Substance is Officially Reopening – June 21st – The Gameplan

After 14 weeks of digital church, we are officially relaunching LIVE worship & preaching at Substance (June 21st!) Sadly, we are not yet able to open our West Side campus (as we do not control that building); but, rest assured, all of these inconveniences are temporary!

Last week, we did a live worship and prayer gathering at both our NTN and DTN locations. And, to be honest, I under-estimated how powerful it would be. Even though we were socially distant, the atmosphere was electrifying. Afterwards, almost everyone kept saying the same three things afterwards: (1). There’s nothing like CORPORATE worship. (2). There is an obvious difference to preaching when everyone’s distractions are truly minimized. (3). And there is an abounding love that flows when we physically see our loved ones – especially after all that we’ve been through.

Obviously, we are wanting to reopen in a way that is safe and socially responsible. It’s important to understand that, whenever people come together, there is always an increased risk of spreading COVID. Thus, I encourage you to read my blog: “The Joy & Germs of Singing: The Fascinating Science of Reopening Church” to better understand the risks.

That said, in this toxic political environment, many people have been tempted to interpret all of Substance’s decisions as political positions. Between our goals on safety to our goals on diversity, it’s almost funny to hear everyone’s anxious perceptions. But, rest assured, our agenda is quite simple: We just want to see your lovely faces back together again!  And we believe that, what the world needs most isn’t more “opinions & positions;” but rather, we need the joy and kindness of God. And that’s why we’re prepping for a weekend of worship and outreach you will not forget!

But here is how we’re Relaunching: This weekend, June 21st, we will be doing live worship at both NTN and DTN. I’ll be preaching live! And I have a uplifting (& kid-friendly) message for you and your family. We encourage you to sign up for our new service times (8:30a /10a/11:30a) using our church reservation software at www.SubstanceChurch.com. Masks are available if you need them. We will NOT be doing full-throttle Kids Ministry (for at least another week); however, please come! We will be broadcasting the service into special “Family Overflow Rooms” – places you can watch the service with your squirmy wormy kids! We will have kids volunteers to assist you! And more, we will create activity tables (with bags full of ministry goodies) to keep your little ones busy as you enjoy the service. And once again, this “Phase 3” strategy is temporary. Our goal is to scale back to full kids ministry asap – but in a way that meets the high standards of the CDC. And if you’ve been certified to serve in our kids ministry already, we encourage you to dive in with us. We need all hands on deck as we relaunch hundreds of ministries!

Last, but not least, we are celebrating our reopening by scaling up our “Love This City” outreach into Downtown! Since COVID hit the U.S., our Northtown campus has given away over 1 million pounds of groceries to people in need! And now, using our Northtown campus as a preparation hub, we are now permanently establishing this ministry in Downtown! Imagine if every Sunday after church, our Northtown Campus packs boxes of groceries (from 1-3p); then, our refrigerated trucks roll into downtown. And 5-8p, we set up the ultimate dj-party cook-out in Historic Wesley Parking Lot (COVID-safe, of course!) And after a friendly meal, we will personally bring these grocery boxes to people’s apartments… while also giving away backpacks (even Teddy Bears) and a large dose of God’s joy.

And Get This: Starting this weekend (June 21st) we are going to be doing some version of this EVERY SUNDAY NIGHT into the future! Historic Wesley is once again THE PLACE where the hurting can find help. We are a “local well” filled with “Living Water” (Jn 4). And if you want to help, (either at NTN or DTN) sign up here:

But, here’s the big picture: It’s time to safely relaunch physical church. Digital church has been great. (And we will continue to provide it and upgrade it). But there will never be a substitute for the gathering of the saints. We live in a world where everyone likes to make a point instead of making a difference. Let’s use actions over arguments to be the change. After all, that’s what it means to “live with substance.”

Hebrews 10:25  “Let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing. But let us encourage one another, and all the more as we see the Day approaching.”

June 16, 2020 /  

LOVE THIS CITY – Help Substance Bring Relief to Minneapolis

Our city is literally on fire. And the time for talk is done. Here is our battle plan. And how you can help.

As you already know, the destruction over the past few days has primarily affected minority families and businesses. Thousands have lost their jobs and homes. So, Substance has been helping people find housing. But if you know people who are in need, Manna Market (our free grocery distribution center at our Northtown Campus) has been operating non-stop. For example, we have many school teachers in our congregation who have been gathering food for students and families at risk. We are also providing food packs for hundreds of children & families that live near the 3rd Precinct. So, if you know of people in need, go to SubstanceChurch.com/mannamarket

TODAY (May 30)

4p – INTERCESSORY PRAYER WALKS around our Downtown Campus. Find parking offsite (on your own) and join us at Historic Wesley. Please do NOT plan on sticking around past curfew. This is not a joke. This is not the night to see the protests. Tonight will be dangerous and will only serve to hurt our minority communities worse.

SUNDAY (May 31) 

8:45 & 10:45a – Join us for Digital Church as we have our friend Pastor Jimmy Rollins – a national voice on racial pain and healing. Trust me, it will be ANOINTED.

1p – We are Giving away emergency food packs at Historic Wesley: Park on your own / Wear your “LOVE THIS CITY” t-shirt  – We will also have prayer walks; We will spend time cleaning in strategic areas. More details coming.

THIS WEEK: We need people to pack boxes of food; We need heavy duty moving boxes (for that food) Drop them off at our NTN Campus (or bring to DTN on Sunday); Participate in GIVING financially to #loveourcity  (substancechurch.com/give); But, Please, do not hesitate to reach out to your community through your small groups and Micro Campuses. Many of your leaders already have great plans!

But PRAY PRAY PRAY. Our battle is not against flesh and blood. The church is the only true hope to bring about change. ALL REAL CHANGE begins with repentance and prayer.

May 30, 2020 /  

The Joys and Germs of Singing in Church: The Fascinating Science behind Reopening Churches

Just how dangerous is attending church, really?

I mean, if a person infected with COVID-19 sat next to you in church, exactly how long would it take for you to get infected? I’ve been talking to a lot of experts and the answer may surprise you.

Every week, the media warns us about the “dangers of church choirs”[1] even though, the vast majority of churches don’t even have choirs anymore. It’s almost funny to hear people’s perceptions of church. We are told, “Singing is perhaps the most dangerous activity for community spread”[2] which led to a tidal wave of city-wide bans that specifically targeted Jews, Muslims, and Christians. One county in California was so terrified of churches singing that, they decided to make it illegal for churches to even record videos of singing[3] (I kid you not).

So let’s go there: Is singing more dangerous when it comes to viral spread? Absolutely. And do churches need to pay serious attention to this fact? Yes. But, should we indefinitely shut them all down? Of course not. Ironically, people who physically attend church once a week live 7-14 years longer than the general population.[4] Yet, epidemiologists note that this giant life extension only happens for Christians who go to physical church. So, here’s the ultimate question: Can we find a way to minimize the risks while maximizing the benefits?

Now, we’ve all heard a lot of opinions; but, not a lot of science. So, for a moment, could we just lay aside the extreme voices and look at the actual science? And here’s where we’ll start:  If a person infected with COVID-19 sat next to you in church, exactly how long would it take for you to get infected? Get ready for some fascinating thoughts!

Keep in mind, despite all we know about SARS-CoV2, there is far more we don’t know. So, if you’re looking for clean cut answers, you’ll likely to be disappointed. But, that said, the preliminary studies on SARS-CoV2 indicate that it takes at least 1000 droplets of the virus to cause an infection.[5] Obviously, this number is still being debated.[6] And keep in mind, the healthier you are, the more droplets it would take. However, let’s assume this is true for the following hypothetical situation: Standing in an Elevator.

THE ELEVATOR LESSON:

Nobody fully knows how contagious SARS-CoV2 is yet. But, we know how a typical typical flu virus spreads. So let’s use this for our lesson.

The simple act of breathing (when a person has the flu) can release 33 infection particles a minute into the air.[7] And by comparison, loud speaking and singing can increase to 100-200 particles per minute.[8] A sneeze can release 30,000![9] Thus, if you shared an elevator with an infected person, and all you did was breathe, it would take about 30.3 minutes to inhale enough particles to get sick (1000 droplets divided by 33 droplets a minute = 30.3 min). Again, you needed a minimum of 1000 particles to become infected. And the infected person breathed out 33 droplets a minute into your air-space. Make sense?

Now, let’s say you were stuck in an elevator with an infected person who was singing. Using the same math, it would take far less: About 5 minutes (which would be a pretty long song… or a really slow elevator ride).

