Pastoring Through a Pandemic: The First 90 Days of Crisis Leadership

By Pastor R. D. Bernard

“We all prayed at the altar at about 2:00 p.m. We had to pray because we were bitter. I know my people, and several of us were hurt at the sheriff being called—on a church. A couple of members were even bitter with me for cancelling service this Sunday. It was a mess, and all we could do was pray” (pastoral journal entry, Thursday, April 2, 2020).

Pastoring through a Pandemic captures, in detail, the first ninety days of the historic, once-in-a-generation, worldwide pandemic of 2020 as experienced by the pastor and people of the historic King Solomon Baptist Church of Vicksburg, Mississippi.

The Pastor and people defied state and local ordinances to have in-person worship services at the height of the pandemic. Read of the harrowing tales of members, old and young, who sought answers for their own personal crises as they “sneaked to meet” while discovering a newfound strength and spirituality in the midst of their quiet defiance. See the four pillars of leadership in action from the pastor, who in the very midst of his personal battles with fatigue, fear, and nascent faith, kept a day-to-day journal of the church’s struggles and triumphs.

Pastoring through a Pandemic will be studied for years as an example of how one faith community responded to the early days of the pandemic while also navigating its way through a historic time of political and social unrest.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 18, 2021
• ISBN: 9781638144953

Book preview

Member Recollections

Deaconess Estell Caldwell, 75

I have been at King Solomon Baptist Church for almost six years. Prior to that, I lived in Greenville, Mississippi, and I didn’t know anything about Vicksburg. Back in Greenville, I had my own place and went to church there. It was just church and nothing more than that.

Toward the end of my time in Greenville, I was struggling. My first husband was an alcoholic and bipolar. I was also caring for my elderly mother. When I would attend church, I would miss the praise and worship part of the service and try to make it for the preaching and then get out as quickly as possible so that my mother wouldn’t be alone for too long.

After my first husband passed away, I began talking to a former high school classmate, Deacon S. L. Caldwell, of Vicksburg. We continued talking, and we got together and went to premarital counseling with Pastor Bernard.

I was afraid to leave my surroundings. I was comfortable in Greenville. I had always been a homebody, and I had been there for years. I was not at all sure about going to a new place and starting a new life among new people.

After I got here, I did not like the location. I prayed that God would make me content. The Word says to be content no matter what state you are in.

I went to King Solomon Baptist Church and met the church family, including Pastor Bernard. I had never met a pastor who cared so much about his people. I discovered he is the type of pastor who listens to what is going on in your life and always has time for you.

After going to church a little while, I felt like I had always been here. The church accepted me. I did not always relate, and for a long time, I remained closed off. At first, I thought they were just being nice to me because of my husband, Deacon Caldwell. It took me awhile before I could be myself. Once I did, I developed relationships with many of the members.

Fast forwarding to COVID-19, my thought was, Lord, you brought me to Vicksburg for just such a time as this. I realized that if I hadn’t been here, I would have been one of the people hiding under the bed. During the time of COVID-19, God has not stopped doing what He has always done. He’s still saving and healing. I am not at liberty to say names and dates, but I have seen an outpouring of God’s healing and restoration during these times like no other.

Pastor Bernard has not stopped doing what he’s always done. The church doors remained open. He continually checked on his flock. If there was a need, Pastor Bernard and the deacons took care of them.

Pastor Bernard’s name might not go down as having the church with the largest number of members, but his name will go down in history as a pastor who kept his flock together. I have never experienced a pastor like Pastor Bernard. Many are called; but never, until my age (seventy-five), have I experienced being around a real pastor, until COVID-19. What I saw was what I believe all true pastors or leaders should be about. I’ve seen this pastor go way beyond anything any pastor has ever done. He did everything he could to keep the body together.

I’ve talked to a lot of people on the phone. I heard from my friends in the Delta about a story from a church I used to attend. One lady went to the pastor’s house, and he wouldn’t come to the door. She had brought him vegetables, and he told her to leave them. That really hurt her.

