Preacher without a Pulpit: Musings from a Pastor during the COVID-19 Lockdown

By Hickman M. Johnson

These musings emerge from the pastor's isolation from the congregation he has served for over 50 years. COVID-19, the awful resulting sickness and death, made coping stressful even for the faithful. The loneliness and separation created by church closure robbed the faithful of the familiar—the voice behind the sacred desk. These weekly musings were the familiar voice that assured the faithful that the God of Sunday morning was not silent.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Feb 4, 2024
• ISBN: 9781698716275

Hickman M. Johnson

Hickman M. Johnson is a graduate of Tennessee State University (B.S.), Morehouse School of Religion, The Interdenominational Theological Center (M.Div.), Mississippi College (M.A.), and Emory University (D.Min.). He was awarded the honorary doctorate (D.D.) from Mississippi Baptist Seminary. He has served as pastor of the historic Farish Street Baptist Church, Jackson, Mississippi, since 1968. He formerly served as chaplain, Tougaloo College, academic dean, and president of Mississippi Baptist Seminary. He is married, has five daughters, and eight grandchildren. He is also the author of Farewell My Friends.

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© Copyright 2024 Hickman M. Johnson.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

ISBN: 978-1-6987-1626-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6987-1628-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6987-1627-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2024900997

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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Trafford rev. 03/01/2024

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CONTENTS

Dedication

Preface

Introduction

Week 1: March 17, 2020

Week 2: March 23, 2020

Week 3: April 7, 2020

Week 4: April 10, 2020

Week 5: April 13, 2020

Week 6: April 17, 2020

Week 7: April 19, 2020

Week 8: April 26, 2020

Week 9: May 3, 2020

Week 10: May 8, 2020

Week 11: May 12, 2020

Week 12: May 15, 2020

Week 13: May 23, 2020

Week 14: May 29, 2020

Week 15: June 5, 2020

Week 16: June 12, 2020

Week 17: June 19, 2020

Week 18: June 26, 2020

Week 19: July 3, 2020

Week 20: July 10, 2020

Week 21: July 17, 2020

Week 22: July 24, 2020

Week 23: July 31, 2020

Week 24: August 7, 2020

Week 25: August 14, 2020

Week 26: August 21, 2020

Week 27: August 28, 2020

Week 28: September 4, 2020

Week 29: September 11, 2020

Week 30: September 18, 2020

Week 31: September 25, 2020

Week 32: October 2, 2020

Week 33: October 9, 2020

Week 34: October 16, 2020

Week 35: October 30, 2020

Week 36: November 6, 2020

Week 37: November 13, 2020

Week 38: November 20, 2020

Week 39: December 4, 2020

Week 40: December 11, 2020

Week 41: December 18, 2020

Week 42: February 5, 2021

Week 43: February 12, 2021

Week 44: February 19, 2021

Week 45: February 26, 2021

Week 46: March 6, 2021

Week 47: March 12, 2021

Week 48: March 19, 2021

Week 49: March 26, 2021

Week 50: April 3, 2021

Week 51: April 16, 2021

Week 52: April 23, 2021

Week 53: April 30, 2021

Week 54: May 8, 2021

Week 55: May 15, 2021

Week 56: May 21, 2021

Week 57: May 29, 2021

Week 58: June 4, 2021

Week 59: June 12, 2021

Week 60: June 19, 2021

Week 61: June 26, 2021

Week 62: July 7, 2021

Week 63: July 10, 2021

Week 64: July 24, 2021

Week 65: July 30, 2021

Week 66: August 7, 2021

Week 67: August 13, 2021

Week 68: August 21, 2021

Week 69: August 27, 2021

DEDICATION

To the people with whom I have spent fifty-five years loving and serving. I shall never forget them. The memories are many. They fill my sleeping and waking hours. I am grateful that they allowed me (with God’s help) to be a colaborer with them to advance the kingdom of God.

PREFACE

These vignettes should properly be called musings. They share no common theme and avoid the formal structure of a sermon. They are the musings of a pastor accustomed to preaching on Sundays to full pews. He is a preacher without a pulpit, at least for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. What does a preacher do when there is no pulpit and the need to communicate with parishioners is as urgent as ever? He muses, and his musings take on the quality of a sermon. The COVID-19 pandemic created situations, forcing us to adapt without losing footing or direction. With in-person worship suspended for fear of spreading infection, for which there was no cure or vaccine, presented believers with challenges never imagined. Can we still believe in God when surrounded by death and disease? These musings aim to inspire God’s people who face a modern-day plague in a new and untamed wilderness.

