Masks & the Coronavirus

Posted on September 24, 2020 by Steve Foster

Masks or no masks?

At the beginning of 2020, I would not have believed that that simple question would be one of the biggest ones I would face during the upcoming year.

In fact, I wouldn’t have even understood the question.

“What kind of masks are you even talking about? Halloween masks? Mardi Gras masks? Face masks on a football helmet?”

2020 has presented challenges that none of us could have fully anticipated. Political polarization. Protests. Riots. Economic upheaval. Sports cancellations. Social unrest. Wildfires. Hurricanes. And a global pandemic that has affected us all.

As our governor has said many times, “We are operating without a playbook.”

The last significant pandemic in America was in 1918…long before most of us were born.

This is new territory.

Uncharted.

Unprecedented.

Unwanted.

As a pastor, this year has confronted me and our church with a number of difficult decisions. When to stop meeting? When to start meeting? How to stay connected while not meeting? How to stay unified while meeting? How to minister effectively online? How to minister effectively in person with social distancing? How to fellowship via Zoom? How to fellowship in the same room? How to worship corporately? How to worship safely? How to sort through the changing, and often conflicting, guidelines and information? How to keep everyone together when opinions and convictions seem to be conflicting?

And perhaps the symbolic watershed issue of the day…masks or no masks?

I have heard both sides of the issue…multiple times.

And I see both sides of the issue.

On the “no mask” side…

The information from health officials and organizations has been contradictory from the beginning. The same people who chided people for wearing masks in March and April are now chiding people for not wearing them.

Many published health studies have shown that wearing a cloth mask does not prevent getting a virus like COVID-19 and only has limited effectiveness in preventing its spread. In some cases, wearing a mask could actually increase the spread of a virus because people do not wear the mask properly, touch their face more often (one study showed an average of 23 times per hour), do not properly sanitize their masks, tend to overuse them, do not wash their hands before and after use, and develop a false sense of security while wearing them.

Even the most recent CDC publication (October 2020) acknowledges that cloth masks may reduce the spread of COVID-19 but that no clear randomized clinical trial has proven their effectiveness.

On the “mask” side…

As health officials and organizations learn more about the spread of COVID-19, they have adjusted their recommendations accordingly. Since COVID-19 can spread via the inhalation of respiratory droplets, then reducing the amount of respiratory droplets in the air would obviously have benefit. Here is where masks are effective. Studies have shown that wearing a mask reduces the amount of respiratory droplets in the air along with the distance of their spread.

Thus, while wearing a mask may not effectively protect a person from getting COVID-19, it may effectively protect a person from spreading it to others.

Plus, some compelling case studies, along with general data from places that have instituted mandatory mask wearing, have shown reduction in the infection rates when the majority of people are wearing masks. Another recent study even theorized that wearing a mask may reduce the severity of the virus for those who do become infected.

In other words, there is legitimate data on both sides of the issue.

It is not cut and dry.

There is room for respectful debate.

However, the mask-wearing debate seems to heat up on other issues besides medical studies.

Politicization. Wearing a mask…or not wearing one…can be seen as support or protest against the president, the governor, or a political party.

Freedom. Not wearing a mask can be a way of preserving your freedom from intrusive and sometimes excessive governmental overreach.

Compassion. Wearing a mask is seen as a way of projecting that you care about others and have faith in the intentions and recommendations of health organizations and the overall scientific community.

For some, not wearing a mask says, “I am free…and not fearful!”

For others, wearing a mask says, “I am concerned…and not selfish!”

In my own experience, I have seen the benefits of both wearing a mask and not wearing one.

In wearing a mask…and seeing others wearing them, I am reminded that there is a pandemic out there and I shouldn’t ignore it. I should be careful. I should care about others. Though I may not be at risk, others are…and I shouldn’t downplay their health or their concerns.

In not wearing a mask…and being able to talk to those without them, I am reminded of the importance of relationships…of seeing someone’s face…of seeing someone’s smile. Though there is a physical risk out there, I cannot live in isolation. I cannot socially distance from every relationship. And I cannot live in fear of every potential hazard that I may confront in life.