My former pastor had two strokes. God brought him through that, but he couldn’t trust God to keep him through COVID-19. He did not check on his members. Instead, he would send the deacons to the church building to collect offerings.

I saw Pastor Bernard in the role of a Daniel. In the Bible, Daniel, the king’s right-hand man, went before the king regularly. Someone on the king’s board did not like Daniel, so he put out a decree that if Daniel did not follow orders, the King would put him in a lion’s den. Daniel did not stop studying and praying aloud three times a day.

Pastor Bernard did not stop doing what God called him to do. God called him to be a pastor and take care of his flock. Daniel did not let the king’s decree stop him. Pastor Bernard heard what was said by Governor Tate Reeves and the president, but he followed what God said.

Daniel was willing to be thrown in the lion’s den for what he believed. Pastor Bernard has been in a lion’s den, but he still has not stopped doing what he must do. He said on the radio that even if he was arrested, he is not giving up.

Pastor Bernard’s example personally strengthens my faith. No matter what situation we are in, God will set us free. Pastor Bernard stood in the gap. He paved the way for us. There was no stigma whether any of us chose to come to in-person worship or stay home. Pastor Bernard just made in-person worship available to us. I have never seen so much depth in pastor-member relationships anywhere else.

I have always been a homebody. So for years, I would go to church, go home, grocery shop, and that was about it. It was a simple life. Because the church remained open, my lifestyle has not really been changed by COVID-19. Church was my big outlet, and it was available to me. Because of Pastor Bernard, I was still doing everything I was doing before COVID-19.

If church were cut out, that would have really hurt because I need that fellowship. At my age, there is no other life outside the church. I believe God had me to come to Vicksburg for just such a time as this.

If I had still been in my old life in Greenville, I would have been squeezing in half a service and cutting out all fellowshipping. I would have then found my church closed in a time of crisis. I do not know if I would have been all right. I know it was predestined for me to be saved. God would have kept me through COVID-19 one way or another, but I would have had no relationship with God without this church.

During the COVID-19 services, I have seen relationships improve. I have seen a difference between Sister Malinda Blue-Jones and her husband. The relationship between them is much better now than it was before COVID-19 services. Now, there is a smile on her face and a difference in how they interact with one another and with the rest of the members.

I have seen these services bring the members closer together. We have been bonding tighter during these times than ever before. Pastor Bernard holds the church together, but we have had a closer relationship with one another since COVID-19. The Word has been hitting home.

Some things we had thought were dead, some things we thought we had overcome, had only faded into the background. The Word let us see things we thought were gone that were merely lying dormant inside of us. In our small gatherings, we shared things we might otherwise have not been able to bring out. Those Thursday-night services and early Sunday services, what those services were doing was giving Him a chance to show us ourselves.

He is opening each of us up like a book; and we have been able to read it, tell it, and do something about the major issues in our lives. The closeness of this group triggers something, allowing you to be cleansed so that you can worship. It allows you to go to your brother and sister and forgive and worship together.

Deacon S. L. Caldwell, 75

I came from a family with five brothers and three sisters. I was number seven, and it seemed like I got more whippings than any of them. I was active, always into something. I was not afraid of anything. I would climb trees looking for wild grapes, hang in the tree until my arms got tired, and drop so hard that I would crack my head! Those times did not stop me. In fact, they did not even slow me down.

Recently, I killed a four-foot long rattlesnake with a stick. One of my church members was impressed, but I trained for that back in childhood. Not only did I not mind killing snakes, I would hunt for them.

I learned at an early age, between six and twelve years old, that all men had to die. I also read, Honor thy Father and thy Mother, that thy days will be long. I resolved to obey Momma and Daddy. The whippings slowed down, just a little.

I have lived to the age of seventy-five. I was baptized when I was fifteen. I remember the two people who were baptized with me. Both of them have passed on. When I was twenty-three, I served in Vietnam. It was the one place I prayed to God that He would not send me, yet He got me through.