INTRODUCTION

The year 2020 began like any other year. We gathered for the Watch Meeting, ending the old year and celebrating the new year. We exchanged greetings, Happy New Year, not realizing how unhappy the year would be—January and February passed quickly. There were rumors of a world crisis, but most paid no attention. The blogosphere was filled with predictions of doom. To be sanguine is par for the course. Almost without warning, the national media bombarded us with talk of a world health pandemic.

On March 7, I celebrated my birthday. Another year older! Seventy-eight years old! I was a senior, a member of that group most at risk of contracting COVID-19. COVID-19, a new acronym, had entered our vocabulary. COVID-19, a shorter form of a new virus—coronavirus disease, with pneumonia-like symptoms, was first reported on December 31, 2019. The World Health Organization discovered that a novel coronavirus, dubbed 2019-nCOV, caused the infection. By March 2020, the world was facing a pandemic. There was no cure or vaccine. Scientists worldwide devoted their energies to developing an effective treatment, but in the meantime, hundreds died from the infection. Fear and panic gripped a nation as hundreds grew to thousands and millions. Is this the end of the world? While believers prayed, unbelievers scoffed. Intensive care wards were crowded, and with morgues to capacity, dead bodies were stored in refrigerated trucks. At the same time, survivors were left to grieve alone, without a comforting word or a warm embrace.

Politicians pointed fingers, blaming China for releasing an artificial pathogen into the atmosphere. The debate raged. Is this an experiment failure or a quirk in nature? The World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidelines but were viewed with suspicion. Masking and hand washing were liberal solutions that the right considered infringing on individual freedom. Children and the elderly were dying at alarming rates. Those whose immune systems were compromised paid an extraordinarily high price for life. A divided nation, suspicious and wary, viewed even the most straightforward thing through a political-tinted lens. The president declared a national emergency to control the spread and reduce the risks, mandating a series of mitigation methods and imposing limits on in-person gatherings. On March 17, 2020, in consultation with the church leadership, I emailed the membership, advising them that we would suspend in-person worship until further notice. There was no time to prepare plans for worshipping and serving amid a pandemic. But COVID-19 had thrust upon us new demands for ministry. Were we up to the challenge?

Only once, in memory, have the doors of Farish Street Baptist Church been closed to in-person worship. It was during the Influenza Pandemic of 1918. The Mississippi Encyclopedia reports that The Spanish flu reached the state in September 1918 and was acute for only a little over a month by the end of the year, 6,219 Mississippians had died, most of them infants and adults aged twenty-five to thirty-five. Adams and Sunflower Counties had the highest death rates, while George and Stone Counties had the lowest. The epidemic peaked in Mississippi on 22 October, when 9,842 new cases were reported. The incidence of disease subsequently declined gradually, with a brief recurrence in January 1919.¹ During the height of the pandemic, the State Health Department ordered the closure of churches, pool halls, and nightclubs. When Chester A. Greer assumed the pastorate of Farish Street Baptist Church in November 1919, evidence of the flu’s rampaging could still be felt. He and Mrs. Greer were not exempted. Both were stricken with the flu and remained quarantined for weeks.

The closure of Black churches during the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic was devastating to the financial health of the church. This was especially true for Farish Street Baptist Church. E. L. Twine, who had come to the pastorate of Farish Street Baptist Church in 1916, resigned in 1919. I dare say, that one of the contributing factors to his resignation was the flu’s impact on the financial health of the church. During this period, most Baptist churches were financed by membership dues. Little emphasis was placed on tithing and offerings. Members were assessed a modest amount, $.10–$.50 weekly. The failure to remain current with the membership dues placed severe strains on the church’s treasury, making it difficult, if not impossible, to keep current with the expenses of the church. Greer writes in his unpublished autobiography, I remember well the first church business meeting that I held with Farish Street Baptist Church; my first time as pastor. I asked to be shown all the debts of the church. They showed me a balance of $1600 owed on the church building and a note held by trustee Brother C. C. Sims, in the amount of $500, which had been paid on Dr. Topp’s salary; which note was still outstanding.² Closing the doors of a church can have a catastrophic effect on the church’s ministry, but also on its future survival as an institution. In March, when in-person worship and activities were suspended, alternative methods to in-person gathering had to be sought. The church had a digital presence: website, Facebook page, YouTube channel, and email newsletter. However, there was no consistent use of these media, and only a small percentage of the membership read the email newsletter. The digital divide is real, especially for the silent and baby boomer generations. These two groups comprised the bulk of the church’s membership. I had before attempted e-giving, utilizing a kiosk placed in the foyer. E-giving was discontinued. Now faced with a lock-down for an indeterminable period, e-given was reinstituted via PayPal and Cash App. Members were encouraged to use one of these methods or mail their offerings to the church. Staff checked the mail daily. Not only should there be a way to provide financial support, but it is also critical to provide for the spiritual well-being of the congregation. To respond to this need, it was necessary to create a virtual church, a place where the membership could worship and experience the presence of the Holy Spirit. The place, normally referring to the church house—a physical environment—must be redefined. If only temporarily, the church house was redefined as a virtual place. Utilizing Zoom, we created a virtual place. Building this virtual place took several weeks. Persons had to identify a medium: smartphone, iPad, tablet, laptop, landline phone, or desktop computer. Familiarity with the app is essential. We organize teams, Gen-Xers and Y, who spend much of their day within virtual spaces tutoring digitally challenged people.

