A short while ago I came across an Instagram account that was blowing up called @preachersnsneakers. At first I didn’t know what to think: for those who haven’t come across it, the account posts pictures of megachurch pastors and other Christian “celebrities” with zoom-ins of their designer sneakers and/or various other high end articles of clothing along with the retail cost of those items (which typically is over $500 - $1000 per item). I loved the spotlight PreachersNSneakers put on the actions of those who claimed to not only be followers of Christ, but also leaders and respected voices. Far too often, no matter how pure their hearts and intentions were at the beginning, Christian leaders fall into the trap of pursuing influence and power for its own sake, and I thought it was great that someone was pointing out that rocking $900 sneakers while purporting to take the yoke of Christ upon themselves might be problematic.

And yet…

…Some dear friends of yours are part of a tight knit bible study group in their church, one that has met regularly for years. It's small, just a handful of families, and they've been through everything together: weddings, baby showers, funerals, divorces…everything. And not only do they share years and years of history, they've also been truly vulnerable with one another, telling each other things about themselves and about their stories that few others know.

It's a group I'm sure many of us would like to have, no?

But something strange happens…

We’ve never experienced anything like this.

All over the country schools and businesses have closed. You can’t go out to eat. Churches have moved online. Professional sports are cancelled for the foreseeable future. And tens of millions have lost or are losing their jobs.

And, of course, Covid-19.

We’re still at the tip of the spear, so to speak, which makes it hard to say what is going to come of all of this. But…

Just a few weeks ago my wife and I were stressing over what the summer was going to look like: budgeting for our annual visit to see family in Seattle, whether to sign up for this camp or that camp, and wondering how we’d survive yet another summer with kids bouncing off every solid object in our house.

Feels like a thousand years ago.

Everything has changed, hasn’t it? We’re in Minnesota where…