Now, for all you hair-splitters out there, I’ll admit: This is an over-simplification. After all, if a person with SARS-CoV2 sneezed directly into your mouth (in that same elevator), you could reach the infection threshold in a single second. Thus, the “Type of Exposure” + the “Size of the Room” + the “Length of exposure” all matter a lot. And I haven’t even talked about how the humidity of the air can reduce pathogens by at least 66%. (See PDF: MasksDon-twork—-4)

THE LARGE ROOM LESSON:

But to keep this science lesson moving, let’s take this situation out of an elevator and put you into a large room: If the cubic capacity of the room is large and socially distant, this “5 singing minutes to infection threshold” could easily go right back to 30 minutes. And then, toss in an industrial HVAC system to move the air, or air-purifiers, and the time could be significantly longer.[10]

And why does air-circulation matter? Well, on an airplane, engineers discovered that, a simple modification of the air-circulation can reduce air-particles by 50%.[11] Or, at Substance, (the church I pastor), we not only have brand new industrial HVAC systems in all of our buildings but, we have double at our Northtown Campus. This enables us to suck a significant number of particulates out of the air. This means, it would take significantly longer to breath in 1000 flu particles.

And then, let’s say: The church reduces seating capacity by 50% (assuming social distancing works). Once again, it takes double the amount of time to ingest the threshold amount of particles.

THEN, let’s say, you have 33% of the people not singing (which is quite typical). Once again, you reduce particles by another significant amount. Then, let’s say, 33% of the audience wears a mask (in case they cough or sneeze). Assuming masks even work, you reduce particles by another 15-33%[12]. Then let’s say, the church cranks the humidity to a pathogen hostile level. Then, lets say, the church has some sort of screening requirement (like infra-red thermometers) – it could significantly reduce the odds of any sick person even entering. And THEN, let’s assume the church has “self-screening” requirements, (like “Don’t come if you feel sick / were exposed / or traveled from a hotspot). Once again, the risk is reduced.

So, are you getting the picture here? Almost all of the above solutions can chop the risk by an additional 15-50% percent. And I haven’t even begun to suggest basic things like: Reduce the number of songs; Reduce the length of the service; or, allow only a single soloist to sing while the rest worship. I mean, it’s like a pie chart where any number of simple steps could significantly split the risk portion into an infinitely smaller slice. And if all of these factors were managed well and calculated for, your risk of infection through singing & breathing is ridiculously low.

But there’s a big HOWEVER: it only takes one clueless infected person to help you win the infection lottery! So, imagine that one sick person refuses to stay home; or they’re asymptomatic and somehow pass an infra-red scan, refuse to wear a mask; they walk unusually close and sneeze a giant gob of spit into your mouth. And Kablam! You’re sick. And the New York Times will release another absurd article like this one[13] ignorantly blaming all the world’s problems on a religious minority that is less than 8% of the American population.

But my point is this: The media (and many State governments) are pretending that churches are all the same. We’re all big chaotic huggers who listen to antiquated choirs, (who hate science) with no social distancing and no capacity to manage any of these things.

So let’s get serious: the real risks are similar to driving a car: If you drive an unsafe car with broken headlights at night, while talking on the phone, while doing shots of liquor, without a seat-belt, while wearing a Halloween mask, then YES: that is unsafe! (That sums up my teen years in Wisconsin, J/k). But seriously: Reducing your risk isn’t rocket science people! And we certainly don’t need to “outlaw driving.” And we certainly don’t outlaw driving for certain people groups – which is sadly how many local and state officials have been approaching Covid.

So, what’s the first step in stopping this craziness? For starters, let’s stop confusing “Science” with “Containment Strategies” that are based on science. When Government leaders issue guidelines, they make these two things sound the same; however, they are profoundly different. And it results in a very contentious and unproductive environment on social media.

For example, only a week ago, the Governor of Minnesota told us (along with the Minnesota Department of Health) that:  Restaurants are safe to have 50 people; but churches, mosques and synagogues cannot be trusted to operate with more than 10 people safely – even if they’re outside. And they must have masks on. And, then we were told, “This is science.”

NOTE: This was called the “Minnesota’s Stay-Safe Plan” as it was released on Wednesday, May 20th. Of course, by Friday, May 22nd,    the Department of Justice threatened to prosecute States who employ discriminatory strategies for the sake of risk mitigation. Even more, the C.D.C. revised their recommendations. And by Saturday, the “stay safe plan” was revised for churches to gather up to 250 people. [14]

But this is not Science people; rather, it’s a Containment Strategy that is informed by scientific principles (and a lot of discriminatory fear). Indeed, it’s a containment strategy that assumes Jews, Muslims and Christians are incapable of risk mitigation while Restaurant owners are notoriously sanitary and safe? (Has anyone else seen Kitchen Nightmares with Gordon Ramsey!?)

And Yes, I admit that singing creates more particulates. It increases risks. But why can’t religious organizations be trusted to mitigate those risks? We’re even fine with being held accountable. But, to not even give churches a chance? That seems a bit extreme.

People keep telling me lame anecdotes about a dangerous choir in Washington and a church in Arkansas. But come on people: This is not science. This is fear plus scientific ideas plus an assumption that people are implicitly irresponsible and must be controlled by the State.

Thankfully, the CDC has recently revised their advice for churches, taking a lot of the fear away. But, if you’re worried about your church, (or a church in your city), simply help them become better. They would probably welcome your help. But don’t social media shame. And certainly, don’t start tossing sharp nails across church parking lots like they’re doing in Kentucky.[15] (Again, I kid you not. This is how bad it’s gotten.)

Can we all just decide: Educating is better than controlling. Dialoging is better than shaming.[16] There are many curves that need flattening. And the more we listen to one another, the quicker we can come up with bipartisan solutions and laws that are sophisticated and non-discriminatory. At the end of the day, every church must take personal responsibility for the safety of its people. And if ICU bed-loads become over-whelmed, 99% of all churches would be happy to self-restrict again – which is why Governors need to start publishing those metrics.

And even if churches do everything right, there are always risks. But those risks are reasonable.

Besides, here’s what we’re missing: The average church invests $140,000 a year into its community (in the form of food shelves, suicide prevention, drug rehab, financial counseling).[17]  Indeed, churches reduce racial tension. And, not surprisingly, every week that churches are physically closed, over-dose deaths and suicides are spiking.[18] When a church is shut down, studies show it dramatically increases levels of assault, burglary, larceny in a city.[19] When a church physically meets, it brings $4 million to 11.2 million annually into the local economy.[20] If you go to a physical church on a weekly basis you are 22% less likely to be clinically depressed;[21] you’re more likely to manage your life better,[22] and time better;[23]you’re more likely to complete degrees[24] and accomplish academic achievements;[25] as well as have increased “mental well-being.”[26] And to boot, regular church attendees live significantly longer than the general population[27]– at least seven to fourteen years longer than non-religious people.[28]

So, the real question isn’t: ‘is it safe to go to church?’ but rather,
“is it safe to continue cancelling physical church?”

 

“Let us not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-25


Peter Haas – Lead Pastor of Substance Church – an international multisite church based in Minneapolis. Peter is also a dj-turntablist who produces & tours with Substance Variant. He writes comedy books on spirituality: “Pharisectomy: How to Remove Your Inner Pharisee and Other Religiously Transmitted Diseases” (2012) and Broken Escalators (2015). See www.SubstanceChurch.com – @peterhaas1 (twitter & instagram)

Substance Church – Downtown Minneapolis Campus

Click to visit one of Substance’s Church live services, or see our documentary film-style services on Youtube. To watch our worship vides, see Substance Input Output.

 

CITATIONS:

[1] https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-03-29/coronavirus-choir-outbreak

[2] In my state of Minnesota, Commissioner Steve Grove (MN Dept of employment and economic development) went viral as saying: “we need to stop churches from singing” – which, in all fairness, he was taken out of context. He was merely trying to talk about “higher risk activities.”

