Participants:
Series Code: LI
Program Code: LI200474A
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00:28 Welcome to the Liberty Insider.
00:31 This is a program designed to give special insights, 00:35 up-to-date information on religious liberty 00:37 in the US and around the world. 00:39 My name is Lincoln Steed, Editor of Liberty Magazine. 00:43 And my special guest on this program is a man, 00:46 young man that shares my name. 00:48 Christopher Steed, Christopher Earnest David Steed, 00:51 named after his two grandparents. 00:54 And it's a privilege for me 00:55 to have you on the program, Christopher. 00:57 It's a privilege to be here. 00:59 You've been on a few times in the past, 01:01 and you're here for a number of reasons, 01:04 most particularly to bring a youth perspective 01:06 to our topics. 01:07 Often it's old, older people, 01:09 at least young people may think 01:11 so, it's just old fuddy-duddies 01:12 talk about what doesn't concern them. 01:14 So I want to get a bit of an insight from you. 01:16 And in particular, you know, we're six feet apart, 01:19 we maybe don't need to as much as others, 01:21 because we're in close proximity a lot of the time. 01:24 But this is the era of COVID, COVID-19. 01:29 From your perspective, 01:30 what does it meant staying home, 01:33 not being able to go to church as much as before, 01:36 and in a different way online and so on? 01:39 What's your take on it? 01:41 Well, I'm 22 years old. 01:43 So being a young guy, 01:44 I like to hang out with my friends. 01:46 I'm a car enthusiast. 01:48 So I like going to car meetings, stuff like that. 01:50 And for me, and most of the youth 01:53 around the world, it's been tough 01:54 because we can't go to our friends' houses, 01:56 we can't go to, 01:59 for example, the movies, 02:00 or we can't go to car meets. 02:02 We can't go just hang out at the park with our friends 02:04 due to the restrictions. 02:06 Not all the people go to movies. 02:07 It's not the best thing. Yeah. 02:09 And you don't go to movies either, 02:10 but you didn't, weren't brought up that way. 02:13 But, but you're right, your generation, 02:15 that's the type of things that they would do, right? 02:19 Yeah. 02:21 Also, for, by religious standpoint, going to church, 02:27 it's a fellowship, it's being at home. 02:29 I mean, watching it on TV is fine, we get to relax. 02:32 The dress code is not as strict as it would be going to church. 02:36 But it's, church to me is a fellowship. 02:39 But you're not that keeps a pretty high dress code. 02:41 I agree. 02:42 Watching in on show. 02:45 But for me, it's more of a social aspect 02:48 and a worship aspect being around people, 02:51 singing with people, shaking hands after church, 02:55 seeing your friends at church, 02:57 just being together and worshiping together, 02:59 fellowshipping together is a lot better 03:03 than actually just sitting at home 03:05 or watching on the TV with your family. 03:06 So you know that Bible text that says, 03:09 Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together." 03:12 I didn't know that. 03:13 That was the advice in the New Testament from Paul, 03:15 I think it was. 03:16 And so, you're pretty much underscoring 03:18 that there's a very practical need for believers to... 03:23 Is elsewhere it says, encourage one another with these sayings. 03:26 Absolutely. 03:27 So, yes, we ultimately, as Protestants, 03:30 we know we relate directly to God. 03:32 We don't need a priest or an intermediary, 03:34 we can relate to God, but as human beings 03:36 we have to connect with other people. 03:38 Absolutely. 03:40 We lose something, even, something spiritually 03:41 if we don't have that. 03:43 And going forward in the... 03:45 in June, I believe or July, end of July. 03:48 I'm supposed to be going to do colporteuring. 03:51 This year it's... 03:53 Not everybody that watches around the world might know 03:55 that term that you used, 03:56 that's door-to-door book selling, 04:00 and sharing literature, and witnessing. 04:03 But this year due to COVID-19, or Coronavirus, 04:08 we have to do virtual colporteuring, 04:11 which, from what I've seen 04:14 is going to be interesting. 04:16 I'm not 100% sure on how it works, 04:19 but my idea of how it work is people would... 04:22 We would send, I believe 04:23 they sent out a letter or something. 04:25 And people will call in and we would talk on the phone, 04:29 or on Skype, or on Zoom or something like that. 04:32 And it's going to be different. 04:35 It's going to be a challenge, but... 04:36 Yeah. 04:38 It is good in witnessing 04:40 we're able to maneuver with the reality 04:43 that we have and this is some way, 04:45 but it probably is not a direct equal 04:48 of looking at someone knocking on the door, 04:51 looking at them and interacting 04:52 in that dynamic personal ways. 04:54 But at the same time, I don't see, 04:57 for example, going door-to-door, 04:58 you can go to the door 04:59 and knock on the door, step back. 05:01 Like for example, if they have like two sets of stairs 05:03 on their front porch, 05:04 you could step back down onto one of the steps. 