From the "Gracevine" newsletter for Grace Lutheran Church in Thornville, Ohio, October 2022.
Reboot
Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. – Joel 2:13 ESV
One thing I like to do when teaching confirmation or otherwise interacting with today’s youth is joke about the archaic technology to which I had access when I was their age. I think they find it amusing, but at the very least, it makes me smile to talk about what life was like before smartphones and even cell phones, when we only had access to four television channels, when social media and streaming services were yet in the distant future, when we had to use paper maps and take trips without GPS navigation systems, and when we had to use rotary dial telephones attached to the wall. A few years ago, I asked a confirmation student if she remembered life before the internet, and she said “no,” but that she remembered having to use “dial up” internet. I remember when “dial up” internet was a new thing and a real treat to have in the house. These conversations make me feel rather old!
Technology has come a long way in even the last fifteen to twenty years. There are many examples that can be cited, but one noticeable difference between then and now is computer technology. When I was in college, we still relied on external floppy disks to save our files. If the power went out or if the computer crashed for some reason, I could only hope that I had saved the file on my disk. The sinking feeling upon realizing that the file was lost is hard to describe.
Sometimes computers crash and reboot, and most often without warning. Today’s computers mostly save documents automatically and “restore” any unsaved documents, which is a welcome development for anyone who uses technology. In addition, “cloud” technology greatly reduces the likelihood of losing files.
As I think about the life of churches today, the old danger of a sudden reboot or computer crash comes to mind. Without being saved, those files and the ideas they contain can be lost. This is an image we as a church should bear in mind in this “post-COVID” era.
I remember reading an article shortly after COVID-19 came on the scene in March of 2020. It predicted that as many as twenty percent of churches in North America would not survive the pandemic due to the lockdowns, the difficulty of getting people to return to church after the crisis abated, and overall loss of participation and financial giving. I do not know if the twenty percent number was accurate; perhaps it is too early to say. But it is obvious that COVID has had an impact on a lot of things in our society, including our churches.
For churches, maybe the best way to think about COVID is as a computer crash or reboot from days gone by. With this disruption, a reboot is required. What will be lost, and what will remain when the power comes back on? What files were lost that need to be reconstructed? I remember as a college freshman that I had one day written a history essay that for some reason failed to save on my floppy disk. I was forced to remember what I had written as best I could, and in the end, I was able to reconstruct the content. Though it took some hard work, I handed in the essay and was able to pass the course.
COVID has changed and disrupted a lot of things, but I believe we are now at a point where we need to reboot and reconstruct files that might have been lost in congregational life. This is not easy. It requires commitment and dedication on the part of many people. Perhaps some files have been permanently “lost” in the crash and subsequent reboot. Not everything is meant to last forever. What I have also learned from computer crashes and reboots is that it can be an opportunity for new ideas. When I had to reconstruct my lost history essay after the computer crash described above, I discovered that I was able to incorporate some ideas I had previously forgotten to write about.
As Martin Luther describes in his Small Catechism, when we pray “Thy kingdom come” in the Lord’s Prayer, we are confident that God’s kingdom will indeed come, but we pray in that petition that it will also come among us. The Church of Jesus Christ will go on; God will accomplish His purpose. We pray in this post COVID era that we here at Grace Lutheran will be included in that kingdom.
God’s promises are sure. At the same time, God uses us to bring about His kingdom. Please look for ways that you can be a part of the reboot in this place. It is encouraging to see interest in things both new and old. For example, the Men of Grace are resuming their activity. The Women of the NALC organization will begin meeting again this month. We will be starting a new men’s breakfast meeting as well. KFC will begin again as well. We still need to restart the KFROGS group, and of course we can always use more Sunday School/Adventures in Faith teachers! Above all, commit yourselves to being nourished by the gifts of Jesus Christ in worship.
We are fortunate to have a God of new beginnings, who has a track record of rebooting His people after their crashes. The prophet Joel speaks: Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.
