely be a logistical reminder of our God-given right, and it is unfortunate we have taken our freedoms for granted that we even need such a legislative reminder! Freedom of Religion is a God-given right PROTECTED by our Constitution, not prescribed by it, and it’s irrevocable regardless of the current events at hand!
Great confusion came early on for pastors all over the nation. It was a tidal wave of “What if’s?” What if someone gets sick and sues the church? What if I get sick and die as the pastor? What if my wife or one of my sons catches the dread bug and dies? What if the church fires me because they want to close and I believe all who are willing to meet together can and should? What if? What if? What if? It was a rabbit hole of infinite unknowns. Many of the same kinds of questions business owners all over the nation had to ask and answer for themselves.
In the midst of the confusion came that infamous label, “essential.” After two years, we can easily look back now and see that all the jobs lost and all the businesses that were forced to shut their doors forever were essential! The great oversight of the pandemic was the willful mislabeling of churches and the division it caused in cities and towns all over the nation! One might rightly argue that spiritual health is far more important than physical, but many in our local, state, and Federal government positions helped suppress the importance of spiritual well-being as they pandered their fearmongering to the masses. The pandemic would have been very different if the nation’s attitude toward open churches wasn’t the cause for consternation!
I understand all the biological jargon. I know how viruses can transfer from vector to vector. I know there was/is a real virus and that it mutates often with varying degrees of virulence. I know that a lot of people really died, while even more become really sick! Yet, I also know the lies and the accusations. I’ve been accused of telling folks the vaccine was the “Mark of Beast,” which I NEVER did nor do I believe that. I’ve been accused of urging people to not take the vaccine, though I never have! I have, however, spoken out against the spirit of fear, and I will not apologize for it! When one speaks against the big “F” word (FEAR), fearful people have much to say and truth seems irrelevant.
Let us ask an honest question: When a man lets the fear of dying keep him from living, is he not dead already?? And when a Christian, a cross-bearing Jesus follower, deems that his/her physical life is more precious than his/her soul (and that of others) so as to neglect the Church altogether, is he/she really a cross-bearing follower of the King? (Note: I am not questioning those with legitimate health concerns nor those with compromised immune systems) Current data shows that Christian churches lost some 30-40% of pew sitters, likely more. When I read the Bible, I never encounter a Jesus who runs from sickness, nor retreats from wayward politicians with too much power. (For the sake of clarity, I am NOT referring to Gov. McMaster as being among that group!)
As unfortunate as times have been, we are blessed! We still live in a nation where, at least for the next little while, constitutional rights are upheld at the highest level, in spite of great and vast efforts to rid the citizenry of them. We are blessed because God has brought us through great turmoil and great loss that brings with it unique opportunities to look in eyes of our neighbors with compassion, not despair. We are blessed because can still recognize our shortcomings, repent of our sins, and start anew! We are blessed because there are elected officials like Gov. McMaster who secure liberties for his constituents. We are blessed because we’ve all been through the same storm, whether or not we come through it better off as a nation is yet to be seen. We are blessed because through this pandemic, the people in churches all across America have been exposed . . . the good, the bad, the AWOL. Most of all, we are BLESSED because King Jesus still sits on His Throne, and that throne is a one of mercy and grace.
We lost our way people! The Church has been shaken. The fields are white unto harvest! Mercy and grace are good places to pick back up and take a step forward, together.
Written by Pastor Christopher L. Moss – April 27, 2022
