On Deployment

It is Holy Week, and there has been a lot of talk about churches. It is understandable, given the circumstances. Pastors like me have been putting a lot of thought and prayer into what we are going to do to serve our church families this week. The thing in all this discussion that bother me the most, though, is referring to churches as “empty” or “closed.” It bothers me because it misses the point of what the church really is. Yes, our buildings are empty or closed for the moment. Yes, church is about community and fellowship among Christ-followers, but it is about so much more than that – so much more than our buildings. In these past couple of weeks, social media has had its say on the subject. One meme I have seen is: 

With church doors shutting across the globe,
It is time for us to show that
The church has never been about the building.
WE are the church!

Another meme reads:

The church is not empty.
The church has been deployed.

I have thought and prayed about this subject for years – I have spoken on it several times – but that second meme above really puts it all in a nutshell.

The church has been deployed.

“Deployed” is a term anyone with military experience will recognize. I spent three years in the Army, so I can say a little about it myself. Deployment is a part of military life. Military members are highly trained to be able to go anywhere on the shortest of notice and do their duty. Now, each veteran will have his or her own things to say about deployment, but there are a couple of common threads for anyone who has experienced it.

Deployment is uncomfortable. No matter how well you are trained, no matter how long and thoroughly you prepare, deployment is going to push you out of your comfort zone. Deployment will challenge you. You will be forced to adopt a new, sometimes radically altered, daily routine. You will almost certainly sleep less. You will be on high alert. You will find you need push the “normal” of life into the back corner of your mind, because you know it will only distract you from the mission.

Deployment is risky. Whether it is an accident on a field exercise (I broke both wrists in a fall during a field exercise in 1991), or the possibility of injury or death on deployment in harm’s way, operating out of your comfort zone is risky. You must get accustomed to a new, unknown area. You are often working with new people. You have to rely on your training and trust those in charge who are handing down our orders. You will need to follow the orders you are given, even when they send you into an unknown, even dangerous, situation.

Deployment is sometimes monotonous. Think of a field exercise, former soldiers. I was never deployed in harm’s way, but I experienced my share of field exercises, mostly as a driver for officers. Everyone who serves or has served in the military will have a love-hate relationship with this little phrase: hurry up and wait. You rush to the next place and wait for further instructions. It can be boring. It can be frustrating. But, it is part of being deployed.

Deployment is why the military exists. The military spends its time training for deployment. Whether they train from a desk, an aircraft, or a foxhole, it is all in preparation for the real thing. I have to be honest; that is why I only spent three years in the Army. I was one of those soldiers who wanted money for college. I wasn’t particularly looking for the kind of adventure that would send me here, there and everywhere. Sure, I loved being stationed in Germany – I even stayed there for 27 years after I was discharged – but I wanted some semblance of a “normal” life. I was perfectly happy living in a barracks room by myself (which I did for a while) or even with 1-3 other people. I did not relish  sleeping on a cot in a large tent during field exercises. One field exercise (the one where I broke both wrists), was even worse. I arrived late to find fully-occupied sleeping tents. I spent a week (in December) sleeping in the VW bus I drove.

So we say, now, the church has been deployed. What does that mean for us? Surely, we cannot make a comparison to military deployment, can we? 

Let’s take a look.

First and foremost, being deployed as the church means a lot of us are being pushed outside our comfort zones. I’m not just talking about COVID-19 and stay-home orders. Yes, that is a major step out of our comfort zone, but I’m talking about something else. Many of us are having to learn (or relearn) what it means to BE the church. We are in transition, my friends. We have been in transition for some time, but now we are being forced to face it. We can no longer operate solely from within the four walls of our church buildings. We are at a point in our society where people can drive by a church every single day and never realize it. Open doors and invitations are not getting the job done, either. Church has to be something more than where we attend and invite others to join us. Church must be who and what we ARE. 

Second, being deployed as the church is risky. We are transitioning from “come join us” to “we’ll come to you.” For some of us, this is uncharted territory. I am taking steps on new ground, myself. As much time as I have spent on social media and considered its possibilities for ministry in the past several years, I never took that last step. I had been in live videos with my wife, but I never made a live video of my own until March 23, when I hosted the first online service from the parsonage. I always thought and talked about starting a blog, but never actually took that final step until last week, when I published my first entry. Both of these things were new to me. Both were uncomfortable. It’s one thing to be vulnerable in front of your church family, but the Internet? 

I know I am not the only one with thoughts like these – I am not the only one taking these steps for the first time. This is not just a pastor thing, either; it includes all of us. We have a lot of time right now to be still and listen to the Lord – ask him to show us how we can BE the church. We need to be intentional about taking that time now and making a habit of it for later. Most importantly, when the Lord shows us how we can BE the church, we need to be intentional about DOING what he says! We will be deployed into some dark situations, in places and with people who take us out way of our comfort zone. All that is risky, but that is exactly where we need to be! That is where Christ is needed most!

Third, being deployed as the church can sometimes be monotonous. I am thinking particularly of what is going on right now. We are created and designed for relationship and fellowship with each other. Being cut off from that personal contact has affected us all – some more than others – and now we are waiting for it to be over. We are all experiencing that lovely military state of being: hurry up and wait. We are waiting for what is next and do not know what or when it is. But, just like there was always something to keep us occupied in the military, we can keep ourselves occupied. I mentioned the most important way above: we need to spend time with the Lord on a daily basis. Some of us already do this. Some may need to learn the discipline (or relearn it). We also need to find ways to keep in contact with each other. Nothing can replace that in-the-same-room personal contact, but we have other means at our disposal to keep in touch. 

Finally, being deployed is why the church exists! As Christ-followers, it is our mission to reflect the light of the Lord and take that light wherever we go. I have said before that many Christians spend too much of their time in well-lit rooms, instead of taking that light out where it is desperately needed: that means dark corners, friends. 

We are Christ-followers, trained and prepared for deployment, and here is where our situation departs from that of the military. We do not exist with the hope we will not have to be deployed. We exist to ALWAYS be deployed!

When we are finally able to meet together again (and what a wonderful day that will be), I pray that we will ALL have taken the time to reexamine what it means to BE the church – that we will not take our fellowship with each other for granted, but also that we will see it as a means to an end, rather than an end in itself. I pray that fellowship with each other will empower us to go and be the church. 

Finally, here is the most important way our deployment differs from that of the military: deployment as a Christ-follower is always rewarding. We never have to worry about being cast aside or forgotten when our tour has ended. Our Lord, our Commander-in-Chief, has provided and will continue provide for the needs of those who serve him. What’s more, his funding is unlimited! 

As uncomfortable, risky, and sometimes monotonous being on deployment can be, it is always our joy and privilege in serving the Lord to be his church. Let’s listen, obey, and take his light to every dark corner where he leads. He is always with us and will NEVER leave us!