Proverbs 3:5-6

Mike Davies looks at how Covid-19 has changed our lives and what lessons we may learn from it and take into future with us.

Mike Davies

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

In 1962 Thomas Kuhn defined and popularised a concept, 'paradigm shift'. It is a term or concept that is now commonly used to describe one conceptual world view being replaced by another.

The year 2020 will be remembered in history as the year that brought about much change and possibly a life changing paradigm shift.

Churches have certainly quickly learned the benefit of social media. Let's be honest, who had heard of Zoom or Platform meetings in January of this year? For the vast majority Zoom is now an integral part of family, church, and work life.

Online meetings do not bring the closeness of actually meeting face-to-face but they do keep us connected. Within an online meeting there is the chance of speaking and hearing all present. Many have told me that they've got to know people more through online meetings than through years of the occasional chat on a Sunday or mid-week meeting.

Is there something we need to learn from this?

Looking at a typical Sunday pre-Covid 19 there would be the setting up, preparing the teas and coffees, the floors had to be swept, the projectors working correctly. Afterwards a quick cup of coffee, a chat with a few, then packing up and then home.

What was missing? Time. Time to speak to everyone.

Lockdown and online meetings has provided us time.

There is no need to spend time getting ready to go out, to take the dog for a quick walk before heading off to the church meeting, then driving to the venue. During lockdown you can simply turn on the screen and there you are surrounded by the church.

So, what will happen when we return to 'normal'?

Some churches will go back to the way they were. Some will be different to start with but will go back into the way they always did things. Others will be doing something totally new and they have been moved by a paradigm shift.

There is no right or wrong answer.

A crisis of the magnitude of Covid 19 can and will change the course of history. We are in the midst of a dizzying series of shifts, that are so far-reaching it has become difficult to follow.

John F. Kennedy once said, "The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.' One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger--but recognise the opportunity."
Albert Einstein wrote, "In the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity."