Being Missional in Times of Crisis: Leadership, Ministry, and Church Insights from the Acts of the Apostles

By Augusto Rodríguez

This book was written with three purposes in mind. First is the ministry, that is, pastors and church leaders facing crises for the church in mission. This book will help them guide and mentor people through being missional in times of crisis. It will help pastors, leaders, and students in developing mission strategies for ministry in times of crisis. Second, this book was written to provide a better understanding of the early church as a model for overcoming crises. It matures the concept of the church and its mission in the present, contributing to new mission strategies for the contemporary church in mission, facing crises. The third purpose is personal. This book was written because of Augusto Rodriguez's experience as a pastor during the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, something unlike anything he had faced in thirty years in the ministry. He also wrote this book to coach/mentor other pastors and leaders going through an experience like his and to present the insights learned from the study of the early church in Acts of the Apostles, examining the ways they overcame different crises that could apply to the contemporary church in mission.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Release date: Jun 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9781666763270

Augusto Rodríguez

Augusto Rodriguez is Adjunct Professor of Missions at Liberty Theological Seminary, and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Evangelism at Fuller Theological Seminary. He also serves as Senior Pastor of Ministerios Nuevo Vivir in North Hollywood, California.

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Introduction

It was a very concerning week in early March 2020 . We heard in the news about the coronavirus pandemic reaching the US. This week was also special: I remember we, at church, had already planned a farewell dinner for one of the founding members of our church at a close by restaurant. Before the end of the dinner, I called the attention of the people and made the announcement that the state government had canceled all mass meetings and closed all houses of worship.

We were already live streaming the sermon every week. However, it was only as an outreach of the church. That day, I announced to the small group of people present at the dinner that the next Sunday’s service was going to be on Facebook Live and all cell groups were also going online. It was a very stressful time, a time of uncertainty because we did not know how long these closures were going to last as well as the general confinement.

During the following week, we met with the leadership team to plan to pastor the church online. I received a call from Rev. Douglas Vergara, a pastor who leads some churches in California for the organization we belong to, inviting me to a Zoom meeting with his leadership team. It was the first time I had heard of Zoom. During that week I also received phone calls from pastors and leaders from other organizations asking how we were doing church, how we were reaching out to the membership, how we were receiving offerings and the like.

It was the end of March 2020; I was looking out the window from my second-floor room to the empty streets in the city where I live. It was a time to pray and to think. Thinking and praying about what those pastors and leaders had asked me, I asked the Lord the question: How can the church be missional in times of crisis?

This guided me to reflect more closely on what the early church did in the book of Acts. They faced different crises; however, they stayed focused on the mission of God. Using my devotional journals of study in the book of Acts, as seminal biblical studies, I began to develop some of the seminal ideas for this book. Thus, the main issue in this study is an assessment of the early church in Acts of the Apostles as a model for the church to stay in mission in times of crisis. Learning from the early church in Acts, I gained some insights on leadership, ministry, and church organization in times of crises. Although I refer to the COVID-19 pandemic, this book is not about the global pandemic. Nevertheless, it serves as an example of the crises the church faced during this time and how the church adapted to live, to learn, and to stay missional in times of this specific crisis. Therefore, the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 serves as a catalyst for the church in mission.

I have written this book with three purposes in mind. First is the ministry, that is, pastors and church leaders facing crises for the church in mission. The reason is that this book helps them be mentoring guides on how to be missional in times of crisis in helping to develop pastors, leaders, and students in developing mission strategies for ministry.

Second, this book is written with a missiological purpose: to provide a better understanding of the early church as a model to overcome crisis. Also, to mature the concept of the church and its mission in the present, contributing to new mission strategies for the contemporary church in mission facing crises.

The third purpose is personal. I wrote this book because of the experience as a pastor during the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, something I have never faced in thirty years in the ministry. I also wrote this book to coach/mentor other pastors and leaders going through an experience like mine and to present the insights learned from the study of the early church in Acts of the Apostles, learning how they overcame different crises to apply to the contemporary church in mission.

I have also used four aspects in the research process. In the process, I used biblical studies doing research and exegesis from the book of Acts and, in some cases, other New Testament texts that helped in illustrating the missional church in crises during the early church period. New Testament exegesis of some texts from the book of Acts using primary and secondary sources like the Greek New Testament, different Bible translations, as well as hermeneutical tools also helped me interpret the mission of God in times of crises.

For the more practical than theological sections, I used the active interview methodology. I contacted pastors who developed different contemporary missional methods to overcome crisis. The review of contemporary websites because of the issue of adapting the church in times of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis provided different methodologies to stay current as well as to develop new missional strategies for the contemporary church.