[3] https://www.foxnews.com/us/coronavirus-california-church-online-order-county-worship-limit

[4] Overall, the reduction in mortality attributable to churchgoing is twenty-five percent – a huge amount in epidemiological studies.” Once again, research thought that, perhaps this was simply due to having strong supportive relationships. But, non-church-centered groups didn’t experience the same effect.  Nor did people of worldviews other than Judeo-Christian.  (One example:  L.H. Powell, L.Shahabit, and C.E. Thoresen, “Religion and spirituality:  Linkages to physical health,” American Psychologist 58 (2003): 36-52… as quoted in Lonliness, pg.261)

[5] https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-questions-about-covid-19-and-viral-load/

[6] https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2020/4/24/21233226/coronavirus-runners-cyclists-airborne-infectious-dose

[7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5798362/

[8] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30787335/

[9] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK143281/

[10] https://www.consumerreports.org/air-purifiers/what-to-know-about-air-purifiers-and-coronavirus/

[11] https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/scientists-think-they-know-ways-to-combat-viruses-on-airplanes-theyre-too-late-for-this-pandemic/2020/04/20/83279318-76ab-11ea-87da-77a8136c1a6d_story.html

[12] Generally speaking, experts argue that consumer grade masks don’t prevent you from getting the virus; but, they reduce your likelihood of giving the virus. However, this is greatly debated. And there are dozens of studies that indicate that, when it comes to influenza type viruses, SEE: MasksDon-twork—-4

[13] See, the New York Times article: “The Road to Coronavirus Hell Was Paved by Evangelicals” by Katherine Stewart. The article was so outrageous that, the editors finally changed the headline – as if, somehow, it softened the ignorant prejudice they were promoting. You’ll find the link here: https://www.frc.org/updatearticle/20200330/blame-throwers

[14] The actual recommendation was actually far worse in the sense that, this restriction on churches, mosques and synagogues was indefinite. I was invited to meet with the Governor to talk about a safe-reopening of churches. At our first meeting, I told the governor that I would do everything in my power to make this a win for him. Indeed, I told my wife: “I want my Governor to look like a hero when it comes to church.” He told all of us pastors that the opening of churches was  “immanent.” Of course, I had no idea that, “immanent” would turn into “indefinite closure.” After numerous meeting, we pushed for an objective metric / date for reopening. We were finally told by our Governor, “Before churches open, I could use three things first: (1). We need to protect hospital workers with Personal Protection equipment. (2). We need to make testing is readily available to our state; & (3). We need to make sure there are enough respirator beds. And so, to be good neighbors, we paid for (and delivered) tens of thousands of Personal Protection gear to hospitals. And thankfully, our state accomplished all of these safety goals. To be honest, after these goals were met, I expected three extremely basic things: (1). Whatever the Governors guidelines, they would be based on science, not politics. (And, I participated in over six proposals to the Governor and his safety commissioner to make sure they had a lot of options.) And (2). I expected that, whatever the “agreed upon science” they would be applied evenly to ALL Minnesotans. And (3). I expected these restrictions to be based on ICU bed availability and respirators – which was the whole pretense for the executive order. Unfortunately, none of these criteria were implemented. After talking dozens of pastors into “honoring our governor” by going all digital for almost 4 months, I now had to explain to angry pastors everywhere why strip clubs and casinos were “Safe” but not churches. I had to explain to my 7th grade son why the “science experts” called this “science.” And worst of all, we were told that, “sometime, maybe in the middle of summer, the Governor might release the worship restrictions to 20 people (as if somehow he was being generous); But it could take several months. And there is no objective metric for when we will decide that you are “safe” – a functional death sentence to about 60% of all religious organizations in Minnesota.

[15] https://www.foxnews.com/us/coronavirus-kentucky-easter-church-service-nails-police-license-plates

[16] This last week alone, I had a flurry of mean emails that were all arguing something different: One person said: “I will be so disappointed in you if you dare start physical church in the next 4 months.” Another person said: “I will be so disappointed in you if you don’t defend religious freedom by starting church ASAP.” Ironically, I was accused of being an extreme Democrat and extreme Republican on the same day. Then another person said: “I will be so disappointed if you don’t defend the senior citizens being cast aside by premature reopening.” Still another person said: “More kids die of starvation in a single day of Minnesota non-profits being shut down than will ever die of COVID. I hope that you will boldly stand against these short-sighted Shelter at Home laws.” And then, I get a phone call: “My mother died of COVID-19, could you call me?”  Then, I got a phone call: “My family member committed suicide; and, I’m convinced it’s because they couldn’t physically go to church, can we talk?” And my point is this: We need to get outside of our echo-chambers. We need to untie this knot by listening to each other…not accusing each other on social media.

[17] (Cnaan, 2011) – O’Reilly, David. “What’s a Churches’ economic worth”  http://articles.philly.com/2011-02-01/news/27092987_1_partners-for-sacred-places-congregations-churches

[18] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/05/08/coronavirus-pandemic-boosts-suicide-alcohol-drug-death-predictions/3081706001/

[19] See the research of (Bainbridge 1989), (Fagan 2006).

[20] (Cnaan, 2011) – O’Reilly, David. “What’s a Churches’ economic worth”  see http://articles.philly.com/2011-02-01/news/27092987_1_partners-for-sacred-places-congregations-churches

[21] M. Baetz, L. Balbuena, R. Bowen; The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, Apr. 2013; as quoted by, Graeme Hamilton, “Attendance at Religious Services Lowers risk of depression, study finds” National Post, Oct. 4, 2013; Study followed 12,582 people who were “not clinically depressed” from 1994 until 2008. Researchers commented: “Some ingredient of the religious experience other than behaviours, networks or attitudes alone probably contributes to the benefit.” 80% of those followed came from Christian denominations. Frequency of attendance decreased frequency of depression even well beyond 22%.

[22] Bainbridge, William Sims. 1989. “The Religious Ecology of Deviance.” American Sociological Review 54: 288-295.

[23] Freeman, Richard B. 1985. “Who Escapes? The Relation of Churchgoing and Other Background Factors to the Socioeconomic Performance of Black Male Youths from Inner-City Tracts.” National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. 1656.

[24] Muller, Chandra and Christopher G. Ellison. 2001. “Religious Involvement, Social Capital, and Adolescents’ Academic Progress: Evidence from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988.” Sociological Forces 34: 155-183.

[25] Regnerus, Mark D. 2000. “Shaping Schooling Success: Religious Socialization and Educational Outcomes in Metropolitan Public Schools.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 39: 363-370. Also see, Regnerus, Mark D. 2001. “Making the Grade: The Influence of Religion Upon the Academic Performance of Youth in Disadvantaged Communities.” University of Pennsylvania, Center for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society Report No. 3 44: 394-413.

[26] Johnson, Byron R., Ralph Brett Tompkins, and Derek Webb. 2002. “Objective Hope—Assessing the Effectiveness of Faith-Based Organizations: A Systematic Review of the Literature.” Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, Center for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society.

[27] L.H. Powell, L.Shahabit, and C.E. Thoresen, “Religion and spirituality:  Linkages to physical health,” American Psychologist 58 (2003): 36-52… as quoted in the book: Lonliness: Human Nature and the need for social connection, by John T. Cacioppo (2008) pg.261 “Those who go to church more than once a week enjoy even better health than those who attend only once a week.  Overall, the reduction in mortality attributable to churchgoing is twenty-five percent – a huge amount in epidemiological studies.”

[28] Dr. Robert Hummer argues, “The average religious individual lives seven years longer than the average nonreligious individual, and this increases to fourteen years for African American individuals” – Hummer, Robert A., Richard G. Rogers, Charles B. Nam, and Christopher G. Ellison. 1999. “Religious Involvement and U.S. Adult Mortality.” Demography 36: 273-285. “Research by Johns Hopkins scholars shows that nonreligious individuals have increased risks of dying from cirrhosis of the liver, emphysema, arteriosclerosis, cardiovascular diseases, and suicide” – Comstock, George W. and Kay B. Patridge. 1972. “Church Attendance and Health.” Journal of Religion and Health. 26: 9-35.

May 25, 2020 /  1

Is the Cure Killing Us? How History can Help us Rethink our COVID Response

Whenever history changes due to a single event, people often call it a Black Swan Event. A Black Swan isn’t merely a historical event. It’s an event that fundamentally shifts both our behaviors and views of reality – think 9-11; or when Europe discovered North America.

Now, the reason I’m explaining this is because, the Great Quarantine of 2020 will definitely be considered a Black Swan. But the million-dollar question is this: Will we remember it as one of the greatest over-reactions in history? Or will we hang our heads in shame that we didn’t react more? To answer this question, all we have to do is study previous Black Swans.

As a pastor of a sizable church, I’ve been helping hundreds of churches and non-profits process these changes. My church has distributed over 500,000 pounds of food, masks, and other essentials over the past weeks. And in my state, I’ve also been consulting with government officials on both sides of the aisle to prepare to reopen churches in a responsible way.

But, like every leader, I’ve been asking the question:  Are we over-reacting to COVID-19? Or are we under-reacting? As a history buff, I recently started reading about previous pandemics (like the Spanish Flu of 1918 or the Polio outbreak of 1952). Yet, here in Minnesota, I was rather surprised to discover just how many people were far more worried about a scarier Black Swan: the fear of city-wide fires.