Farish Street Baptist Church had organized a virtual church within a few days. The program included Sunday Bible Study (Word Power), Sunday worship via Zoom, Wednesday noon Bible study via Zoom, and News from the Street, a digital email including a message from the pastor, announcements, notes, and news. Word Power was live on Facebook and YouTube and was taught by the pastor. This live program was on Sundays at 9:00 a.m. Sunday worship via Zoom was programmed at 2:00 p.m. and involved the membership in corporate worship. Other activities include Dinner with the Pastor, a colloquial; travel log, a shared excursion with a member; game night (Friday night); and special programs planned by church organizations.

To facilitate the live streaming, I set up a studio in the living room of my home. The live streaming continued until we resumed in-person worship. For the most part, funerals were limited to grave-side and were live-streamed for the convenience of the membership.

This volume is a compilation of the pastor’s musings. They were included in the weekly emails under the heading: Pastor’s Message. What inspired the musings? Current events, death, conflict, anniversaries, religious holy days, etc. I resisted giving them a subject or a theme. These musings reflected the pastor’s mood—anger, joy, sadness, grief, hope, and anguish. I will take you by the hand and ask you to walk with me, reminiscing of bygone days as we grope and cope with living amid a pandemic and death together.

This compilation documents a pastor’s desire to minister during a global pandemic without losing his way, keeping faith in the God who works amid disease and disaster and order and chaos.

Hickman M. Johnson

October 1, 2023

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¹ https://mississippiencyclopedia.org/entries/influenza-epidemicof-1918/

² Geer, Chester A., Unpublished Autobiography, ca, 1957.

WEEK 1

March 17, 2020

Because of coronavirus, we will face an uncertain future. We will be asked to do what we have never done, drastically changing our lives. We will desire the familiar to anchor us to keep us secure. This is the role of faith. Over these weeks, when we are apart, I will endeavor to stay in touch with you through this weekly email. Please share this message with other members. Let us pray for each other, the nation, its leaders, and the global community. This pandemic will test our faith and commitment to usher in the kingdom of God. We pray that we may not be found wanting.

WEEK 2

March 23, 2020

Worship for a Christian is what water is for a fish—life-sustaining. Without worship, our connection to God is strained. I agree with those who say that God is everywhere and can be experienced in every place. But there is no better place to experience the presence of God than in the House of God. Jacob said, Surely the LORD is in this place, and I knew it not (Gen. 28:16, KJV). Worship is food for the soul. Each day that we are isolated and physically separated from friends and families is a day that diminishes our collective oneness. The coronavirus pandemic is not only strange to us, it is foreboding. Yet this is the nature of any plague. In a time when we place our confidence in medical science and technology, to be absent of a cure makes us even more dependent on simple remedies—isolation (social distancing) and prayer. Is this the gift of our primitive ancestors? When there is no cure for the diseases that beset modern man, may we remember that simple yet powerful gift: prayer! Will we, the wealthiest nation in the world, remember to pray? I hope we all will obey the instructions of the Apostle: Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thess. 5:16–18, NIV).

WEEK 3

April 7, 2020

My hours alone are empty! This probably describes life for most of us: sheltering at home and avoiding physical contact with the world. But can we escape the world, a world afflicted with a virus that cannot be explained or understood? This is the new reality for millions of global citizens. But this is also our new reality. It is a reality that we have never before experienced. Coping with this new reality will test our resolve and desire to live a productive existence. Until a month ago, my life was routine until the coronavirus knocked on my door. Before that knock, the days of the week had passed swiftly. Like many, I, too, said, Thank God it’s Friday! And then there were Saturday and Sunday. Oh, how I loved Sundays! Every preacher I know loves Sunday. But the coronavirus has changed my Sundays and my