Dealing with the Storm

“You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall and like the heat of the desert. You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled.” (Isaiah 25:4-5)

Let me begin by clarifying that I am not a medical professional.  So any of my thoughts here are purely my opinion, and any suggestions are based only on my research and talks with medical personnel.  I hope that I will have approached this topic with some common sense and not fear driven.  I would appreciate hearing your thoughtful opinions on what I have written  here.

Many churches have a strong desire, and even public pressure, to restart physically meeting together as a church family while states begin to consider easing COVID-19 restrictions.  What will doing church look like going forward, and what should it look like right now?  Also, what arrangements should the staff and congregation take to minimize the risk of spreading the virus?

Not being an Epidemiologist, I cannot be 100% certain of how the COVID-19 virus will behave or when it will dissipate.  I believe there could be localized spikes in the virus occurrence as restrictions are eased.  In all probability this will occur sooner or later for the country to achieve what is called herd immunity (achieving immunity in 60% of the population, or greater), either through exposure-based immunity, or by mass vaccination. [1] Confining everyone for a year will only delay this unavoidable occurrence.  We have sufficient history available to see how pandemics behave in large populations

Most of us have heard the experts, seen the models, and counted the numbers daily with a type of morbid fascination.  This only adds to stress and depression and is not healthy in large doses.  I do feel that it is possible for the church to physically resume meetings with a good degree of safety. This safety requires that all of the attendees play their parts and respect the well-being of their family in Christ.

Here are some of my thoughts on a safe gathering, which is by no means exhaustive, for both the church ministry staff and for the congregation.  Each group must take an active role in this.

I have parenthetically marked each action with the group in your church that is responsible:

1) No hugs or any physical contact (STAFF/CONGREGATION)

2) Clean and disinfect the ‘snot’ out of everything. Repeat. (STAFF)

3) Change the sanctuary seating layout - less seating, more spacing (STAFF)

4) Offer more services to make up for the lack of seating in each service (STAFF)

5) Post pictures and procedures online of the new seating and other precautions to the church website (STAFF) 

6) Use technology to have people sign up for each service.  Control the app to set limits on the number of attendees when the new reduced seating capacity is full for that service.  Some Apps for this include: Cvent OnArrival, RegOnline by Lanyon, or Event Farm.  (Staff) [2]

7) Communicate! I cannot emphasize this enough. The Senior/Lead Pastor should send out numerous emails to the congregation detailing safety procedures (include photos and website links) (STAFF) The pre and post-service physical distancing requirements as well as the temporary elimination of hanging out should be announced by the pastor after each service and included in the church-wide email(s) and on the church website.  Services must be in and out. No groups gathering in lobby/sanctuary.  Security and ushers/Greeters are responsible for moving things along before/after services.

8) Use Full PPE for security and ushers.  Gloves on always, masks up over face when dealing directly with people.  Do not assume everyone knows how to properly protect themselves! (STAFF/VOLUNTEERS)

Be watchful!  People who appear sick should be asked to go home and attend online-services. Security/Safety Teams should be extra vigilant for people who are flagrantly violating safety measures.  All staff and volunteers should be watchful for signs of extreme stress, agitation and depression among people in your churches.  Our world have been turned upside down, and this has not been an easy time for many people. (STAFF/VOLUNTEERS)

9) No before or after service meet-and-greets (STAFF/CONGREGANTS)

10) No food or drinks served or available (STAFF/CONGREGANTS) 

11) No nursery, children’s or youth ministry. (STAFF)  This is a difficult one.  Kids of all ages have an exceedingly difficult time keeping their hands away from their faces and keeping things out of their mouths.  We do not want well-children being exposed and we do not want infected children spreading the virus to each other, their families, or to the children’s ministry staff.  This also hinges on whether or not their children can remain stationary once seated in the sanctuary.

All this will seem new, strange and troublesome, but it will pass.  The Body of Christ has weathered quite a few storms before, and it remains a beacon of light in a dark world.  So, it was then and so it will be now.

Be safe, and may God bless you!  

[1] MT Technology Review, https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/03/17/905244/what-is-herd-immunity-and-can-it-stop-the-coronavirus/

[2] Tech Tools for event check-in, https://www.smartmeetings.com/tips-tools/technology/89782/event-registration-and-check-in-apps

Control Your Breathing–Control Your Mind

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)

Controlling your breathing can be very helpful stressful situations.  A time-honored technique, called Tactical Breathing helps you manage stress reactions on the spot.  In this post I want to introduce you to the tool that helps firefighters race into burning buildings, police officers face armed resistance, and soldiers fight in close combat.  Definitely high-stress, high-risk situations.