The Great Chicago Fire – 1871

Now, I realize the “history of fire-codes” doesn’t sound very sexy; [i] (and trust me, it’s not); but, a little over 100 years ago, America was rudely waking up to fire prevention in the same way we are currently waking up to germ prevention. However, they had a shockingly different response to their Black Swan. And as I point out the differences, I think it will cause some of us to rethink how we’re approaching COVID-19.

The Peshtigo Fire burned huge portions of Wisconsin

Back in the late 1800’s, there was a sequence of three giant fires that shocked the world, specifically, the Great Chicago Fire, the Peshtigo Fire and the Great Michigan Fire (all of which happened in 1871). Now, all throughout history, there were historic “city wide fires;” but, these three fires occurred at a moment in history when newspapers sales were exploding. It was also the first time in history when photographs and artist images were “going viral.” And when people saw pictures of Midwesterners burning alive, it suffices to say that fire-safety was on everyone’s minds.

Photographs of Chicago captured America

And the terrifying news of city-wide fires remained steady: In the 1880’s, Vancouver burned to the ground (1886), then Seattle (1889). Then, the East Coast began burning: Jacksonville (1901) to Baltimore (1904) and back to San Francisco in 1906.[ii]

And yes, millions died in the Flu Pandemic of 1918; but, people were far more terrified by the Halifax Explosion (1917) or the Great Cloquet Fire that burned over 500 people alive, and left 52,000 homeless (1918).

The Halifax explosion was the largest of the pre-nuclear era.

As a result, American ingenuity was kicked into high gear: In the coming decades, America came up with hundreds of new fire-fighting inventions: Architects started designing fire-walls. Flame retardant materials were made. Cutting-edge plumbing systems were designed.[iii] Fire-fighters became a common city employee. Fire-codes were invented and enforced for the first time in history.[iv]

And similar things are happening today:  I recently read an article about how architecture and engineering can have a huge impact on the spread of viruses. For example, on airplanes, if engineers simply reversed the air (to suck air above us instead of blow air down) it would reduce community spread by 50% or more.[v]

But here was my revelation: just like the 20th century woke up to Fire prevention, the 21st century is waking up to germ prevention. But there is one disturbing difference: They took decades to implement these changes. The government didn’t shut down “life as we knew it” until we could figure it all out. They never fell prey to the illusion that they could stop all fire deaths in a matter of a few short months. And the solution started with the people not the politicians.

Indeed, it takes money to innovate in fire-prevention. So, shutting down the economy was not the way forward. As we’re re-learning now, the global death rate is deviously connected to the economy. And with each tragedy, they created larger coalitions of big thinkers: Not government; but, scientists, engineers, inventors, & architects. They changed hearts before changing laws. And THEN, Policy makers could bring about RESPONSIBLE legislation.

And here’s the deal: I’m not trying to idealize the history of fire-codes as some sort of road-map. And in some ways, I’m comparing apples and oranges here. Yes, the metaphor breaks down. But, it’s still important to ponder the question: When it comes to our current Black Swan, why do so many people feel that government holds all the answers? Without getting partisan here, I noticed a few other critical differences about our Black Swan: Specifically, (1). Our event is happening during an election year; (2). Our event is happening in the age of “Unverified Information.” And (3). Our event is happening during a predictable and cyclical era of polarization.[vi] Let me explain:

(1). COVID-19 is taking place in an Election Year: There are literally BILLIONS of dollars being spent to politicize our current events. And like many election years, the energy of our democracy is often put into the blame game instead of the solution game. In some ways, it’s terrible timing for almost any leader (regardless of your political party). And the constant barrage of political ads causes Americans to falsely think that the answer is found in politicians, instead of the people who normally solve Black Swan problems. “We the people…” has always been our strength. But in election years, it’s unfortunately, “You the politicians.”

(2). COVID-19 is taking place in an Age of Unverified Information: Conflicting information is happening at an unprecedented rate: The W.H.O. and C.D.C. told us: “Masks don’t help us;”[vii] And after several confusing flip-flops we eventually turned to partisan news media outlets [viii] who sadly chose to advocate based on political preference. (As if our trust in media could possibly get lower) [ix]  So, in sheer desperation, we turned to social media platforms, plagued by foreign bots[x] and mysterious censorship algorithms[xi] And we listened to Aunt Martha rant about why she’s making her dog wear a mask. And then we wonder why we have #Plandemic & #5Gcorona Conspiracies?[xii] Let’s be honest: America has

Black Swan events Collide: Plandemic Verses the 5G Lizard!

never had more information and less truth. In many ways, our access to unverified information is almost a Black Swan on its own. And when the giant Black Swan of COVID meets the Giant Black Swan of Unverified information, it turns into an old Godzilla movie: Most of us just want to avoid getting stepped on! Should I get a stupid mask? And the internet literally told us: “It depends on your nationality, and maybe even your political party?” Huh?

(3). COVID-19 is taking place in a Cyclical Era of Polarization:[xiii]

When COVID-19 hit America, we became unnaturally obsessed with it. News sites across the world hired web-designers to create “COVID death tickers.” And to avoid sounding stupid, every politician was forced to find their very own rock star Epidemiologist: Dr. Fauci replaced Dr. Phil – And we all started talking as if the COVID curve was the only curve that mattered. Not surprisingly, these doctors informed our panicked politicians (both Republican and Democrat) “If you really want to put out this viral fire, then destroy the giant dam and flood our city with water. Fire hates water” – which is technically true. Besides, this news sounded amazing, at first.

But it’s safe to say, our culture has become obsessed with the flattening of one curve to the exclusion of the other curves. 

And if you don’t believe me, allow the following stats to wreck you:

Over-dose deaths are spiking.[xiv] Suicide calls are spiking.[xv] Domestic Abuse calls are spiking.[xvi] Indeed, one woman recently confessed: “I would rather kill my baby than give birth in a pandemic.” And apparently, this woman is not alone.  Abortions are still skyrocketing despite attempts to slow them[xvii]. And similar life-altering behaviors have been seen in Cancer and Stroke screening (which have dropped dangerously low)[xviii]  This means we will unfortunately see a sharp spike in cancer and stroke deaths over the next year. Sex-crimes[xix] and Alcohol abuse is spiking. Murder is ironically surging in many US cities during lockdown.[xx] Obesity is spiking – which shouldn’t surprise us when we close fitness gyms nationwide under the irony of “health” – as if obesity “never hurt nobody.” Racial hate-crimes are spiking.[xxi]  Millions of people are postponing life-threatening surgeries out of fear of hospitals.[xxii] Hundreds of thousands of at-risk teens are dropping out of school at unprecedented rates because they lack internet access.[xxiii] And four days a week, my church has several hour lines of people who are standing in food lines because they can’t afford to eat. And yet, despite this flood of problems inundating churches and non-profits everywhere, I’m still reading hundreds of articles a day designed to shame anyone who objects to our current “Safer at Home” policies.

Quite simply, our culture has become obsessed with the flattening of one curve to the exclusion of the other curves. 

And if you’re considered high risk due to your age or occupation, I get it: I’m one of them.[xxiv] But, what a lot of people fail to understand is that, “social distancing” and “shelter-in-place” orders are actually idealistic luxuries more than they are functional policies for huge segments of the minority population. Government leaders have valiantly attempted to put a positive spin on these sledgehammer-like regulations by calling them “Safer at home” orders; but, for half of the world, these orders should be more appropriately called: “Sexually abused at Home;” “Suicidal at home;” “Medically neglected at Home” orders.

And don’t misunderstand me: I’m not blaming any politicians for this. Eight weeks ago, when we still knew very little about this virus, these policies felt like the only sane solution. But, it’s become quite clear: Shelter at Home strategies are great for white-collar people of privilege. I don’t believe that the people who push them are being intentionally racist either. But, it’s clear, these stay at home orders are great for people with big homes, functional families, flexible jobs and great internet. And do they slow COVID-19? Yes. But how many other death curves are we willing to surge to achieve this?

To show how extreme our national obsession has become, consider these stats on starvation.

There’s a non-profit in my city who normally packs and sends out food to eight hundred thousand starving children every day.[xxv]  Yet, due to Shelter at Home orders, they’ve been forced to shut down. For some reason, it’s not “safe or essential.” Yet, it’s both safe and essential for Home Depot to have 2000 people show up for their lawn and garden sale? I make this comparison because, it highlights how unfair and unscientific our COVID rules have become. Yet, consider this: the number of starvation deaths globally is spiking into the hundreds of thousands a day. The World Food Program estimates we will soon hit over 300,000 starvation deaths per day (up from 21,000/day) due to the world’s obsession with a singular COVID curve [xxvi].  To put this in perspective, this would mean, for every COVID death we prevent through Shelter at Home, we’d be unintentionally causing at least 300% more additional deaths.[xxvii]. And I hope I’m wrong.