05:06 You'll keep your distance, you'll have your mask on. 05:10 That's not real door-to-door salesmanship, the old theory, 05:15 and this is tongue in cheek was to step forward 05:17 and put your foot in the door. 05:20 Prevent them from slamming at your face. 05:22 And that is good psychology. 05:24 My father and your grandfather started his work in the church 05:28 as a literature evangelist, associate director. 05:34 When I was about 10 or 12, 05:36 he took me out door-to-door because I wanted some money. 05:39 We all want money, 05:41 and I wanted a few extra shillings 05:44 as they were in Australia back then. 05:46 And he says, "Well, why don't you go and sell 05:49 Alert magazine 05:50 which was the temperance sobriety magazine 05:53 that our church printed. 05:54 And he says, "I have some old copies, 05:56 so I'll show you how to do it." 05:57 So we went out door-to-door 05:58 and he sold at every door. 06:00 But I remember his technique, 06:02 they would knock on the door and he would step back. 06:05 And he would say, "I guess you're wondering 06:07 who's knocking at your door?" 06:09 Because they're wondering. 06:10 But by stepping back, he had removed the threat. 06:13 You're right, very good thing, especially in the COVID era. 06:17 Now, you have been involved with something 06:19 that our church is doing that is very possible 06:23 during a time of restriction like this. 06:25 Our free pantry. 06:26 Right, tell me a little bit more about it? 06:28 I go to Willow Brook SDA Church with my family. 06:30 In Hagerstown, Maryland? 06:31 In Boonsboro actually, Boonsboro. 06:33 Technically, yes. 06:35 It's a Hagerstown Church out there. 06:36 Yes. 06:37 But at our church every Friday, 06:40 starting at 10 o'clock, 06:42 I get there at 10 o'clock. 06:44 We accept donations from 10 to 11. 06:45 And then at 11 o'clock, we open up our food pantry, 06:48 and every day we serve 06:50 about 20 to 30 cars and in each car, 06:54 there can be one family, there could be two families. 06:57 We have people coming from all around 07:01 coming in and getting food. 07:03 We have boxes of like cheeses, sandwiches, 07:06 cereal boxes, pancake mixes. 07:09 Anything that's donated, 07:10 we package in a box for a family 07:12 and we give that family, 07:13 that's a family's meal for, let's say, 07:15 a week could be in that one box. 07:19 And I've been taking the boxes home 07:22 and giving it to our neighbor. 07:24 And every week I take it to him 07:26 and he always says thank you. 07:27 It's a huge blessing which you guys are doing. 07:30 I had a lady 07:33 come through our, "drive-thru." 07:36 And so we took down her information, 07:39 we asked how many people in her family. 07:40 And then at the end after we had finished 07:42 loading up her car with her groceries, 07:44 I go around her window, 07:46 and I asked her if she needs prayer. 07:47 And she says yes, and she tells me 07:49 what her needs are and I pray with her. 07:52 And then after she's done, after I say amen, 07:54 I'm starting to leave and she says, 07:56 "Hold on one second. 07:57 I want, I just want to say thank you." 07:58 There's tears streaming down her face, 08:01 as she thanks me for praying with her. 08:02 She says, "She really feels 08:04 that God is working through the church, 08:06 through me, and through everybody." 08:08 And she just wanted to say thank you. 08:11 Wasn't that a great feeling? 08:12 It was. Yeah. 08:14 So COVID hasn't stopped everything 08:17 that we do as Christians, 08:18 as Seventh-day Adventist Christians 08:19 reaching out to the community. 08:22 And I think this is admirable. 08:23 And I know this is not the only church doing it. 08:26 But we've, you and I have observed this close. 08:28 They're operating within the norms of COVID, 08:31 drive-thru like you say, although, 08:33 I've got to say for our viewers, 08:35 at this late point in this overall emergency 08:38 when 120,000 Americans have died, 08:40 so there's a real risk. 08:42 I still don't understand 08:43 why churches at the very least 08:46 couldn't operate on a drive-thru basis, 08:48 like the old drive-in. 08:50 Drive-in movies. Yeah. 08:52 Which don't really exist anymore, but, you know, 08:54 I'm old enough to remember when there were such things 08:56 and to see them they were a prominent, 08:58 physical features of a lot of towns. 09:00 Zero chance of contagion. 09:03 But you could have someone 09:04 either on a screen or on a stage 09:07 with the microphone and receivers, 09:10 you could easily do it 09:12 on your radio receiver in the car. 09:13 And it would give a sense, certain sense of community. 09:17 They've not allowed, at least in the number of states. 09:20 And Liberty has featured that, 09:23 that the fact that they were not allowed, 09:24 but this is an equivalent in some ways, isn't it? 09:27 Well, for now, 09:28 I know Willow Brook for example is opening back up. 09:31 Yes, just the last few weeks. 09:33 Very limited seating. 09:35 In our sanctuary, it's every other pew is open. 09:38 And then we have our dining hall 09:40 or pedant hall off to the, 09:41 off to the backside of the sanctuary, 09:43 where we have the pastor 09:45 and I set up 42 seats, 09:46 42 or 44 seats for overflow. 