Pr. Tom Jacobson
Reboot
Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. – Joel 2:13 ESV
One thing I like to do when teaching confirmation or otherwise interacting with today’s youth is joke about the archaic technology to which I had access when I was their age. I think they find it amusing, but at the very least, it makes me smile to talk about what life was like before smartphones and even cell phones, when we only had access to four television channels, when social media and streaming services were yet in the distant future, when we had to use paper maps and take trips without GPS navigation systems, and when we had to use rotary dial telephones attached to the wall. A few years ago, I asked a confirmation student if she remembered life before the internet, and she said “no,” but that she remembered having to use “dial up” internet. I remember when “dial up” internet was a new thing and a real treat to have in the house. These conversations make me feel rather old!
Technology has come a long way in even the last fifteen to twenty years. There are many examples that can be cited, but one noticeable difference between then and now is computer technology. When I was in college, we still relied on external floppy disks to save our files. If the power went out or if the computer crashed for some reason, I could only hope that I had saved the file on my disk. The sinking feeling upon realizing that the file was lost is hard to describe.
Sometimes computers crash and reboot, and most often without warning. Today’s computers mostly save documents automatically and “restore” any unsaved documents, which is a welcome development for anyone who uses technology. In addition, “cloud” technology greatly reduces the likelihood of losing files.
As I think about the life of churches today, the old danger of a sudden reboot or computer crash comes to mind. Without being saved, those files and the ideas they contain can be lost. This is an image we as a church should bear in mind in this “post-COVID” era.
I remember reading an article shortly after COVID-19 came on the scene in March of 2020. It predicted that as many as twenty percent of churches in North America would not survive the pandemic due to the lockdowns, the difficulty of getting people to return to church after the crisis abated, and overall loss of participation and financial giving. I do not know if the twenty percent number was accurate; perhaps it is too early to say. But it is obvious that COVID has had an impact on a lot of things in our society, including our churches.
For churches, maybe the best way to think about COVID is as a computer crash or reboot from days gone by. With this disruption, a reboot is required. What will be lost, and what will remain when the power comes back on? What files were lost that need to be reconstructed? I remember as a college freshman that I had one day written a history essay that for some reason failed to save on my floppy disk. I was forced to remember what I had written as best I could, and in the end, I was able to reconstruct the content. Though it took some hard work, I handed in the essay and was able to pass the course.
COVID has changed and disrupted a lot of things, but I believe we are now at a point where we need to reboot and reconstruct files that might have been lost in congregational life. This is not easy. It requires commitment and dedication on the part of many people. Perhaps some files have been permanently “lost” in the crash and subsequent reboot. Not everything is meant to last forever. What I have also learned from computer crashes and reboots is that it can be an opportunity for new ideas. When I had to reconstruct my lost history essay after the computer crash described above, I discovered that I was able to incorporate some ideas I had previously forgotten to write about.
As Martin Luther describes in his Small Catechism, when we pray “Thy kingdom come” in the Lord’s Prayer, we are confident that God’s kingdom will indeed come, but we pray in that petition that it will also come among us. The Church of Jesus Christ will go on; God will accomplish His purpose. We pray in this post COVID era that we here at Grace Lutheran will be included in that kingdom.
God’s promises are sure. At the same time, God uses us to bring about His kingdom. Please look for ways that you can be a part of the reboot in this place. It is encouraging to see interest in things both new and old. For example, the Men of Grace are resuming their activity. The Women of the NALC organization will begin meeting again this month. We will be starting a new men’s breakfast meeting as well. KFC will begin again as well. We still need to restart the KFROGS group, and of course we can always use more Sunday School/Adventures in Faith teachers! Above all, commit yourselves to being nourished by the gifts of Jesus Christ in worship.
We are fortunate to have a God of new beginnings, who has a track record of rebooting His people after their crashes. The prophet Joel speaks: Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.
Pr. Tom Jacobson