To Open Or Not To Open: Part 1, It’s a Data-Driven Decision

Houses of Worship all over the world are discerning how and when to open. It doesn’t take more than 30 seconds of thinking about it and the mind gets dizzy! It can certainly feel a bit overwhelming – to say the least. We have been living in a paradigm few if any of us have ever lived in. This makes leading particularly difficult – we don’t know what we don’t know. If you’ve never lead through disaster, it can be daunting to say the least, so we do it together. We ask for help, we reach out and give the skills needed, and we gratefully accept what is being offered, Hence my periodic webinars, If I can be a support with my skill set, I offer it to you, gratefully.

Here is the latest, TO OPEN OR NOT TO OPEN – PART 1

I say Part 1 because this is a loooong journey we are on. There is no one-size-fits-all, but there are things to take into consideration as we move forward.

Here are a few recommendations:

• Think in terms of the next two years… at least
• We will leave our homes, children will go back to school, and we will once again be in community in the flesh
• Economic, psychological, social and ecclesial shifts will be felt for months, years, maybe even decades
• Leaders must think and act less like centralized hubs and more like networks
• There is no quick fix, no normal, not even a NEW normal
• Church has become what is called “Scattered church/Disrupted church” instead of what we have known for centuries as “Centralized Church”
• We are here to learn, unlearn and relearn

This will necessitate large doses of wisdom, courage, and compassion. American futurist Alvin Toffler said, “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.” And so, it is with courage that we must lean into these unprecedented times by being prepared and ready, while also remaining full of hope and expectancy.

More to come in PART 2 and PART 3…

And a few more things to keep in mind, PLEASE:

• Reopening requires
  • Declining cases for 14 days
  • Tracing of 90% of contacts
  • End to healthcare worker infections
  • Recuperation places, where mild to moderate patients are cared for
  • And many other hard-to-reach goals
• No one size fits all
• The next two years will proceed in fits and starts
• Keep PASSION over being “polished” – adopt the mantra “good enough for right now”
• Don’t stop innovating – we are just getting started

VIEW NEXT SEGMENT: Scattered & Disrupted Church: Part 2 To Open Or Not To Open