In my own state of Minnesota, there’s been a spike in people calling the police on churches for “disobeying shelter orders.”[xxviii] My own church got hate mail from people in our community because our church was distributing groceries to people in poverty (which, according to the writer, was “killing people” by refusing to be non-essential). Even worse, a well-known meteorologist in my city tweeted that, “anyone who protests Shelter at Home policies is a Nazi sympathizer. [xxix]” What? How did our COVID response ever get so myopic and unscientific?[xxx]

But I know the answer already: It’s fear plus a rare convergence of fire-breathing black swans. But it’s not too late to pause this Godzilla remake.

America: I beg you to reconsider how we approach this virus. We cannot trade one curve for another. We cannot throw churches and non-profits away as though they are mere entertainment [xxxi]. Because, we literally change mortality curves for the better when we meet. [see the research here] [xxxii] Indeed, research shows that churches even transform economies.

And equally important: We must learn from our previous Black Swans: We can’t afford to fit decades of change into one election year. And we must embrace the hard reality that mortality curves will spike no matter what. The majority of us will get COVID-19.

Don’t misunderstand me: We can still manage this in a responsible way. I’m not against “stay at home” orders. Merely, I’m against stay at home orders that unfairly target minorities, non-profits and businesses…regardless of their size, architecture, or any scientific evidence of increased community spread. I’m merely calling for more sophisticated and scientific laws… orders that don’t exacerbate comorbidities.

And there are millions of innovative things we can do to slow this pandemic (and prep for the next one). The day will certainly come when, just like fire-codes, we will have germ codes, germ architecture, perhaps even germ inspectors? (My inner germaphobe rejoices).

But, if we continue to obsess over a singular curve, the history books will say: “There once was a great fire… and they miraculously solved it, …by drowning everyone.”


Peter Haas – Lead Pastor of Substance Church – an international multisite church based in Minneapolis. Peter is also a dj-turntablist who produces & tours with Substance Variant. He writes comedy books on spirituality: “Pharisectomy: How to Remove Your Inner Pharisee and Other Religiously Transmitted Diseases” (2012) and Broken Escalators (2015). See www.SubstanceChurch.com – @peterhaas1 (twitter & instagram)

Substance Church – Downtown Minneapolis Campus

Click to visit one of Substance’s Church live services, or see our documentary film-style services on Youtube. To watch our worship vides, see Substance Input Output.

 

CITATIONS:

[i] http://www.strikefirstusa.com/2016/07/trial-fire-5-fires-ultimately-improved-world/

[ii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_town_and_city_fires

[iii] https://nfpa.org/-/media/Files/Codes-and-standards/Standards-development-process/HistoryNFPACodesStandards.ashx

[iv] https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/library/transcript_bugbee.pdf

[v] https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/scientists-think-they-know-ways-to-combat-viruses-on-airplanes-theyre-too-late-for-this-pandemic/2020/04/20/83279318-76ab-11ea-87da-77a8136c1a6d_story.html

[vi] Based on the best selling book:  The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy – William Strauss; Neil Howe – See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss–Howe_generational_theory

[vii] https://www.businessinsider.com/who-no-need-for-healthy-people-to-wear-face-masks-2020-4

[viii] https://www.adfontesmedia.com/?v=402f03a963ba

[ix] https://news.gallup.com/poll/267047/americans-trust-mass-media-edges-down.aspx

[x] https://www.vox.com/2018/10/19/17990946/twitter-russian-trolls-bots-election-tampering

[xi] https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/20/facebook-audit-conservative-bias-amid-criticism-1469287

[xii] Keep in mind, fringe conspiracies usually take about eight months to gain steam. During COVID-19, one study found this time has shortened to fourteen days. See https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/10/coronavirus-5g-covid-19-conspiracy-theory-misinformation/

[xiii] According to historians William Strauss and Neil Howe, wars and political upheavals tend to happen in predictable cycles (called Saeculum). They postulate that every 80-100 years, society goes through a 4th Turning (aka., a tearing down of institutional norms) that ultimately creates a tumultuous political environment. And according to their generational theory (put forth in 1997) they predicted that America would head into a “turning” right now. They forecasted, using a fascinating history of war-cycles, that we would enter into a traumatic phase of politics: See, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss–Howe_generational_theory

[xiv] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/05/08/coronavirus-pandemic-boosts-suicide-alcohol-drug-death-predictions/3081706001/

[xv] Recently, someone argued that: “Some of these stats are talking about “potential” suicides not “actual suicides” as if they matter less. But, the same could be true about the COVID-19 stats. The majority of them are “projections of death” not actual death. Indeed, that’s half of the problem in this whole debate. It’s all theoretical. But, here is some compelling evidence to consider:  https://loudwire.com/suicide-rates-could-increase-covid-19-how-seek-help/

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2764584

https://www.statnews.com/2020/04/22/suicide-covid-19-uncertain-connection/

[xvi] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/06/world/coronavirus-domestic-violence.html

[xvii] https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/abortion-demand-rising-amid-pandemic/

[xviii] https://www.statnews.com/2020/05/04/cancer-screenings-drop-coronavirus-pandemic-epic/

[xix] https://www.abajournal.com/web/article/how-the-pandemic-creates-obstacles-for-sexual-assault-survivors

[xx] See NYC: https://www.foxnews.com/us/murders-nyc-surge-second-week-in-a-row-coronavirus-lockdown-continues or https://www.foxnews.com/us/gun-violence-fuel-murder-rise-in-some-cities-even-in-the-middle-of-coronavirus-pandemic

[xxi] https://giffords.org/blog/2020/04/coronavirus-is-fueling-a-surge-in-hate-crimes-blog/

[xxii] https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/03/patients-whose-surgeries-are-canceled-because-coronavirus/608176/

[xxiii] https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/04/30/coronavirus-school-closings-lifelong-consequences-teens-column/3047910001/

[xxiv] I validate the fear because, I’m one of those high-risk people: As I write this, I’m prepping for possible spine surgery. And my immune system is seriously hindered by my Rheumatoid Arthritis medications.

[xxv] https://www.fmsc.org

[xxvi] https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/22/covid-19-could-detonate-hunger-pandemic-with-millions-risk-world-must-act/

[xxvii] Since COVID-19 began (around Jan 15th), the global death toll of COVID-19 is around 300,000. I.e., It took around 119 days to produce 300k deaths. Yet, based on starvation mortality curves, we will see over 300,000 deaths per day if we don’t seriously change course.

[xxviii] This was told to me by the Commissioner of the Minnesota Dept of Public Safety, John Harrington.

[xxix] Sven Sundgaard, a meteorologist for KARE-TV reposted that, anyone who protests Shelter at Home policies are: “white nationalist Nazi sympathiser gun fetishist miscreants.”

[xxx] https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2020/april/car-drive-church-coronavirus-covid19-public-health-debate.html

[xxxi] See, the New York Times article: “The Road to Coronavirus Hell Was Paved by Evangelicals” by Katherine Stewart. The article was so outrageous that, the editors finally changed the headline – as if, somehow, it softened the ignorant prejudice they were promoting.

[xxxii] https://www.peterhaas.org/the-jaw-dropping-benefits-of-church-attendance/

May 12, 2020 /  89

The Heartbreak of Ahmaud Arbery – Racism Requires a Response

After watching the video of Ahmaud Arbery being ruthlessly gunned down, I feel numb. I feel outraged. I feel embarrassed that I live in a nation where people pretend that racism isn’t an issue anymore.

And if you don’t know what I’m talking about, a video was just released showing a vigilante group of white men chasing down and terrorizing a young black jogger (who was unarmed). And when this jogger defended himself, a former member of law-enforcement found a way to justify shooting him, while standing safely in the back of his truck. And he shot, not once, but several times, until Ahmaud collapsed onto the ground.

And there’s no way to spin this as anything but a pure hate crime. It was three armed men in a truck against one. There’s no justifiable defense for this. It was a blatant act of escalation. It was a trained law-enforcement official who fully understood the law. And yet, somehow, this posse of wicked humans were allowed by Georgia law-enforcement to walk around freely – with no grand jury – until this video was finally released? I am speechless. There is no way this could happen without a huge number of people living in sin.

People: We must absorb the full weight of this video. Ahmaud was an innocent human being. He was someone’s son. He was made in God’s image.  And the system almost let these men walk away because of privilege.

