Our governor recently intensified his mandate for when people are supposed to be wearing masks. Whether the language of the order directly applies to church worship services is still unclear, but the wording from one of his subsequent clarifications to the order seems to allow church worship to remain unchanged from his order of July 1st.
The many orders and restrictions placed upon us this year have gotten many people asking the question, “At what point do these orders infringe on our constitutional right to practice our religion?” While we are blessed to live in a country that affords us constitutional rights, as Christians the more important question we should be asking is if these restrictions actually impede our ability to worship God as we are commanded in Scripture. For, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
To answer this in relation to the mask mandate, we must ask ourselves the question – “Can I properly participate in the corporate worship of God while wearing a mask?” Note that this isn’t a question of whether we should wear masks to protect the public health or whether we should do it out of love for our neighbors. Neither is it a question of whether we can or should worship in personal ways when we aren’t gathered as a congregation. Rather, the question is whether your duty and desire to corporately worship is somehow impeded by wearing a mask while in church.
To answer this, let’s be clear about some basic premises about worship. First, we are commanded to join together in corporate worship. The classic verse used to support this is Hebrews 10:25 where we are told to “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together”, but there are many more. Corporate worship for most local churches is something that occurs during Sunday services and Wednesday nights, but it can be more often than that as well. In fact, the Bible tells us that the early church in Jerusalem met DAILY (Acts 2:46). While we aren’t commanded about the frequency of our corporate worship, we are told it is to be done regularly. Therefore, staying apart for extended periods of time is not an option.
Second, while our worship is to be done “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24), it also has various activities associated with it. These include prayer, singing, giving, preaching and the exercise of our spiritual gifts to edify other believers. In theory, these activities can be conducted while donning a face covering as long as it is not a distraction. However, worship is more than going through some mechanical process or observing certain spiritual practices. It is a personal time where you honor God with your mouth, your substance, your time and your very being. I often pray at the beginning of a worship service that all burdens and distractions would be removed from us, as worship must be done unimpeded. We can not truly worship if we are distracted, worrying, living in sin, or otherwise pre-occupied.
Many of these distractions are internal but some may be external as well (have you ever sat next to a person who clicks their pen throughout the service?). We must either remove these external distractions or determine not to be affected by them. As one who teaches the Bible in services, I don’t feel that I can communicate effectively while wearing a mask. People need to see the non-verbal communication on my face when I speak. As a singer, it is very difficult for me to sing properly and get enough breath support while wearing a mask. As someone who regularly wears a mask when going to public places that require them, I have conscientiously attempted to avoid and/or limit my time shopping because of this requirement. I find myself constantly distracted, annoyed, and anxious about my breathing while wearing one. As a worshipper, this would definitely impede my ability to worship. For me, it is a distraction that needs to be removed.
For you, the mask may not be a big deal. It may be something that you just put on and forget about. There may be no anxiety or distraction associated with it. Your ability to breathe and sing might go forth without issue. For you, it may be the most loving thing you feel you can do for others and the most prudent action to protect yourself. It may give you a sense of safety and security. If that is the case, wearing a mask may not impede your ability to worship God corporately.
As you can see, the question of “Who needs a mask?” needs to be determined by each individual. As for the church, we will not allow ourselves to be conscripted by the government to enforce their mandates. If you wish to wear a mask at our services, you are more than welcome to wear one. You will be loved, welcomed, and encouraged to participate in our worship together. If you are not inclined to wear a mask because it would impede your ability to worship, we welcome you here without a mask so that you might worship without impediment. As for now, we are able to make these choices without violating the governor’s order. Let us pray that we continue to be afforded this freedom to obey God while still obeying these orders of man.