As every aspect of our daily lives is being reconsidered and refashioned by the pandemic, churches are rethinking their futures, too.

Or at least they should be. But I’m afraid some are anticipating the days ahead only with a vision of the years behind. And I’m convinced this just won’t work.

My thinking on this was influenced by the recent mentoring retreat I attended with Cal Jernigan. As I’ve mentioned before, I get together several times a year with Cal and five other preachers to talk about our lives and ministries. This November the talk naturally included discussions of Covid-19’s impact on the work of the local church. Cal encouraged us to think of our ministries in terms of Pre-Covid, Covid, and Post-Covid. And he helped us realize that Post-Covid ministry will look altogether different than the Pre version.

Church, Leadership, LifeTrevor DeVageNovember 18, 2020church, covid, corona, pandemic, church plant, exhaustion, exhausted, overcoming, new, fresh, starting, pursue, pre-covid, post-covid, possibility, 2021, 2020Comment

WHY BE NORMAL? SPECIAL GUEST POST BY MARK TAYLOR

Last week Trevor challenged the church not to seek or settle for a “new normal” in how we do ministry. To his way of thinking, “normal” is not where the church belongs at all. Instead, like the growth of his teenage daughters, he says the church should “progress through one change after another in the coming years. . . . The goal is not to settle into normal, the goal is to progress through life.”

I keep coming back to those words. Does the notion of No New Normal really apply to everyday life? Does it work for me?

I hope so. I’m beginning to see how his insights can apply personally to my life—and maybe to some other readers of his blog as well. Trevor’s points from last week make a good outline for my thoughts, too.

Church, Leadership, LifeTrevor DeVageMay 13, 2020normal, complacency, covid, corona, new, leadership, church, .iveComment

Trevor DeVage

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