I have also seen both sides of the issue in a church setting.

While on vacation this past summer, my wife and I visited two different churches. At one church, we arrived with our masks on, being sensitive to whatever people we may meet inside. To our surprise, in this large church, not a single person had a mask on. Though we enjoyed the worship and the fellowship, we also felt like people may have been a little too nonchalant about the risks around them.

The next Sunday, at a different church, we had the opposite experience. Everyone had a mask on and did not take it off during the entire service. Even the praise team led worship with masks on. Only the pastor took off his mask to deliver the sermon (though the week before he had to wear a mask because of local regulations). It was strange, almost surreal, to never see anyone’s face during the entire time of worship and fellowship. It felt emotionless, isolating, distant. We realized that it is practically impossible to get to know anyone, to communicate with anyone, to minister to anyone when you are standing six feet back and wearing a mask.

Relationships are hard to grow behind masks.

So what do we do…as individuals…as a church?

One, realize that you don’t have everything figured out. None of us have perfect knowledge. None of us are free from limitations and bias. None of us know the future. Be open to input. Keep learning. Be willing to change your views or at least temper your temperature on the issue.

Two, wear a mask, when you can, if you can. For most people, wearing a mask is not going to make or break them. It is a small inconvenience that may help prevent the spread of a contagious, potentially life-threatening virus. It may also communicate to someone who has serious health concerns that you care about them. (Of course, if you do wear a mask, try to wear it properly, don’t keep touching your face or your mask, and don’t forget to wash your hands.)

Three, if you are around others who aren’t wearing a mask, don’t assume that they are being careless or unconcerned. They may have other issues that you are not aware of. They may need to breathe physically or emotionally. They may need some sense of normalcy or freedom. Or they may even see showing you a smile or being able to talk to you freely (while standing at a safe distance) as the best way of showing love.

Four, extend large measures of grace toward others. You may not agree with them but seek to understand them. Seek to be sensitive to them. Don’t let a mask be the source of contention. There are bigger things in life…and certainly bigger things in our faith…than being right about a face mask.

Five, fix your eyes on your Savior, Jesus Christ. For those preferring to wear a mask, He is your security and your protection in all of your interactions with others. For those preferring not to wear a mask, He is your example and your model of sacrifice and love in all your interactions with others. For both, He is our peace and the One who specializes in bringing together different people with different convictions.

Isn’t it possible that the controversy surrounding masks is actually an opportunity for the body of Christ to learn from one another?

Isn’t it possible that there is no “right or wrong” on this issue but rather a good, better, and best depending on the situation?

Isn’t it possible that the path of wisdom requires us to balance both sides of the issue and to walk somewhere in the middle, between both extremes, wearing a mask at times and not wearing it at others?

One thing is for sure…when Christ is the center of our attention and the Lord of our actions, then it is possible to live in both humility and security, both freedom and servanthood, both diversity and unity.

Both with and without masks.

Posted in Coronavirus/COVID-19 | 9 Comments

Getting a Heart Catheterization

Posted on September 4, 2020 by Steve Foster

I had a heart cath yesterday.

To be honest, I feel too young to have heart issues. But my wife graciously reminds me that I am 52. (Thanks, honey 🙂 ). A lifelong American diet of fried foods, juicy hamburgers, buttery biscuits, and crispy bacon doesn’t help any either. (My diet has gotten better, by the way, but it is still hard to pass up a bacon cheeseburger for a fresh, leafy salad.)

My cholesterol level has always been a little high. My dad has had heart issues. And two separate stress tests revealed signs of a blockage somewhere. Something called ST-depression consistently showed up in both tests.

My cardiologist (a phrase you apparently start using more after age 50) recommended a heart cath to see exactly what was going on. I shuddered a little bit. So he offered me an alternative path…a coronary calcium scan and an echocardiogram…to see what they revealed. Since neither one of them involved pain or a thin catheter traveling up my arteries, I chose the alternative path.