And please hear me out: And I’m not writing this to make white folks feel guilty. I realize that certain politicians have exploited racial issues. But, we cannot allow these bad apples to cover over the fundamental fact that, America is like a cancer patient who’s living in denial of the disorder. The tumor won’t go away until we do surgery. But what does that look like? What’s the solution?

Some will try to politicize this. And yes, there are probably many political policies (both Republican AND Democrat) that could help. But, for most of us… we shouldn’t even be talking about political solutions right now. And why? Because, for many folks, talking politics is a classic cop-out. It’s a way to pass our personal responsibility off to “the government.” It’s a way to blame people rather than influence people. And it’s just another demonic “Us vs. Them” narrative that transmits pain rather than transforms pain.

So, what else can we do to personally change this inequality?

(1). Acknowledge your In-Group Bias:  All of us have an “In-group” – a group of people we relate to more than others. It’s a group that we tend to share similar values with. And thus, either consciously or sub-consciously, we extend more grace to them. We give them more “benefit of the doubt.” And here’s the deal, at the end of the day, we all have “In-group bias;” but, the difference is that, some of us acknowledge that bias. And listen, if you’ve been victimized by someone of another race, you need to acknowledge that and begin the process of healing; because, if you don’t, at some point or another, that trigger or bias will result in another victim… which leads to point number 2.

(2). Extend “In-group Love” to your “Out-group” – Over the years, I’ve gone out of my way to get to know people who think differently than I do. We live in a culture that loves to polarize ages (think, Millennials vs. Baby boomers). We live in a culture that likes to demonize other political worldviews. But, as I’ve collected a lot of friends, who cross these divides, I’ve come to realize: There are good reasonable people everywhere. And these stereotypes fed to us by the echo-chambers of news and social media are just making us dumber.  And by the way, I was taught all of these things by my friend Miles Mcpherson who wrote an amazing book: “The Third Option:  hope for a racially divided nation.”

(3). Let’s Respond in the Opposite Spirit: In Matthew 5, Jesus teaches us to “love our enemies”… which has always been a counter-cultural approach. But, I have to admit: When I saw the video, I was overrun with anger for the better half of a day. I was pissed. And almost every person I saw, I started becoming uncorked with emotions of revenge. In fact, I literally had to lock myself in my office and have a good cry. After all, as James put it: “because man’s anger doesn’t bring about the righteous life that God desires” (James 1:20).

But, I started thinking about the infamous story of MLK Jr after his house was bombed a second time.

The whole front of Dr. King’s house was completely blown off. And hundreds of supporters gathered outside his house to see the damage. But right as the crowd began to turn violent, Dr. King stepped out onto his bombed out porch. He held up his hand. He quieted the crowd. And he said those famous words: “Everything’s gonna be all right,” which, at the time, was the exact opposite of what everyone was thinking. If I was there, I would have shouted: “NO! Everything is NOT all right!” And yet, just like Jesus, Dr. King operated in the “Opposite Spirit.” A spirit of faith instead of fear. And he said: “Everything is gonna be all right”… & he added: “The police are investigating & nobody has been hurt. So, I want you to go home and put down your weapons. We cannot solve this problem through retaliatory violence.” And then he said the words that still rend my heart: “We must love our white brothers, no matter what they do to us. We must make them know that we love them. . . . & This is what we must live by. We must meet hate with love.” And when Dr. King finished, everyone went back to their homes. And there was no further violence that night.

I know that the death of Ahmaud Arbery is painful. And it’s right that we react to this. To downplay this death would be like adding sin upon sin. But, if we want to prevent these types of murders from continuing, we’ve got to stop and learn from this. We’ve got to learn more about our natural “in-group bias.” We’ve got to counter-act it with the opposite spirit. Because, those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.

As my mentor Greg Surratt recently said:  “We can do better than this… We MUST do better than this.”  So would you join me by surrendering to God in prayer?

Heavenly Father, we ask for mercy on this situation. We repent of these sins. And we ask you to help us heal this great cancer. Give us practical ways we can change things for the better. And let that change start with me. In the precious name of Jesus, Amen.

Peter Haas – Lead Pastor of Substance Church – an international multisite church based in Minneapolis. Peter is also a dj-turntablist who produces & tours with Substance Variant. He writes comedy books on spirituality: “Pharisectomy: How to Remove Your Inner Pharisee and Other Religiously Transmitted Diseases” (2012) and Broken Escalators (2015). See www.SubstanceChurch.com – @peterhaas1 (twitter & instagram)

Click to visit one of Substance’s Church live services, or see our documentary film-style services on Youtube. To watch our worship vides, see Substance Input Output.

May 7, 2020 /  4

An Update on Peter’s Injury

Friends and Family, it’s been a rough week for me. Many of you have already heard this last week, I had a bit of an accident. As I was riding my bike (at a decent speed), my chain derailed, and I went head over heels into a pole (and the pole won).

My neck isn’t broken; but, I did suffer a central spinal cord injury in my neck that has been affecting my arms. The doctors are recommending spinal surgery. But, I am also trusting God for total and complete healing.

Obviously, with this happening right before Easter, I do believe there is a spiritual warfare element to all of this. We are expecting to reach over 100,000 people with our Easter documentary film called, “Test Driving Faith: Stories for Skeptics and Saints.” (And trust me, it will make you laugh and cry).

But pray that God would either heal me with his resurrection power or give me clarity about the surgical options. But, our best days, including mine, are yet to come!  I love you all SOOO much. And I can’t imagine going through this without you all.

UPDATE – MAY 14TH, 2020!

It’s 5 weeks later. I just got my SECOND Neck MRI… And the news is great:
NO SPINE SURGERY NECESSARY! 💆🏼‍♂️
Wooooooooooooo🥳😆🕺! My first neurosurgeon thought my neck ligaments were severed. My second scan showed they were not. So, whether by miracle regrowth or misdiagnosis, I am blessed by God!
Of course, I still have to wear this neck brace for another month. And I can’t drive for another month. But, at this point, I’m just glad I can skip surgery.
Thank you everyone. I have never felt more loved.  This was the miracle we were praying for!

NO SURGERY NECESSARY!

April 9, 2020 /  5

How to Establish a Quarantine Routine (How to Not Kill Your Kids)

Due to COVID-19, a lot of Americans are “Sheltering in Place” – ie., We’re all in a self-made quarantine! And for a lot of us, it’s a massive change. For example, many of you are adapting to your kids being home (and it’s driving you nuts). It’s O.K. to admit it!

As a pastor, I’ve been trying to establish a new “Sunday Routine” for our entire church. In addition to Sunday mornings, we now have a Wednesday Night Briefing as well as “Microcampuses” (Digital small groups) that meet on Sunday mornings (before church) as well as Wednesday nights. And why? Because, spiritual routines can save lives! Without a weekend service, there are hundreds of people who are falling back into their “unspiritual routine.”

In other words, right now, we’re all going through a grand scale change in our routines! And if you were a workaholic who’s forced to rest, that change is good. But, for many of us, the new routine is the OPPOSITE of good. For example, many of our kids are turning into Neflix/Youtube Zombies. Or, others of you are adapting to working from home. Sure! It was convenient for a few days but…WOW. Now, it’s next to impossible to separate work and play.

So, if this is you, I believe this is God’s word to you:  Take time to reflect and create a Quarantine Routine!

What is a Quarantine Routine you ask? Well, it’s like a temporary life-plan that will help you make healthy choices throughout this crazy season. And it’s quite simple. Take some time to reflect on the following three categories:

ASSESS:

If God was to suggest an adjustment in your life today, what do you think he would tell you? If you’re not sure, click here for the Holistic Health Assessment Worksheet! After you do this, take time to imagine what your “best life” would look like if this area was thriving. How would you feel? Take time to journal about what your life could be like.

ADJUST:

What one change would make 60-80% of the difference? In your marriage, parenting, schedule, physical / emotional / spiritual health, what small routine would help you? Or, to put this another way:

What 2 minute routine would prove to you, you are becoming the person God wants you to be? (Eg. What 2 minute routine would prove to you, your marriage is becoming stronger? What 2 minute routine would prove to you, your kids are staying productive & healthy?) – Make a list of simple little two minute routines. Don’t worry about creating grandiose goals. Rather, the point here is simply to establish some healthy new habits. (You need to establish a habit before you can improve on it.)

IMPLEMENT:

Write down a “Where & When?” for each of your 2-minute routines. Research shows, when you add a simple “Where & When,” to each of your goals, you increase your likelihood of execution by 55%. Habit researchers call this an “Implementation Intent: “I will work out at my home on Monday, Wed. & Fri. every week at 8am.”  Or, “my kids will do 2 chores every day (at a time of their choosing before dinner). AND, If my kids watch a spiritually enriching show (see here for ideas), then I will allow them to have [X] amount of youtube time.”