When I reconnected with Estelle at a high school reunion, one of the things we laughed about were our old high school nicknames. I was called Trainer because of my big feet. Her nickname was Pumpkin. She jokes that it was because she was small and round like a pumpkin, but looking at her photos from back then, that is not what I see.

When word of the coronavirus first came, I was sure it was not coming to Mississippi, considering it started as far away as China. I have never been afraid because if it is for me, then even with a mask and social distancing, I will get it. I do wash my hands and take precautions. I am old. I only have a few days left, and I will spend them all with the Lord.

One morning, the last Sunday we took the church bus to Clinton, we were parked at a stoplight. And there was a truck sitting next to us. The truck sat up high, and we could see the man in the truck reading the name on the side of the bus. He looked at us like we were crazy.

When orders came down to close the churches, Pastor Bernard said, I will be here. He did not tell anyone they had to be here. He left it up to the individual members. Whosoever will come, let him come.

The leadership continued as we had been. We followed Pastor Bernard as he followed Christ. We know he is a godsent man, and we follow him. I am glad to have been a part of the leadership team at King Solomon Baptist Church.

When Governor Reeves said we could not have church, Pastor Bernard let it be known he would be at the church. My family asked me if I would be at church. The only way I am not going to be there is if I am stopped on the way and arrested. If I am only stopped on the way to church, I know two other ways to get to the church.

I think as a congregation, this has brought us closer together, and this has also brought individual families together. The leadership team has been dealing with stress well, visiting and taking communion to members who are unable or unwilling to come to church.

The deacons and deaconesses teams have been working together to serve communion throughout the community. We went out in full first-Sunday church dress when we served communion. We wanted to make sure that people knew and felt that it was the church that was bringing communion to them.

Pastor Bernard is particular about how things are done and the way he wants deacons and deaconesses to present themselves when they are representing the church. He wants everything done decently and in order. I am glad Pastor Bernard had us do that. We were taking care of the flock the way we were supposed to.

Many of us felt that law enforcement knew what we were doing when we parked multiple cars on the side of the building and continued meeting. Because we were discreet, the police turned a blind eye. One of our church members suggested the idea, and it worked well.

The carpooling helped bring us closer together and formed closer relationships among the members. The carpooling created a form of discipline. You leave when your ride wants to leave, and you learn a little patience. At this church, we look out for one another.

I have seen some of the members fall back for a while because they were afraid of COVID-19. A small fraction has been coming to church, but social distancing. As for me, I am not afraid. God is still in charge.

Amari Caples, 22

For myself, this all started during my spring break from classes and work on the campus of Mississippi State University. I came home with the expectation of being around family and relaxing for a week. In one of my classes, we had been following COVID-19 closely each week.

It seemed to be a distant issue, one that would have little or no impact on my life. Nevertheless, my university was closed, and our spring break turned into a much-longer-than-expected summer break.

For weeks, I had been looking forward to seeing my church family. So when the orders went out that reduced the number of people who could meet, I was slightly irritated. But I have been a part of King Solomon for about ten years, and I’ve come to learn that the absolute last thing that would be done would be to close the doors.

We continued with Bible studies and regular services until the order went out to completely close the doors. This was where the fun began. There was about a week of not being able to see the church family and then came Easter Sunday.

We were told that church would be at 6:00 a.m., and my thought process is that Jesus rose early, so of course, we’re having the sunrise service. So we carpooled to the church, leaving home around 5:30 a.m. It was super dark outside, and by this point, there is a curfew that prohibits people being out from about 11:00 p.m.–5:00 a.m. So there were no other cars on the road. If you have ever done something that you know you aren’t supposed to be doing, then those are the times where you start to notice police cars. I am already a pretty fearful person, so I was literally jumping at everything. The whole ride from Clinton to Vicksburg, the other members on the church van made jokes of what we would do if we were pulled over.

When we finally arrived in Vicksburg and pulled into the church