The calcium scan revealed mild to moderate build-up in my arteries.

The echocardiogram revealed that my heart valves are functioning normally and that the gel they use is excessively cold.

It was amazing to lie there and watch my own heart beat on a monitor. It is something you take for granted every day. Yet it beats 60 times per minute, 100,000 times per day, 35 million times per year, and about 1.75 billion times by the time you reach my age.

All on its own…without my knowledge or control…keeping me alive.

Or at least that’s the goal.

Anyway, after all that was over, I was back in my cardiologist’s office about a month later staring at the heart cath option once again.

“You don’t have to get a heart cath. We can keep monitoring this over the next few years.”

“What would you do if you were in my shoes, Doc?”

“Personally, I would want to know and this is the best way to know. And the procedure has become pretty standard and safe. You do have signs of heart disease and you simply can’t ignore that.”

So the heart cath was scheduled.

It sort of hung over me for a few weeks…weighed on me.

I was nervous about the procedure. I hate needles. I am allergic to pain. The thought of blood tends to make my blood leave my brain and travel southward. I have passed out on a few occasions and have felt light-headed with cold sweats on many others.

I also still carry this illusionary but comforting thought that I am still young. Too young to have heart issues. Too young to worry about my health…about heart attacks…about death. But my age betrays me…along with my increasing aches, decreasing hair, and the aforementioned gracious reminders from my wife.

So the day finally came…and thankfully, it wasn’t too bad.

I got a nice gown and stylish yellow, non-slip socks…a comfortable bed with a heated blanket…and a free shave on my arm and wrist with a complementary one on alternative catheter sites in case the wrist didn’t work. I won’t go into details.

The worst part was getting an IV. Usually my veins are pretty good but the nurse said she hit a valve (whatever that means) and had to adjust the needle. Not fun. And the light-headedness and cold sweats started.

But once that was done and I regained some blood to my head, the rest of the procedure was great…primarily because I don’t remember much of anything else.

They wheeled me into the operating room…or, better, the heart cath control command center with TV monitors and screens all around…none of them playing ESPN or HGTV. About seven or eight people gathered around me, asking questions, applying electrodes, making small talk, covering me with blankets, strapping down my arm, putting oxygen in my nose, and rolling a cold, wet sponge all over my wrist.

The next thing I know I was out. No countdown or anything. I guess they call it “twilight sedation” but I don’t remember anything except feeling a few shots going into my wrist.

By the time I woke up, I was back in the recovery room.

I couldn’t tell you if it had been five minutes or five hours.

My wife said that I answered a few questions when they were wheeling me back to the room…but I don’t remember a thing. I hope I answered the questions correctly. I hate failing tests.

I was in and out for the next two hours…waking up, eating a light lunch, and then drifting back off with some little cap naps. No pain. No discomfort. No nausea.

A few hours later I was back at home with some tight bandages on my wrist, bad bed head hair, and an abiding relief that it was all over.

Bottom line…they found no blockages. Just one spot with about 20% build-up of plaque. Something to monitor but nothing to worry about for now.

It is amazing.

The very thought that they can travel up your veins and arteries and explore your heart from the inside. It sure beats the days when they had to crack you open every time they wanted to repair your heart.

I am thankful for medicine.

I am thankful for skilled doctors and nurses.

I am thankful for technology.

But most of all I am thankful for God’s incredible design of the human body.

It is He who gave me my heart. It is He who enables it to beat. It is He who gives me each breath on this earth.

It is He who sees me and knows me from the inside out.

While my physical heart beats…sustained by His power…my spiritual heart grows…overwhelmed by His grace.

Both my hearts praise Him for I am fearfully and wonderfully made!

Posted in Random Thoughts | 7 Comments

Why So Angry?

Posted on August 27, 2020 by Steve Foster

From political polarization to protests.

From social media angst to online vitriol.

From racial tension to riots.

It seems that just about everyone is angry about something.

