On April 1, Governor Abbott issued an Executive Order “requiring all Texans to stay home unless they are participating in an essential service or activity.” Under pressure from some big church pastors, he declared places of worship an essential business, exempting them from earlier requirements for no large public gatherings. He received a lot of criticism for that. He tried to do some damage control, but there was no change in what was allowed.
Thousands of people (the three churches mentioned have over a thousand members each) can gather and then carry out what they received to the neighboring markets where they go after worship, putting at risk efforts to contain or slow the spread of COVID-19.
What kind of pastor would put their congregation at increased risk for COVID-19 infection? The logic escaped me. A day later, the answer came to me. This isn’t about the health of the congregation in any fashion. This is about the pastors. They can lead worship by any number of video conferencing or even phone conferencing. My church is doing this. The first Sunday it was a bit rough, but has improved to the point where it is satisfying. Their churches probably are already broadcasting to satellite churches. This is about the need of the pastor for attention, even worship.