To achieve the main issue of the study, I separated the book into five chapters that develop on the main topics to overcome crisis. Chapter 1, entitled Leadership in Times of Crisis, deals with the first issue the early church faced: that of leadership. The issue was about what to do now that their leader, Jesus, was gone. They understood the times, God’s times; they organized for leadership and for ministry, and kept in touch with their team and people.

Chapter 2 is entitled Proclaiming the Message in Times of Crisis. The newly formed church faced another crisis: that of a persecution due to the believer’s testimony. With no apparent reason, they are thrown in jail but, miraculously, the Lord frees them to be later arrested again, this time accused of public disorder. Nevertheless, they continued with the mission of God, that mission the Lord had entrusted and commissioned them to do. Once again, the early church from this early apostolic period teaches us to proclaim the gospel message in a time of crisis. In this chapter, I develop communication theory, that of proclamation, developing that proclaiming the message in times of crises is proclaiming the kerygma, is communicating the gospel, is witnessing as kerygma, is obedience as kerygma, and is teaching the kerygma of the gospel.

Chapter 3 is entitled Organizing the Church in Times of Crisis. The early church faced yet another crisis, that of organization. This was somehow a good crisis the newly formed church faced, as they kept growing and expanding their area of influence. The better way to face crisis is when the church is organized. Seeing how the early church organized herself to overcome this crisis, I develop from the insights learned from the church in Acts three principles that arose to organize the church for a time of crisis.

Chapter 4 is Taking Advantage of the Times of Crisis. Crises are decisive moments in which one is guided to take a direction. Crises are also times that can prevent the advancement of the mission of God. They are, however, times of change in the life of the church in mission. Although crises can be challenging times, they can be of advantage for the kingdom of God. In this chapter, I deal with practical ways to take advantage of times of crisis such as preaching the good news, demonstrating the power of God, and consolidating the faith.

The final chapter, chapter 5, is Adapting for Mission in Times of Crisis. The present situation the church and the world in general is living pushes for an adaptation in order to minister the gospel. Today, probably more than ever, contextualization of the good news is needed. The role, then, of the church in mission, and especially in crises, is to present the message in understandable ways from the receiving culture’s point of view. To do this, I develop on taking into consideration people’s customs, understanding the culture, developing a Holy Spirit sensibility, adapting to new forms of being the church, and developing hybrid ministries.

It is my hope and prayer that the reader learns from the study of the early church in Acts of the Apostles. It is also my prayer that the reader commits to applying the findings of this study and the new perspectives gained from the different themes to being the church in mission in times of crisis.

1

Leadership in Times of Crises

Every person who has achieved great things, even going through crisis, has done it because of two reasons: they had a purpose and were passionate to fulfill that purpose. Without a purpose there is no motivation and without passion there is no disposition to fight through the crisis.

Nehemiah was a great leader who overcame a great crisis: he and his people were suffering through the Babylonian exile. He was moved by the apparent bad news he received from his brothers about the state of Jerusalem. However, instead of being overwhelmed with sadness and depression, these awoke God’s purpose for him and a passion to fulfill that purpose.

The early church and the church of the apostolic period faced different crises. They faced a leadership crisis, the identity crisis to emerge as a new movement different from Judaism, and they faced persecution. In all of these instances, motivation, passion, vision, and purpose were key factors. Nevertheless, all had to do with leadership in times of crisis. They understood the times, God’s times; they organized for leadership and for ministry, and kept in touch with their team and people.

Although I will make reference to different sources, I will give priority to the insights learned from the study of the early church in Acts of the Apostles, from the teachings of Jesus and Scriptures. The following are guidelines to lead in times of crisis as a result of such study and insights.

Organize for Leadership

In times of crisis people need leadership. The key is organizational leadership. It has to do with the overall direction of an organization. The leader is the one who develops a defined vision and purposes for the organization. This is the influence of a person who sees the potential in other people, who sees the situation and takes charge, and who also finds ways for people to fit into the team; it is more than to manage. Organizational leadership creates opportunities for people, even in times of crisis, even with their weaknesses or strengths.¹ See Eph 4:12, for example, where equipping is finding a fit for the people of God to do the work of service.²

Organizational leadership is to generate and perpetuate changes in the way of thinking to create continuous renewal. A leader is a person, man or woman, who guides people from where they are to where God wants them to be. Leaders, Sheldon G. Lingenfelter says, translate the vision of the ministry in terms others can not only understand, but are able to enact. Managers, on the other hand, handle the mission and vision given by the leaders.³

Leadership does not have to do with a position or a title one holds. Leadership is