“Your breathing should flow gracefully, like a river, like a water snake crossing the water, and not like a chain of rugged mountains or the gallop of a horse. To master our breath is to be in control of our bodies and minds. Each time we find ourselves dispersed and find it difficult to gain control of ourselves by different means, the method of watching the breath should always be used.” –Thich Nhat Hanh, “The Miracle of Mindfulness”

Tactical breathing was discovered by many ancient cultures and is incorporated in various forms into many martial arts systems.  As practiced by modern police and military, it allows you to rapidly regain control of your body during critical situations.

Our day-to-day stress may be less dramatic, but it’s real, it’s ours, and the distress can be intense.  Tactical breathing can help you handle high pressure situations like test-taking, flying, job interviews, driving in bad weather or traffic, playing sports, and (for women) giving birth.  In fact, a study done in May of 2007 found that, “Paying attention to breathing significantly reduced respiratory rate and decreased tidal volume instability, and that shallow breathing made all groups more anxious than the other breathing methods.”  [1]

It is critical that we understand our body’s reactions to an attack.  There are many mental and physical functions which occur at the subconscious level.  While our bodies will respond in ways that we may not be able to control initially, with training we can anticipate and mitigate unhelpful responses and successfully respond to a lethal threat.

Body functions, such as heart rate, body temperature, breathing, blinking, and digesting are controlled by the autonomic nervous system (ANS).  In most situations, you are unaware of the workings of the ANS because it functions in an involuntary, reflexive manner.  There are two responses you do have control over, breathing and blinking.  We can use breathing as a bridge back from the panicked fight or flight to put ourselves in an ideal condition to fight.

The automatic systems of the ANS are the sympathetic (SNS) and parasympathetic (PNS) nervous systems.  The SNS stirs you to action when necessary and the PNS works to regain control and establish a balance in your body.  These systems are associated with fight or flight, and rest and digest.

There are whole books written about these topics and I encourage you to read some of them. Now that we know a little about how the body reacts, let’s focus on our response to an attack. For generations, these autonomic responses were associated with fear.  A heart rate of 115-145 bpm produces an optimum level of performance in fighting skills. Complex motor skills, visual reaction time and cognitive reaction time are all at their peak. 

A fight or flight reaction combined with physical exertion or injury can make the heart beat much faster than this optimal level.  At higher heart rates, complex brain function can shut down taking reason and training away when we need it most.

Realistic and stressful training can produce the same SNS response as an attack.  It should be noted that merely raising the heart rate through exercise does not produce the complete SNS response.  You can protect yourself from these reactions and learn to function effectively.

Now, let’s look at the process of Tactical Breathing:

1) Inhale through your nose, deeply, expanding your stomach for a count of four – one, two,

     three, four.

2) Hold that breath in for a count of four– one, two, three, four.

3) Slowly exhale through your mouth, completely, contracting your stomach for a count of four--one, two, three, four.

4) Hold the empty breath for a count of four – one, two, three, four.

This tactical breathing sequence is most effective if repeated at least four times.

Through controlled breathing, you get more air into your lungs and more oxygen out to your body and brain.  High levels of oxygen in your blood stream lower the body’s demand for blood, which lowers heart rate.  The breaths have to be deep, abdominal breaths where you expand your stomach like a balloon, pause at the top of the breath, then exhale, counting to four with each step.

Tactical breathing can be used anytime you feel stress.  It will put you back in control and make you the smartest and strongest fighter you can be.

Be safe!

[1] Conrad, A., Müller, A., Doberenz, S. et al. Psychophysiological Effects of Breathing Instructions for Stress Management. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback 32, 89–98 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10484-007-9034-x

Integrity Security Consulting

Russ Sharrock

405-762-2471 | integrityseccon@hotmail.com

I have developed and made available to anyone interested, for FREE, a series of Security & safety forms that can be printed for your use:

1) A Safety & Security Risk Assessment Form

2) Church Security Plan Template

3) Church Emergency Plan Template

4) A General Fire Safety Checklist

5) A Bomb Threat Checklist

6) A Bomb Threat Distance Chart:  Includes various types of explosive devises and to be

     referred to in an event of a bomb threat evacuation.  These are minimum distances to evacuate

     away from the area of explosion.

7) Facility Lockdown Checklist

8) Child Protection Covenant

9) Church Emergency Management Checklist

These MS Word documents can be adapted as necessary to fit your church size and needs.  I will be adding new forms as time allows.

For a copy of any of these FREE forms, or if you have any questions, contact me and let me know what your needs are.