Learning to Play the Game Without the Queen

What can chess teach us about the local church?

In chess, removing the queen forces players to rely on the strategic effectiveness of other pieces. While the queen is powerful, over-reliance on her can overshadow the importance of pawns, knights, and other pieces. Mastering the game without the queen fosters talent, skill, and a deeper understanding of chess.

For the Western Protestant church, the "queen" has been our Sunday gatherings. Community, prayer, worship, and teaching all find a central place in these gatherings, making them our most powerful piece. However, during COVID-19, we lost this central piece. Many panicked, feeling lost without the familiar structure of Sunday services.

As an associate pastor of a large church, I witnessed the stress in our leadership. Sunday services were a place of confidence and comfort. Losing them was daunting. Personally, I saw this as an opportunity to shift focus to smaller, relational aspects of ministry. I tweeted, "When learning chess, take away the queen and you really learn the game. For the church, the queen has been our Sunday gatherings. During #COVID-19 we’ve lost the piece we’re most confident with, now we really need to learn the game!"

We ramped up care initiatives, leaned on small groups, attended to tangible needs, and prayed with the sick, often over the phone. Amidst the sorrow and heartbreak, something beautiful emerged. We started to truly embody the hands and feet of Christ. As Charles Dickens wrote, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

However, not all responded this way. Some leaned into a persecution complex. One pastor suggested meeting in secret if public services were banned. This led to a tragic situation where one church I knew held a large unsanctioned gathering, resulting in several COVID-19 cases and deaths. Similarly, I recall tearing up and praying as I watched the emotional apology and warning video from a youth pastor which had gathered his youth group, leading to a heartbreaking loss when one of the young attendees who succumbed to the virus in the following weeks.

The focus on online services, while beneficial in some ways, often felt like life support. It diverted attention from other vital aspects of ministry, sometimes encouraging a shallow, individualistic view of faith.

We had an opportunity to learn to "play the game" of church well, using all the pieces. But many were distracted, trying to keep the "queen" alive. For some, the game dragged on long enough to revive the queen. For others, it ended, Covid was checkmate. But for a rare few, they truly learned to play the game, using more pieces than ever before.

The Bible teaches us to adapt and find strength in difficult times. James 1:2-4 (ESV) encourages us, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." Similarly, 1 Peter 1:6-7 (ESV) reminds us, "In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

COVID-19 was, and in many cases continues to be, a horrible trial. However, our trials give us an opportunity to grow, to rely on all the valuable pieces, the diverse tools and resources God has given us, and to truly learn how to be the church. In many cases, the church got distracted by survival mode during COVID, but let’s not get distracted now. What we lost can inspire what we can become. The trial isn’t over. As we’ve emerged from the pandemic, we’ve been met with a different type of health crisis. Mental health is worse than ever, and our big piece, the Sunday service, isn’t the cure (although it can be part of it). It’s time for the church to diversify its capabilities, to improve our ability to support holistic health of mind, body, and spirit, to help those who cannot help themselves, and to move forward together. The game is not over; in some ways, it’s just beginning, so let's play with the confidence that “…for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28, ESV).