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The First Rule of Pastoring During an Outbreak: Tell the Truth
A man in a face mask rides the subway in Manhattan, New York City, after further cases of coronavirus were confirmed in New York, March 5, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
Do pastors have any unique responsibilities in the midst of an outbreak?
Mission Trips Don't 'Bring Jesus' to Communities
I remember the first mission trip that I went on. My youth group spent a week in New Orleans helping a local missionary group run a Vacation Bible School for neighborhood kids. Our objective, we were told, was simple: bring Jesus to a place where he was desperately needed but was often rejected. The implication that I drew, at 15 years old, was that the poverty and the street-side memorials for victims of gun violence I was seeing, and the seeming absence of almost any man over 30, existed because this community had rejected Jesus. If only Jesus were in their hearts, everything would be different.