“Politically, economically, socially and culturally, normal was dying long before COVID. The disruption of a global pandemic was the final nail in normal’s coffin.”

Carey Nieuwhof

There has been a lot of talk about the “new normal” of late. Some are looking forward to it while others are waiting to get back to the old normal. Those advocating the creation of a new normal acknowledge that things haven’t always been great for many people in society.

For example, even though it’s called civil society doesn’t mean that it is very civil. Related to this is the fragmentation of society that gets more and more obvious each day. The general population’s introduction to lockdown-related isolation reveals that many people were already isolated in the old normal — it’s just that no one really paid them much attention.

In the church, there was an emphasis on what can be called Temple Spirituality — where church is what happens inside the four walls of the church — rather than realizing that the functionality of the church happens outside the four walls too. Related to this is the fact that the church has often outsourced its pastoring to professionals and neglected the priesthood of all believers.

What parts of normal are you not looking forward to returning?

What parts of the new normal are you looking forward to embracing?