09:50 And people, people are coming to church, 09:53 people are coming back to church 09:54 and every time we've gone, 09:56 I've seen just a little, 09:57 a few more people every single time, 09:59 but, it's, the whole dynamic has changed from... 10:05 For example, January, we would go to church 10:08 and I'll be able to go out, 10:09 go out right up to my pastor, shake his hand 10:11 and say thank you for a wonderful sermon. 10:13 Now I have to stay six feet away from him 10:15 and do a air shake and... 10:20 It's just not the same. 10:22 Yeah, I've even wrote, written in Liberty magazine 10:24 about this dynamic, 10:26 it troubles me a little bit 10:27 because it's quite, 10:28 it's a little bit bigger than religion. 10:31 You know, a handshake. 10:32 You know, what a handshake goes back to? 10:34 I do not. 10:36 Why do you shake with your right hand? 10:38 It's my dominant hand. 10:40 It's your weapon hand. 10:41 And so, in the medieval times 10:44 when they started, you know, 10:47 you would carry your weapons with you, 10:48 but if you put a hand 10:50 that would carry your sword normally, 10:51 you were disarmed 10:53 and the other person was disarmed, 10:54 and you will show you're peaceful by that alone, 10:56 and that's why one reason why 10:59 there was this suspicion of a left-handed person 11:01 because he could shake with his right hand 11:03 and still wield his weapon. 11:05 So you're showing that you're disarmed, 11:07 you're vulnerable. 11:08 And this is social convention that we've adopted. 11:11 And now with COVID and the distancing, 11:14 we're unraveling somewhat subliminal, 11:17 even peaceful interchange, 11:22 and I don't think it's good 11:24 and certainly in a worship context, 11:27 where we're pulling back, we're pulling back, 11:30 but it's very good that at least short term 11:32 where we were home watching on the screen. 11:34 Some people are now coming back to church 11:36 under limited circumstances and experiencing the fellowship 11:40 that the Bible says forsake not. 11:45 Tell me again what... 11:47 I touched on it, 11:49 but tell me as a young person, 11:51 how overall, 11:53 what's your thoughts on this panic, 11:55 which is real, but maybe not for you so much. 11:58 Young people don't feel it. 12:00 They've heard many times that it affects older people, 12:03 or people with deep underlying conditions, 12:07 super obesity, or diabetes, now the cancer treatment 12:13 where the immune system is broken 12:15 but the young person, not a real threat. 12:17 So young people 12:18 I sometimes think 12:20 maybe are just frustrated by this, 12:21 like why all the bother, it's not gonna affect me. 12:24 But what do you? 12:25 What's your take on this overall? 12:27 Honestly, for me, 12:29 I agree with partly in the fact 12:31 that it's just a huge bother. 12:34 The masks are hard to breathe through. 12:36 They're uncomfortable and some of them are. 12:40 But mostly, I think 12:41 it's the social distancing that people are, 12:43 especially young people are getting sick and tired of, 12:45 because as I said before, 12:47 we can't hang out with any of our friends. 12:48 We can't do, we can't go to, 12:50 for example, I know, 12:51 girls for example like to go shopping 12:53 at the mall in giant groups. 12:55 They can't do that. 12:56 And men don't like to. Young men or husbands stay. 12:59 Young men like to go, go to car shows 13:01 and oogle and ogle at the brand new cars 13:05 that are there and all the modifications. 13:06 Yeah. 13:07 We know, there's a lot of restrictions. 13:09 Yeah. 13:10 So that's a general social thing. 13:13 But again, how do you think this is affecting religion? 13:18 Do you think it's just something 13:20 we can live through 13:22 or is there deep threat religious practice? 13:25 I believe in the long run. 13:27 In the short run, 13:28 it's something we can live through. 13:30 But in the long run, 13:31 I believe at the end of this whole thing. 13:33 I mean, even think about it, 13:35 our church was so quick to just shut down 13:37 as soon as the government said so. 13:38 Yeah. 13:39 So I believe in the long run, 13:42 we're going to suffer from it 13:44 because the government now knows that 13:46 if they say shut down, we'll shut down. 13:48 That's the risk, isn't it, 13:50 even if it wasn't done with any particular agenda? 13:55 We've shown that 13:56 we're very compliant maybe unnecessarily, so. 13:59 I think at this late point the government or many people, 14:03 there's no one government in government 14:05 may have realized that it was approached wrongly. 14:08 You remember, we were told 14:10 we didn't even need to wear masks once, 14:11 made no difference. 14:13 We were also told to inject bleach indoor assistance. 14:17 Let's hope we were not told, 14:18 that was an inference 14:19 by a rather irresponsible public official, 14:22 but we won't dwell on that. 14:24 But we've lived through the funny time 14:26 there's no question. 14:27 Let's take a break now and stay with us 14:30 and come back and with a young man 14:32 getting an interesting perspective 14:35 on COVID-19 14:37 from a young point of view, 14:38 and also looking at it 14:40 for its ramifications on our practice of faith. |
Revised 2020-09-04