“But Peter, I’m not a schedule type person.”  Yes you are! You’re just a “non-schedule” schedule type person. You absolutely have a schedule! But is it working for you? ie., Is your system helping you become the person you need to be? And just as important, is it helping your family become the people they need to be?

Now, if you’re smart, you’ll realize: I could be doing this assessment ALL THE TIME.  And yes! My wife and I reassess our lives in every new season. We all need to prune our lives and reassess our goals on a regular basis. Indeed, I have several weekly “reflection rituals” like this one that help me stay in sync with God. (And by the way, if you want to take this to a whole new level, be sure to check out my blog, https://www.peterhaas.org/6-golden-rules-for-creating-your-life-plan/)

But, here’s the truth: This quarantine could be the beginning of the greatest season of your life. I know it’s hard. I realize there’s a lot of change and fear in the world right now. But, I believe that God has a plan to take your life to a whole new level. And, if we take the time to let his Holy Spirit speak, this will be a new beginning for you!

Love you guys!

Ps., When you meet with your Micro-campuses this week, take a screen shot & post it online with the hashtag #QuarantineRoutine ! People need to know God’s church is alive. And just maybe, they’ll join us this Sunday!

 

________________________________________________________________________

AHORA DISPONIBLE EN ESPAÑOL

 

Cómo establecer una rutina de cuarentena

(Cómo no matar a sus hijos)

 

Debido a COVID-19, muchos personas se están “refugiando en casa”, es decir, ¡todos estamos en una cuarentena hecha por nosotros mismos! Y para muchos de nosotros, es un cambio masivo. Por ejemplo, muchos de ustedes se están adaptando a que sus hijos estén en casa (y les está volviendo locos). Está bien. para admitirlo!

Como pastor, he estado tratando de establecer una nueva “Rutina dominical” para toda nuestra iglesia. Además de los domingos por la mañana, ahora tenemos una reunión informativa los miércoles por la noche, así como “Microcampus” (pequeños grupos digitales) que se reúnen los domingos por la mañana (antes de la iglesia) y los miércoles por la noche. ¿Y por qué? ¡Porque las rutinas espirituales pueden salvar vidas! Sin un servicio de fin de semana, hay cientos de personas que están volviendo a su “rutina no espiritual”.

En otras palabras, en este momento, ¡todos estamos pasando por un cambio a gran escala en nuestras rutinas! Y si eras un adicto al trabajo que se ve obligado a descansar, ese cambio es bueno. Pero, para muchos de nosotros, la nueva rutina es la OPUESTA del bien. Por ejemplo, muchos de nuestros hijos se están convirtiendo en zombis de Neflix / Youtube. O bien, otros de ustedes se están adaptando para trabajar desde casa. ¡Por supuesto! Fue conveniente por unos días pero … GUAU. Ahora, es casi imposible separar el trabajo y el juego.

Entonces, si es usted, creo que esta es la palabra de Dios para usted: ¡Tómese el tiempo para reflexionar y crear una rutina de cuarentena!

¿Qué es una rutina de cuarentena, te preguntaras? Bueno, es como un plan de vida temporal que te ayudará a tomar decisiones saludables durante esta temporada loca. Y es bastante simple. Tómate un tiempo para reflexionar sobre las siguientes tres categorías:

 

EVALUA:

Si Dios sugiriera un ajuste en tu vida hoy, ¿qué crees que te diría? Después de hacer esto, tómate el tiempo para imaginar cómo sería tu “mejor vida” si esta área fuera próspera. ¿Cómo te sentirías? Tómate el tiempo para escribir un diario sobre cómo podría ser su vida.

AJUSTA:

¿Qué cambio haría el 60-80% de la diferencia? En tu matrimonio, paternidad, horario, salud física/emocional/espiritual, ¿qué pequeña rutina te ayudaría? O, para decirlo de otra manera:

¿Qué rutina de 2 minutos te demostraría que te estás convirtiendo en la persona que Dios quiere que seas? (Por ejemplo, ¿qué rutina de 2 minutos te demostraría a ti que tu matrimonio se está fortaleciendo? ¿Qué rutina de 2 minutos le demostraría a ti que tus hijos se mantienen productivos y saludables?) – Haga una lista de rutinas simples de dos minutos. No te preocupes por crear metas grandiosas. Más bien, el punto aquí es simplemente establecer algunos hábitos nuevos y saludables. (Debes establecer un hábito antes de poder mejorarlo).

IMPLEMENTAR:

Escribe un “¿Dónde y cuándo?” para cada una de tus rutinas de 2 minutos. La investigación muestra que cuando agregas un simple “Dónde y cuándo” a cada uno de sus objetivos, aumenta tu probabilidad de ejecución en un 55%. Los investigadores de hábitos llaman a esto un “Intento de implementación:” Voy a entrenar en mi casa el lunes, miércoles. & Vie. todas las semanas a las 8 de la mañana “. O “mis hijos harán 2 tareas diarias (a la hora que elijan antes de la cena). Y, si mis hijos miran un programa espiritualmente enriquecedor, entonces les permitiré tener [X] cantidad de tiempo en YouTube “.

“Pero Peter, no soy una persona de tipo horario”. ¡Sí lo eres! No eres más que una persona de tipo horario “no programada”. ¡Tienes absolutamente un horario! ¿Pero te está funcionando? es decir, ¿Tu sistema te ayuda a convertirte en la persona que necesita ser? E igual de importante, ¿está ayudando a tu familia a convertirse en las personas que necesitan ser?

Ahora, si eres inteligente, te darás cuenta: podría estar haciendo esta evaluación TODO EL TIEMPO. ¡Y si! Mi esposa y yo volvemos a evaluar nuestras vidas en cada nueva temporada. Todos necesitamos podar nuestras vidas y reevaluar nuestras metas regularmente. De hecho, tengo varios “rituales de reflexión” semanales como este que me ayudan a estar sincronizado con Dios. (Y, por cierto, si deseas llevar esto a un nivel completamente nuevo, asegúrese de visitar mi blog, https://www.peterhaas.org/6-golden-rules-for-creating-your-life- plan/)

Pero, aquí está la verdad: esta cuarentena podría ser el comienzo de la mejor temporada de tu vida. Sé que es duro. Me doy cuenta de que hay mucho cambio y miedo en el mundo en este momento. Pero, creo que Dios tiene un plan para llevar tu vida a un nivel completamente nuevo. Y, si nos tomamos el tiempo para dejar que su Espíritu Santo hable, ¡este será un nuevo comienzo para ti!

 

¡Los quiero mucho!

Ps., Cuando te reúnas con tus Microcampus esta semana, ¡toma una captura de pantalla y publícala en línea con el hashtag #QuarantineRoutine! La gente necesita saber que la iglesia de Dios está viva. ¡Y tal vez, se unirán a nosotros este domingo!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

March 25, 2020 /  1

Resources for Pastors – How To Do Church in Light of COVID-19?

As many of you know, Substance is helping 100’s of churches respond to the Corona Crisis. We’ve been flooded with hundreds of questions (from church tech to church legal issues). SO, I created this page as a resource for pastors. Keep in mind, I modify this almost every week! (And things change fast). So, take some time to go through the following videos and pdfs. 

Case Study: How are Churches prepping to Reopen? –  Case Studies Reopening Churches COVID19

Description: How can we prep for reopening? How do we keep our church members safe? What are churches doing around the world to do physical church in light of government regulations?

VIDEO – Backstage Tour of Substance’s Digital Church – [Click Here]

Description: From Virtual Foyers to Virtual Growth Tracks: With the Corona virus affecting services, Peter explains how Substance is going way beyond simple live-streaming. Here’s how to integrate people into your digital church! From how they’re rethinking worship (for a distracting living room) and reorganizing their church around “Micro-campuses” (a.k.a. Zoom Small Groups.)

For the Nerdy Technological description of how we do digital church, click Substance-Church-Online-Streaming-101.pdf

To get the LifeChurch software platform (to stream your church service) click here

 

Video: How to Think differently during COVID-19 – Philosophical shifts for Pastors – [Click Here]

Description: With the Corona Virus Bans on gatherings, how can we lead differently? What are some basic philosophical shifts we can make during this season that will keep our churches strong. Pastor Peter introduces the basic concept of Micro-campuses and how they can function as a place-holder until the meeting ban lifts. –  Transcript Version Here: PastoralShifts_COVID19

Video: How We’re Communicating to Our People about “Digital Church” –  [Click Here]

Description: Pastor Peter explains to Substance many of the upgrades they’re making to the website this weekend and how church members can prepare for this mega-shift right now. From virtual foyers to virtual small groups – how fast can we reinvent ourselves as a digital church?

