New Challenges for a New Day

When will it be over? When will life return to “normal”? By now most of us are coming to the realization that normal as we have known it is unlikely to return anytime soon. We continue to live with the ripples of Covid-19 even as we are warned about variants that could cause another lockdown full or partial.

Dr. Henry Cloud noted in his recent presentation to the Global Leadership Summit that psychologists agree that about 40% of Americans are struggling with some form of mental illness. I recently saw an article that raised that estimate to 60%. People are frightened, anxious, experiencing varying degrees of depression and struggling with an uncertain future. The upheaval of Covid coupled with political conflict and the loss of trust in so many government institutions all have contributed to these feelings.

It is into this context we are sent to carry out our calling and the mission that Christ gave to his church. We are not the first generation of God followers to face such upheaval and uncertainty. The Psalmist describes the emotions of living in such times and offers insight in how to cope with it. Remember the book of Acts was written in a time of religions and political persecution.

We don’t get to choose our reality, but we do get to choose how we respond to it. Like the early church perhaps it is time to turn our focus from the institution of the church and instead focus on ministry to people in the 60% where and how we find them. Our churches may not look the same and our “pre-Covid” attenders may not return, but there is a great harvest of frightened and anxious people who are seeking some reason to hope. Our future lies not in returning to a “normal” from the past but in embracing the challenges of the present and pointing people to the God who is in control in the midst of this chaos.