A Letter from the BGAV President

by Adam Tyler

A year. A year of our lives. A year unlike any we’ve ever experienced before. A year hopefully unlike any we will ever see again.

As I write this in early March 2021, I reflect on what the last year has revealed…about me.

At times, I have been despondent, cynical, or even rebellious. I chafed under restrictions even as I trusted the science and kept not just my welfare, but the welfare of the people around me and the flock of God under my charge, at the forefront of my mind. I complained when the drive-thru line at McDonald’s was too long (because nobody could go inside), and I grumbled when my child’s school delayed reopening after Christmas break because of the spike of Covid-19 cases in our area. I despaired and, at times, grew angry when I saw the antagonism in my own community and in my virtual community, as important conversations–public health, racial justice, fiscal responsibility, truth itself–became political firestorms that damaged or even destroyed relationships. It has been a hard year, and sometimes I chose to respond to the difficulties in less-than-helpful ways.

At other times, I have been overjoyed. I saw our congregation, my friends and family, largely live out their love for one another by taking the pandemic seriously. Our church, like many others in our BGAV family, turned to new tools for ministry and new avenues of worship engagement with a sense of Christlike adventure and a can-do attitude. I experienced deep gratitude for the people in my life who showed a renewed concern for the people around them in need. I had many moments of deep contentment as my young family, during several periods of increased isolation, drew closer together over nature hikes, board games, and stacks of children’s books; there was a bubble of family togetherness that has been precious. These were the moments that I chose to respond with a heart open to thanksgiving.

As I reflect on this, I realize that the reality I lived in didn’t change between the two responses. Covid-19 was still running rampant through our society, social unrest and political conflict still coarsened our public discourse, and the anxieties and legitimate worries of life continued. Yet in how I chose to respond, I shaped my own experience of the past year, a shaping that affected my relationships with God, family, church, and friends.

I have talked with many Virginia Baptists over the past year, mostly at a distance through Zoom, phone calls, emails, or social media. I have heard great stories of God at work in our churches and our communities. But I have also heard more stories than I’d care to admit of how relationships have been damaged, churches hurt, ministries derailed, and communities divided. The reality around the people involved in both sets of tales were the same. What was the difference between the two types of stories? How they chose to look at the world—and how they chose to respond in their circumstances.

The apostle Paul wrote what many scholars think is the earliest New Testament writing that we have—1 Thessalonians—to a people wrestling with many challenges. Not least among their concerns was a deep sense of grief over brothers and sisters in Christ who had died before Christ returned. Paul wrote to encourage their faith, even as he fully expected there to be more trouble ahead. As he closed his letter to the Thessalonian Christians, he urged them:

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thes. 5:16-18)

The perspective of Christian hope, which Paul describes here, changes how we live through moments of crisis—for the better. The choice to live that perspective is ours. Which will we choose?

Adam Tyler is the 2021 BGAV President.