How is the Coronavirus impacting Christian Communion:

Are you missing the communion Table yet? I guess it depends on the frequency you celebrate communion in your church.  For us, we normally share the bread & cup weekly. 

You might miss communion, also, based on how you practice it.  One of our members bakes the bread fresh, each week.  I feel a little spoiled just thinking about how good we have it in our church...  We don't "pass the plate" where we worship either.  We have a table in the rear of the room in which we gather, and we walk back to the table to celebrate communion together.  We have some people who quietly stay in their seat and reflect, we have others who walk around and talk with others, others will hug or laugh together, basically we experience a lot of freedom in how we practice communion. 

BTW: Even though we are streaming our sermons live on Facebook each Sunday for the time being, I will say, how we share communion at New Song is what makes our experience on Sundays unique and memorable. 

In my over two and half decades of practicing Christianity, thanks to the coronavirus, this is the longest I've gone without participating in communion.  Which leads me to point out, if your tradition or heritage practices weekly communion, but you are sheltering in place, what should you do about taking communion? 

The simple answer is, follow your conscience, which hopefully is being led by the Spirit.  Whatever you decide, it shouldn't be led by guilt, shame, or fear. 

I believe that communion, celebrating the Body & the Blood of Jesus is best shared in a community setting.  I think we have to have a community present to share communion, kind of like how you can't baptize yourself.  I don't think experiencing the Table is the same if you are alone.  I would say it would be like ordering your steak to go, but with all of the restaurants being closed these days and only offering take out... 

The legalistic voice in our heads might claim you "have" to observe communion no matter what, but is that really the heart of the matter?  If communion is about unity, about communing, about being the Body, then wouldn't that require a gathering of believers? 

But what if I'm "stuck" at home with my family, isn't that enough?  Sure, it certainly is, and I wouldn't take away from the value of a family devotional time.  I would ask though, are we taking communion in that context to follow the "letter of the Law" more so than taking it to celebrate the idea of community? 

I personally feel like when we travel out of town as a family and we aren't able to attend a church worship service, it feels more like legalism than Christianity to get some crackers and grape juice and "have" communion.  I feel the same way about our present "sheltering in place" situation.  Therefore, I'm waiting until we are back together as a church until I take communion.   

You'll have to make your own call, and I'm sure you will do what you think is right.  I do not think how you handle this temporary situation is a salvational issue, but I do think there are a lot of people who usually take communion weekly who are grieving over this issue.  I hope these rambling thoughts I've shared here are somewhat helpful.  I think we can all agree, when the virus clears up and we all are able to gather again, the next time we share communion, it will be special and very much appreciated. 

How casinos are a sure bet for your church!

Please tell me you aren’t one of those Christians protesting the incoming casinos like some sort of fundamentalist? Quit sulking and wake up; you'd have to be crazy to reject venturing on these casinos. Now that they are fortuitously proposing a casino near the Pinnacle, as well as in the old Bristol mall, it almost feels like an old TV commercial, “But wait, there's more! Order now and you get two for the low cost of...” 

What could possibly go wrong? After all, who’s to say gambling is a sin? You can’t point to a book chapter and verse in the Bible that says, “Thou shalt not gamble...” And it’s not like some of you don’t buy and sell stocks or invest your money in an IRA... retirement is a real crapshoot if you ask me! Let’s not be too hypocritical -- let’s stop and speculate the golden opportunity these casinos will bring all the churches in our community.

I’d wager this might be the best opportunity in a century for our churches to serve the Tri Cities. Why? Think about how many dads will blow their entire paycheck, bankrupting their households. Think of the chance for your benevolence team to pony up here since mom won’t have grocery money or rent money now that dad hits the casino every payday. Talk about an exciting time for church-goers to be living in, seeing family after family in our community devastated and ravaged by the lure of easy money, only to see their finances ruined.

Quick thought: Perhaps your church can raffle off seats for your next financial seminar? Talk about our good fortune -- may Dave Ramsey save us all!

After dad destroys the family finances, you know mom & dad will need some marriage counseling. Think how your once idle pastoral staff can get in on the action now! Of course counselling won’t fix their problems, and they will more than likely divorce, but that’s okay, because now your youth ministry can be there for Johnny and Sally as they spiral into a deep depression because their folks split up. I really hope those kids don’t self-medicate or play Russian-Roulette because of this dark horse!

Man, can it get any better? You bet it can (as long as your good tithers don’t get cold feet and move away)! I know it feels like winning the lottery being the “chosen” site for this, but as the studies show every casino brings in a certain element to the community they infiltrate: The underbelly of the crime-world.

Forget hating the scumbags that run the “legal” title loan industry you love to loathe, save your judgement for the true sinners because we’ll get some real loan sharks in the hood now! Talk about a golden opportunity for your church to serve this community, once the criminal community moves in like the mafia descending on little Italy, your police will be overwhelmed trying to keep up with their new challenges: More prostitution, car-thefts, break-ins, and if we are lucky, maybe the news can finally show us some good old fashioned gangland shootings too.

If you play your cards right, hopefully your Pastor can do a “ride-along” with the deputies and just think of the sermon illustrations he’ll generate for Sunday morning! No more boring sermons here, thank the Lord for the end of sleepy-sermon time! I wonder if the pastor will make a cameo on “Southern Justice” once the TV networks realize they aren’t done here yet?

By the way, it’s not too late to set up a support group for the bail-bondsmen in your churches who will be working overtime now. Also, make sure the youth pastor draws the short straw and is the one setting up the chairs for dad’s Gambling Anonymous meeting that loiters here, I mean gathers here, later on this week.

The odds are in our favor that we’ll never need to search for opportunities to serve the community again. Talk about a trifecta, I’d venture the Gospel will become front and center in our crime-ridden, decimated family-unit, poverty-stricken region once the casinos bleed us dry. Let’s welcome and embrace the chance to get into the action and let our light shine in what’s a sure bet to become an even darker time. This is the chance you’ve waited for, though your foreign mission committee might be at risk because of the fires you're putting out in your own backyard, but don’t sweat it, that’s the price we pay to ante up in our community. Once you run the numbers, you’ll see these casinos are heaven-sent -- you can stake your church’s future on it.