Church buildings have been empty for about eight weeks. The last time our church held any type of in-person meeting was Monday, March 16th. Before we ended that meeting, we took time to pray for God’s wisdom and discernment. We knew it would be the last meeting held at our church for a long time. The significance of that reality was not lost on us. After the meeting, I sat alone in my truck and grieved. I would tell you that I wept like a baby, but that would be embarrassing, so I’ll keep that information between me and God. I knew instinctively that church as I knew it would never be the same again — and my heart was breaking.

Our church family, like most church families, is highly relational and very active — and much of what we do centers around our little church building. It is like a home to us — a place where our people serve and worship and celebrate and mourn together. We like being together. No, we love being together. Our gang loves to come to church — and Sunday mornings are a big celebration. We were right to grieve the shut-down because we knew we were about to lose something very special to us, something important, something deep.

The building is important, but we often state that the church is not the building — it’s the people. This pandemic has created a proving ground for that statement. Is it true? Well, I am pleased to report that the church is alive and well — even without access to its building!

Again, like most church families, we have adapted to the realities of Covid-19. Our group isn’t big into technology, but we quickly learned how to do on-line ministry and it seems to be going well. Is it what we would choose if we had a choice? Probably not, but I must tell you that we are discovering new opportunities for service and ministry and fellowship. We shouldn’t be surprised that the church is the people, but I admit the reality of it caught me a bit off-guard. It’s always enjoyable when a theory is suddenly proven to be true.

Even our senior citizen gang is adapting. I’m amazed by our 90 year old folks who are participating in on-line platforms by way of their smart phones, iPads and laptops. They are very determined to not allow this pandemic to take their church family away from them. Let me repeat, the church is alive and well — and the vitality of the church is revealed in their invincible spirit!

In Matthew 9:14-17, Jesus encountered some criticism because He was teaching in new ways and His followers were breaking with tradition. In response, He said:

“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins and both are preserved.”

The adaptability of the church during this pandemic is convincing me that God is pouring out new wine. And friends, the church needs new wine. Christianity has been losing ground in the United States for decades. The numbers of unchurched and de-churched people continue to climb. By most estimates, the United States is now considered a post-Christian nation. Somewhere in the last 50 years our wine lost its kick and our wineskins got old and brittle. Sadly, we didn’t recognize the loss. We kept doing things the same way, year after year, and expected different outcomes. (Insanity, right?) I believe that God is giving us an opportunity to redeem this pandemic as a wake-up call. I very humbly offer you this caution: Don’t waste this moment trying to figure out how to get back to the way it was before the pandemic hit. Friends, it wasn’t working. Oh, it was comfortable and convenient and we were enjoying the routine and the tradition, but if we’re willing to be honest, then we have to confess that our methods were not transforming our people or our mission field.

Most growth experienced by Christian churches in America is transfer growth – a shuffling of Christians from one church to another. That’s not all bad, but we fool ourselves if we think that shuffling people around is success. It’s not, and the statistics prove it. If we’re willing to see the failure, then maybe we’ll be willing to change.

New wine requires new wineskins, and Jesus made it clear that God won’t pour new wine into old skins. Are we willing to make the sacrifices necessary to become new skins? Are we willing to leave our conveniences and preferences and traditions behind? Doing so will require sacrifice because mission advancement always requires sacrifice. Ask yourself: Is new wine worthy of giving up our old skins?

I urge you to redeem this pandemic shut-down by focusing on the future, not on the past. Don’t waste a lot of energy, time and resources trying to figure out how to go back to an old way that wasn’t working. The best days of the church are ahead of us if we’re willing to become new skins and take in the new wine.

I’ve started that conversation with our church. It won’t be easy because sacrifice is always hard. But we must be convinced that the new wine is worthy of all we have to give. Church, this is our moment. God is calling. The mission is before us. New wine is flowing…