A major truth in our book Church Scattered: Christianity for 21st century is that we are living through unprecedented disruption. Disruption demands complete transformation personally and professionally and it will not settle for token realignment. This is not about tweaking but tearing down and rebuilding something that is new.
Christian leaders in every area of responsibility are trying to find this new normal. This is happening in every home, church and company. This book was written long before Covid-19 but it embraces the challenging reality for all of us that part of our new normal moving forward is constant change. This network of committed Christians was created to equip you to lead in every area of your life for such a time as this.
The book points out that there are three stages that we all must go through to get to this new normal. You cannot skip or avoid any of the steps if you want to create the best place for you and your family for the future.
Crisis Stage: This is the initial emergency phase when we do whatever it takes for survival. It may mean finding new income or protecting cash and almost always cutting expenses. It’s the home confinement time when you are simply trying to protect your health and just getting through each day not knowing what is next.
Stabilization Stage: This stage provides a degree of relief because we now have created some type of new routine. That may include working from home with zoom meetings, attending virtual worship services and the wearing of masks in public when we go to the grocery store.
The great danger in this stage is to focus too much on what is happening and not hear the voice of the Father on His desire to explain why. He wants to use all of this to permanently change how much we trust Him on Monday and not just on Sunday. We want the pain to stop but He wants the relationship to grow.
Creation Stage: This is the time when you take the hard look at your life and the priorities you have accepted as important. You never again want to take for granted all the relationships in your life and people become more important than profits or pride.
You never again want your primary security and significance to come from work or anything else that can so easily be taken away. Now is the time to put Jesus Christ and knowing Him and making Him known as the absolute priority for the rest of your life.
Since things can never be the same again, why not take this time to create a life that is worth living. As a Christian leader, I challenge every Christian that is reading this not to waste this crisis but to use it as the defining moment in your life for the glory of God and the good of others.