July is a special month for remembering the birth of our country. America is our earthly home and it is known for its “sea from shining sea and its purple mountain majesty”. We as Christians have a greater home, “not of this world” where our true leader is Jesus Christ our Lord. We celebrate Independence Day for the freedom we have to give our greater home our true allegiance. Praise the Lord for this freedom. We are free to love God and our neighbor as ourselves. If we don’t do this we are wasting that freedom. As we sing the patriotic songs this month let us not forget the songs of the true Kingdom we serve.

“One nation under God”

Karen

Here at Suburban, our mission is the same mission Jesus gave to the apostles shortly after His resurrection. We are a Great Commission church that exists to make disciples, baptize them, and teach them to obey all of Jesus’ commands (Matt 28:19-20). Not surprisingly, our methods will be modeled after the church started by those apostles in the book of Acts.

There are two themes you will hear regularly over the coming months – devoted and united. Both of these themes come from Acts chapter 2. Verse 42 tells us that the first church was devoted to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and to prayer. Verse 44 tells us that the believers were united together and had everything in common. Verses 45-47 tell us that they were sharing with those in need, meeting together daily in the temple and in homes, breaking bread together, and praising God with glad and sincere hearts. What was the result of their activities? The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. The Kingdom grew… in leaps and bounds.

If the Great Commission is the measuring stick, I would argue that the first church was the most successful church in history. God was blessing the things they were doing, and disciples were being made every day. We want to be like that church. Honestly, if we are going to fulfill God’s purpose for us, we need to be like that church.

We have started to move closer to the first church’s activities by reading together and praying together. We are united together, devoting ourselves to the apostles’ teaching and prayer. Covid-19 may have disrupted our ability to meet together in the temple and in homes, but it couldn’t stop us from being together. We gathered together every week online and we broke bread together. Even though we weren’t physically together, we were still united in action and purpose.

As restrictions are being lifted, those physical boundaries will be removed and we can renew our efforts to meet together in the temple and in homes. That started for us on May 24th, when we were finally able to worship together physically. We will continue to add activities over the coming weeks and months that bring us together as a body.

I will ask for your patience as we begin this process. These are unchartered waters. We are doing our best to make decisions that are in line with established restrictions and guidelines, minimize risk and exposure to people, but give us the opportunity to fellowship and break bread together. We will make some mistakes. There will be things we overlook. But you can rest assured that as we begin to shape the “new normal,” our goal will be for us to be united together, devoted to activities that God uses to grow His Kingdom.

The elders and I have been meeting regularly since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, and we have been monitoring the guidelines and recommendations as they are being published. There have been some changes recently that make it look like our isolation is headed toward a conclusion.

Governor Northam announced on May 4th that some restrictions could be eased as early as next Friday. He is calling the ease in restrictions Phase 1 of the plan to move Virginia forward. I think one of his statements sums up the approach they took when developing Phase 1. He says Virginians are “safer at home – especially if you are vulnerable.” Essentially, Virginians will be allowed to do a little bit more outside the home, but just because we may be free to do more doesn’t necessarily mean it is always in our best interest to do so. The most effective way to remain safe and healthy is to limit exposure - remain at home wherever and whenever it is practical.

In light of these changing guidelines, we are praying about the best course of action for reopening the church and seeking guidance from God above all other sources. He tells us in Scripture to, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.” (Romans 13:1-2) Unless God clearly leads us in a different direction, we will continue to follow the guidelines set forth by our elected and appointed leaders… all the while, praying for God to guide them.

We know that everyone is eager to get back together again, but we want to be sure we are proceeding in a way that keeps everyone safe and is in line with God’s will for Suburban. We have made no firm decisions as to when that will happen. Please know that we are praying over this decision and will move forward as soon as we sense God prompting us to do so.

In the meantime, please be praying for us as we weigh this decision. Pray for God to give us wisdom and discernment as we consider our course moving forward. Please pray for our local, state, and national leaders as well. Pray that God would guide their thoughts and actions. Pray that they would make decisions that will maximize our freedoms and minimize our risks.

We are praying for God to guide us and protect us. We are praying that our decisions would bring glory to Him. We are praying that God would draw us all close to Him during our time apart. We are praying that God would lead us to the center of His will. And we are confident that He hears our prayers and will lead us where He wants us to go.