Yes, there is injustice in the world…injustice in our nation…injustice in our communities.

There is no way to minimize it.

And anger is a legitimate reaction to the tragedies, atrocities, and inhumanities of our world.

But, face it, if you are going to be angry about every injustice, then you are going to be angry for the rest of your life.

There are 7.8 billion of us on this planet. All of us sin. All of us fall short. All of us harm our neighbor in some form or fashion…either by action or inaction, commission or omission, intentionality or complicity.

We can be angry about injustice but we must see our own culpability at the same time.

Yes, anger can be legitimate…but it is also incomplete…insufficient…incapable of bringing healing, reconciliation, restoration, rest, peace.

The Bible is quite clear about anger.

Refrain from anger and give up your rage;
do not be agitated—it can only bring harm (Psalm 37:8)

Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person,
do not associate with one easily angered,
or you may learn their ways
and get yourself ensnared. (Proverbs 22:24-25)

An angry person stirs up conflict,
and a hot-tempered person commits many sins. (Proverbs 29:22)

Know this, my beloved brothers:
let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. (James 1:19-20)

At best, anger identifies a problem. It lets us know that something is wrong. It stirs up our soul about the destructive nature of sin around us…among us…within us.

But it fails to bring a solution.

It stirs up the emotions but disengages the mind.

It stirs up action but increases division.

It may seek to squelch injustice but it often adds to it.

Victims become perpetrators and the vicious cycle continues.

Anger leads to hatred which leads to resentment which leads to bitterness which leads to conflict which leads to violence which leads to injustice which feeds more anger.

The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 

It is a dead end…literally.

But, wait, wasn’t Jesus angry? Isn’t God angry?

Yes and yes.

But Jesus, God in the flesh, is also omniscient…perfectly seeing the whole picture. He is also sinless…perfectly balancing anger and compassion, justice and mercy, wrath and grace.

Our problem with anger is that we can’t see the whole picture…and we inevitably add our own self-righteous attitudes, self-focused agendas, and self-justifying actions to the mix.

That’s why the Bible puts a time limit on our anger.

“In your anger do not sin”: 
Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,
and do not give the devil a foothold. (Ephesians 4:26-27)

Don’t carry your anger from one day to the next.

It always grows…simmers…boils…explodes.

Instead cast it away…cast it into the hands of God…trust the justice of God…receive His grace and peace…and then act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him.

Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ. (Ephesians 4:31-32)

This is the path of love.

This is the road to justice.

This is the way to a better community…better nation…and better world.

Posted in Random Thoughts | 2 Comments

Rejoice in the Lord Always!

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Steve Foster

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand. (Philippians 4:4-5)

In the midst of everything going on in our culture, have you lost your joy? Are you overwhelmed, anxious, angry, discouraged, depressed?

Paul’s encouragement in Philippians has been a favorite of mine for many years. But now, in the midst of the stress and division of our times, I am reminded again of the need to practice his words.

Remember Paul isn’t writing Philippians from a beach in Maui. He is in prison…suffering for his faith…uncertain of his future…living under the reign of Nero…facing the reality of death.

And he says, “Rejoice!”

How?

First, by focusing on the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord. You have to go back to what you know in Christ. I am created in God’s image. I am His workmanship. I am adopted… blessed… chosen… redeemed. My identity is found in Him. My security is built on Him. My destiny is certain with Him.

Second, by letting your “reasonableness” be known to everyone. This word is one of the hardest to translate in the New Testament. It describes a person who is gentle, gracious, patient, equitable. “It expresses that considerateness that looks humanely and reasonably at the facts of a case” (Vine). It is “sweet reasonableness” (Matthew Henry).

You already have this quality in Christ…you just have to let it rise to the top of your heart, letting it reign over feelings of cynicism, criticism, bitterness, and irritableness.

Third, by remembering that the Lord is near. He is beside you…with you…within you. And He is coming again…to set this world straight…to make all things new. You have a faithful friend… and you have a sure hope… so everything else can be put in perspective.

