Time for a New Normal

Returning to normal after such a historic moment would be nothing short of missing one of the greatest opportunities of our lifetime.

As states have begun varied and nuanced approaches to reopening businesses, parks, and more, we find ourselves asking more and more "How do we move forward?" I'm concerned about life after the pandemic, but my concern is in a direction that may surprise you.

Many say they are concerned that after the pandemic the church will never be the same again. Some wonder, for instance, if the day of the large church is over. The thing that resonates with me is the statement that the church will "never be the same again."

I'm more concerned the church will be the same again. Let me explain. For 2,000 years, we've had epidemics or pandemics. What's happened in and during and after the pandemics hasn't drastically changed the structure of church for most of the previous 2,000 years.

We built cathedrals and gathered in them. Then the Black Death came. After the Black Death, we gathered in cathedrals again. Don't assume the church was unaware that gathering together accelerated the spread of sickness. They might not have known about flattening the curve, but they knew that gathering together exposed them to more illness.

I'm less concerned that the church will be forever changed and more concerned that we will snap right back into the status quo. Why? Because the best predictor of future behavior is the immediate past.

History doesn't always repeat itself, but it tends to rhyme. We must not go back to normal. Instead, we must take the best of what we are seeing now and continue those things. Let me share three things that I hope we will keep moving forward.

First, that God’s people would be deployed.

God's people are deployed at a higher level, a more faithful level, and a more fruitful …

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