Additional Worship Resources: Feel free to use worship videos from “Substance I/O” – Dozens more coming that are designed for your living room! But here’s a start:

Video: Preach from your Kitchen table: Essential video tech toys to improve your media – [Click Here]

Description: With the Corona virus bans on gatherings, pastors need to turn to video preaching. But, we may not even be able to have a video team to help us. So, Pastor Peter explains how to have a bug-out bag filled with video tech. What the basic equipment that every pastor needs to preach anywhere at any time? From microphones to Iphone lenses, get ready for cheap solutions that work without a tech genius. For extended Printable Gear List: Equipment List for Video Bag

 

Kids Media Resources — Pastor your Kids while They’re at Home – [Here] 

Description: In the coming days, there will be a lot of extra family time at home.  So here are some spiritually enriching things to READ, WATCH and DO.  These are some of our favorite resources for scripture engagement, Bible story videos  & some encouragement for mom & dad too!

How to Facilitate Small Groups on “Zoom” Teleconferencing Platform: [Here]

Description: Teach your small group leaders the basics on using this powerful platform. Social distancing doesn’t have to mean, “social isolating!”

“Micro-campus” Leadership Training  – Week 1 – Establish a New Habit: [Here]

Description: Micro-campuses are basically “digital small groups” that meet on Zoom two times a week: (1). 45 min. Before church; and (2). Wednesday Nights (after I give my “Wednesday Briefing” (a state of the church talk). In this video, Pastor Peter gives tips to their new Micro-campus leaders on how to “Get a win” in the first couple weeks of these new groups.

Here is the FAQ document on our “Micro-campus” Strategy that we give to our leaders: [Here]

Here is the FAQ document on our “Micro-campus” Strategy that we give to our attendees: [Here]

Substance Church Online Streaming 101 [Here]

Description: As we navigate this era of an all digital church, there have been lots of questions on how Substance has set up online streaming. Many churches are experiencing “streaming fails” because they aren’t setting up the “back-end” aspects of their digital church. Above is a document put together by one of our IT staff members.

 

OTHER RESOURCES:

Want to know how to communicate this to your church? Want to know about legal and financial ideas? How about copywrite laws for streaming? Or Kids or teleconferencing software? See Below!

Check out the Association of Related Churches Resource Page here: https://www.arcchurches.com/covid19

My mentor Chris Hodges has some incredible Resources on COVID-19 at GROW LEADER.com

Lastly, my friend Marc Estes pastors an incredible church with thoughtful resources here: https://mannahouse.church/resources

How to Create a Quarantine Routine – a Peter Haas blog filled with Advice for Church Members

 

 

March 18, 2020 /  

Why I Gave Up on Chopping off Hands: Why Don’t we Obey Every Rule in the Bible?

There are some strange commands in the Old Testament. Many that we no longer apply. So why do modern Christians apply certain commands like “do not steal,” but not others like “cut off her hand?” People often say “well, much of that Law passed away with the New Covenant.” But I think we need a little more clarity on that. Theologian J. I. Packer distinguished three separate types of Law (the Do and Don’t lists God gave to Moses): Moral, Civil/Political, and Ceremonial Law.

Moral Law represents good things to do all the time.

Civil/Political Law is application of the Moral Law on a municipal and national level (think speed limits and garbage restrictions).

Ceremonial Law is a set of regulations that governed the worship rituals of God’s people. These were rituals for relating to God- like sacrifices, offerings, and festivals.

It’s still a good idea to follow the Moral Law, even today. In fact, the Moral Law is the only set of rules that still applies today! The 10 Commandments are definitely still relevant- stealing, killing, and adultery are still bad for us. But, it’s important for us to understand that following the Moral Law is not what “gets” us to Heaven. We don’t obey these rules to gain more love from God. It’s actually the opposite- we follow these laws because God declared us to be righteous. The legalistic approach to this law says this: “I live rightly. Therefore, God calls me righteous.” The grace-driven approach says  “God declares me righteous. Therefore, I live rightly.” Do you see the difference?

You see, righteousness isn’t a reward for right-living; it is a gift that results in right-living! Christianity isn’t a process in which we earn God’s love. It’s the process in which we reflect love!

So, you might ask “why does sin even matter if God already calls me righteous no matter the behavior?” Well, there are a lot of reasons!

  1. Sin exposes us to sowing and reaping. If you touch a hot stove, you’ll still be burned! God, in his mercy, has created built-in consequences for every sin.
  2. Sin creates a desire to pull away from God. When Adam and Eve sinned, the first thing they did was hide from God. Sin doesn’t affect God’s love for you- only YOUR love for HIM.
  3. Sin forfeits our eternal rewards. Our beliefs determine where we spend eternity. Our behavior determines how. 
  4. Sin undermines earthly impact. Without character and integrity, God can’t give you more influence and opportunity without it destroying you.

So, whether you’re motivated by legalism and earning your way to heaven, or you’re living in an extreme version of grace where nothing’s off limits, or somewhere in the middle of these two- God wants you to experience the joy of holy living according to His perfect plan!

I preached a message on this very topic recently, and you can find it here

For the handout from the message, click here.

February 16, 2020 /  

Forced Gratitude: Research Shows, even Insincere Gratitude can Help

No matter how good our lives are going, there’s always something in our lives to whine about. People with no family whine about it. People WITH family whine about it. And all this goes to show, we all need the discipline of thanksgiving this time of year.

So, if you’re feeling anxious today… I have a fascinating little trick for you that can change everything.

As a kid, I used to think that thanksgiving was a silly holiday… a day requiring insincere gratitude and traumatic family meals.

For starters, does anyone in the world actually like cranberry sauce or mincemeat pie? Of course not…or we’d be eating it all year long…(and some weirdo is thinking, “that sounds amazing.”

Don’t get me wrong: if the pilgrims could taste green bean casserole, they would say to themselves, “it’s all been worth it.” But why not Turkey Fajita’s or something?

As for family, thankfully, I happen to have level-headed relatives… But I know many people who dread seeing family this time of year. So, to help you out, I want to share a fascinating piece of advice that just might change the way you see your relatives, even thanksgiving.

A while back, I found a fascinating study on human emotions. In the October 2011 issue of the Journal of Experimental Psychology, a study revealed that if a person “gave thanks” or said positive things out loud about a person or situation, it tended to subtly alter their emotions towards it. To be statistically precise, test subjects were 17% more likely to declare a person as likeable if, on an earlier occasion, they were forced to make the declaration over a specific person.*

They had test subjects look at pictures of random people. They were told to declare positive or negative things about specific individuals. And later on in the study, they were asked to rate their feelings towards the people in the pictures (the same ones they were shown on an earlier occasion). On average, the individuals experience a 17% boost in positive feelings towards the people they were forced to declare positive things over, suggesting that both positive self-talk and forced gratitude still has a profound affect on us.

In some ways, this shouldn’t surprise us. After all, the Bible’s said all along: “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Prov. 18:21). Thus, the Apostle Paul told us, “Be filled with the Spirit…giving thanks always for all things to God.” (Eph. 5:18,20)

But what’s interesting to me about the study I just mentioned is that, it proves our emotions tend to follow our declarations – even when they start out as obligatory or insincere. As you’d imagine, this could be the very thing that transforms your troubled relationships.

So this thanksgiving, take a little time out to journal about all the things going good in your life. In the end, blessings have to be savored in order to truly be enjoyed. But ALSO try giving thanks for some of the people who irritate you. Take a few minutes to write or talk about their redemptive qualities. By the end, you’ll noticed a change in your heart. Even more, you’ll start to see some of those frustrating people the way God see them. I’ve had some of my greatest spiritual insights after doing little “thanksgiving meditations” like this. So try downloading the following worksheet: Thanksgiving-Meditation-Sheet

And by the way, I will be expanding on this blog this Sunday! So, don’t miss church. (Besides, we’re doing our Heart for the House Offering to fast forward our two new campuses! So, it will feel extra rewarding 😉

In the end, gratitude is a preserving agent in our jobs, marriages, and families. I’m not saying that you’ll suddenly love butternut squash. And your uncle Mike’s political opinions might still repulse you. But, you just might sit back on Thanksgiving night with a smile on your face and say: “God, thank you for all of this.”

* This study came from the October 2011 issue of the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes

November 28, 2019 /