So, yes, this world is broken… yes, this life is difficult… but in Christ you have permission, motivation, reason, and power… to rejoice!

To choose joy.

To pursue joy.

To find joy.

To share joy.

It’s a better way to think and to live.

So, again, I say rejoice!

Posted in Random Thoughts | Leave a comment

Deconstructing America

Posted on July 4, 2020 by Steve Foster

Flag July 4th Independence DayI love this nation.

As I have traveled overseas in my lifetime and read stories of oppression, corruption, and persecution in other nations, I have always thanked God for the blessing of being born here.

We are blessed.

Peace.

Stability.

Security.

Prosperity.

Creativity.

Liberty.

That does not mean that I do not see the sins, failures, injustices, and even atrocities of our nation and its history.

Slavery.

The Civil War.

Eugenics.

Racism.

Jim Crow laws.

Segregation.

Greed.

Violence.

Abortion.

The scenes are ugly.

The sins and injustices cannot be denied.

But what makes them particularly egregious…in fact, the very reason we even see them…is because we know that they are wrong…that they violate the very nature of our nation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. (Declaration of Independence)

The failure of America is not in its ideals but in its failure to live up to its ideals.

To recognize a Creator…to acknowledge the inherent worth and value of every human life…and then to dehumanize others…to hate them…to enslave them…to oppress them…to murder them…runs against the very heart of this nation…against the very heart of God.

We were built on an ideal…on a value system…on a moral ground.

We are unique as a nation.

We are not bound by ethnicity. We don’t all look the same. Watch any Olympics and you will see how unusual we are compared to the vast majority of nations around the world.

Red. Yellow. Black. White.

Our diversity testifies to our uniqueness.

And our challenge.

We can only stay united when we hold to common ground.

The recent turmoil, unrest, anger, division, and violence in our nation is highlighting our loss of this common ground.

We have no foundation underneath us.

We have no moral law above us.

We have dethroned God…deconstructed reality…deconstructed our nation.

The philosophy of postmodernism denies absolute truth…denies metanarratives…even denies common reality…and elevates radical autonomy.

I am my own law.

I am my own truth.

I am my own reality.

I am my own god.

If God does not exist, everything is permitted. (Dostoevsky)

Nietzsche predicted our world. If there is no absolute truth, then all that is left is individual perspectives…individual interpretations…individual truth.

And whoever has the power makes the rules.

Thus…will to gain power.

And that is what is happening in our nation.

Our political wars are a war for power.

Because we have lost our common ground.

We have lost our morality.

We have lost our way.

America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.

It is easy to find the faults of America.

Put together millions of different people…from thousands of different cultures…over hundreds of years…and you are bound to see sins, failures, injustices, and atrocities.

A nation is simply a collection of individual sinners in the same location. It is no surprise when sin abounds in such a place. The miracle is when it doesn’t.

It is easy to deconstruct America. Tear it down. Blow it up. Destroy it from the inside. Raze it to the ground.

But it is hard to build a nation.

Especially when you have already denied the existence of a foundation.

And it is hard to create peace in a nation.

Especially when we can’t even achieve peace in our families…in our marriages…in our own conflicted minds and hearts.

So I pray for America.

It is not perfect but it is based on a perfect ideal…a diverse, unified people…subjected to God…guided by moral law…with a balance of powers…a promise of liberty…and a representative system of government…where each person, made in the image of God, could thrive.

There is a reason that people from all over the world have flocked to it over the years.

America has its many faults.

But it is also has its many blessings.

And you have to decide which you are going to focus on.

As for me…I am going to celebrate this July 4th…bowing on my knees…acknowledging God’s sovereignty…asking for His grace…interceding for our leaders…praying for wisdom…working for reconciliation…hoping for peace…

And grilling a burger…eating with my family…and thanking God for the blessing of freedom.

A beautiful thing…in a beautiful land.

Oh, beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life!
…
America! America!
God mend thine ev’ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law.

Posted in Government/Politics | 7 Comments