I have been struggling with the question, “Is this Coronavirus pandemic an interruption or a disruption for the church?”  I learned early on that to help the church move forward missionally, I needed to hear the voices of people with prophetic gifting. Reading and talking with those who might give me some clarity, I have come to the conclusion that it is both.

Let me try to shed light on this with an illustration. Years ago, in the days of network only TV, I lived 65-70 miles from the city where our television broadcasts originated. Back in the days of no viewing on-demand, we received only three channels, ABC, NBC, and CBS. Often in the spring, as I was watching one of my favorite shows, there would be an interruption as a newscaster would break in with a severe weather warning. After the warning was over, an announcer might say, “We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming already in progress.”

In contrast, a disruption would be when a tornado hits your house, and everything changes.

Interruptions bring a pause in our normal routines, but disruptions bring dramatic change to our lives.

As an interruption, COVID-19 has put some things on pause that will eventually revert back to “regular programming.”

As a disruption, COVID-19 has drastically changed the way we will go forward, not only in the church but in our personal lives and in society as a whole.

I encourage missional pilgrims to be aware that God often interrupts their daily routines to show them where He is working, but today I want to focus on the issue of disruption

Our landscape has radically shifted

We are living in disrupted times. The landscape around us is shifting, and these shifts are affecting the church. From the Coronavirus to racial unrest, to political upheaval, our ministry and missional rhythms have been shaken. 

We must not ignore the disruption. We must ask ourselves if God has allowed or even brought these events upon us to advance His mission.

Let’s be brutally honest. Even before the disturbance of 2020, the church in America found itself at the margins of society. We have struggled with ways to address the changes around us in a culture that has increasingly grown disinterested in the church and in Christian values. But we should be encouraged because the church has always done its best work when it is on the fringes.

God works through disruptions

We might be tempted to say that God does not disrupt our lives, but if we examine scripture, we will see that He makes it a habit of showing up and disturbing steps and plans. We cannot thumb through the pages of the Bible and not see, that time and time again, God disrupts His people.

Let’s look at some biblical examples of disruptions that were more than interruptions:

• Abraham was going about his normal life in Ur, but God disrupts and calls him to journey to Canaan. (Genesis 12:1)
• Moses is minding his own business tending sheep when God disrupts and sends him to Egypt. (Exodus 3:10)
• The lives of the Israelites were disrupted, and they leave Egypt and journey to the Promised Land. (Joshua 24:5)
• Mary and Joseph are making plans for their marriage when their lives are disrupted with the news that Mary will be the mother of the long-awaited Messiah. (Luke 1:29-31) (Matthew 1:20-25)
• Peter, Andrew, James, and John are living the normal lives of fishermen, and Jesus says to them, “Follow Me.” (Matthew 4:18-22)
• Ananias is safe in his home when God’s call comes, “Go to a man named Saul.” (Acts 9:15)
• Saul is comfortable as a Pharisee, but God sends him as the apostle Paul. (Acts 22:21)
• The church in Jerusalem is disrupted and scattered by persecution. (Acts 8:1)

God works through disruption over and over again, and once you see it in the Biblical record, you cannot un-see it.

God changes the world through disruptions

We love the status quo, and we relish our comfortable routines, but God wants to bring our thoughts into line with His thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9) and prove His abundant ability to do all things (Ephesians 3:20-21). 

God changes the world through disruptions.

1. Disruptions are not obstacles to be avoided, but God’s invitation to join Him where He is working. 
2. Disruptions turn lives upside down. 
3. Every time God disrupted lives, He sent His people on His mission to redeem the world. 
4. When God’s servants accepted His invitation and stepped over the threshold, there was no going back, and things were never the same. 

Paul was able to deal with his ever-changing situations because he was clear about his mission. He could never get God’s ever-echoing call from his ears, “I am sending you…” (Acts 26:17-18)

Mary sees her plans crumble and then affirms, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled” (Luke 1:38). 

And the world was never the same. 

Perhaps God, right now, is trying to show us that there might be a way to move forward in mission that we ever imagined.

What will we do when our status quo is disrupted?

The fact that the status quo has been disrupted calls for creative forms of advancing the gospel in the places where we live, work, learn, and play. We must find our gospel voice and speak into our culture lest we become “children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes” (Ephesians 4:14 NIV). 

Will we go and change the world?