For the past few months, I’ve been repeatedly hearing phrases like “things are going to be different as a result of this pandemic” and “when we come out of this thing, normal won’t be what normal used to be.” My guess is the online delivery system will become a much more recognized and accepted part of public education. Many companies have undoubtedly determined they don’t need to spend as much money on buildings and office space as they have in the past, as their employees can work remotely from their homes. And, obviously, church is going to be different as well.
I’m no fortune-teller or prognosticator, but here are some things—as I’ve been thinking about the situation—where Covid has impacted the church. We’ve experienced some changes by necessity, and it feels like a number of them are going to be a part of the landscape going forward.
First—everything I read says that in-person attendance at church isn’t going to bounce back to where it was. Most experts seem to think that when we officially come out of the pandemic, worship gatherings will be at a level about 20% less than they were before the pandemic began. Many who have opted to attend church online will continue to do so. Many who got out of the habit will not pick it back up. The numbers of people who physically gather in person will be down significantly.
One of the implications of this is the expansion and increase of a trend that has already started—namely the nature of outreach. What has been happening—and what, I believe, will continue to emerge in the coming years—is that the way people invite others to engage with the local church will change dramatically. No longer will people begin by saying, “Hey—you should come with me,” but many of them will say “Hey—why don’t you check this out online?” Not to say the personal invitation will vanish entirely, but for many the digital invitation will precede and go ahead of any personal invitation. While I believe effective outreach will always have a relational component to it, this additional preliminary step will be added.
Second—the appearance and feel of the worship service, from an online perspective is going to be much more critical. With people more readily checking out what goes on at the church online before they ever set foot inside the door, the quality and character of what we project online is enhanced. While those that are part of the church may tolerate and overlook some bad lighting issues and/or sketchy sound, those that aren’t typically won’t be as forgiving. While a church of 100 won’t have the resources and budget for technology that a church of 1000 has, it still needs to be done with quality and excellence. We don’t get a second chance to make a first impression and, in the years to come, the first impression will more often be made digitally rather than in person.
A byproduct of this, that is cause for some concern, is that the future will likely be marked by an increased consumerism. When it comes to church, many people expect to be served rather than to serve. The church is viewed by many as an entity that dispenses services rather than a movement designed to enlist service. The egotism and narcissism that has pervaded our culture is reflected in the way people view the church—their selfishness and fixed preferences. Much of discipleship will be to lead people to a place where they realize and come to embrace that it’s not about them.
Which leads to a third—and also very concerning—belief I have about the post-Covid church. My fear is unity going forward, in many churches, will be based on political ideology instead of theological truth. One of the unfortunate realities of the Covid pandemic is that it became politically divisive—mask or no mask … gather or don’t gather … vaccine or no vaccine. Many pastors were placed in what felt like a no-win situation—i.e., no matter what steps they took in response to the threat of Covid, if they didn’t do what an individual wanted, they were accused of siding with “them.” The result is that a number of people began to base whether they fit in a church not on the basis of theology or doctrine, but on the basis of where they perceive fellow attenders stand politically or on certain cultural issues.
This is tremendously concerning to me, as part of the uniqueness of the church has been that our unity is not synonymous with uniformity or unanimity. Our belief in the preeminence of Jesus, and the conviction that our allegiance to Him should rise above all the lesser things that divide us, has been our defining attribute. It has been the anticipated glue that is supposed to hold people of every tribe, tongue, class, and nation—people with different gifts, interests, and viewpoints—together. But the pandemic has caused many professing Christ-followers to cleave to those who see the world through their lens and disparage and/or break fellowship with those who see it differently. In a world where many in the surrounding society are tired of political partisanship and looking for something that will rise above the demonization and bickering, the church has in many places opted to mirror the values of the surrounding society rather than the principles of the Kingdom.
For instance, in one of the churches I pastored some years ago, I encountered a fair amount of opposition and resistance from a segment of the congregation. Some months after leaving, I was having dinner with a former attender/friend who told me of the time he overheard a conversation between two guys who were part of the resistance. One of them said something to the other to the effect of, “He needed to leave, for Pastor John was politically left of where (name of church) is.” That very statement indicated that, in their minds, our unity was based more on political ideology than theology—on earthly, rather than heavenly, matters. My fear is that’s going to become even more pronounced in the wake of Covid. And I also fear it’s going to tarnish our witness and diminish our impact as well.
The world is different as a result of what we’ve been through the last eighteen months. Some of those changes are OK and some are not. Some of those changes must be recognized as part of the landscape going forward and engaged, and some must be resisted and opposed. My prayer is God will give us the awareness to respond appropriately to those changes that are the outgrowth of a shifting society but not ruinous, but also the conviction to stand firm against those things that chip away at the very fabric of who we’re called to be and, as a result, are potentially deadly.