Certainly, there are a lot of unknowns with COVID-19 and the aftermath that will follow. However, one thing I think we all know now is that the world will never be the same. Let’s fast-forward and try to peek into the future. What is it that will be so different?
Let’s say we have gotten past all of the phases and that a vaccine for COVID-19 has been developed. Then what? Can we meet again and pack out restaurants, stadiums, and theaters? Yes, we can, but the question will then be, “Do we want to?”
What COVID-19 has done to the world is speed up the virtual side of reality. The digital side is and has been catching up to the physical side. Before COVID-19, you could already order your groceries online. You could already attend a virtual church. You could already watch most of your sporting events live from within the confines of your own living room. The difference in the future, I think, is that all of these events will have been amped up to make an amazing interactive experience even more breathtaking.
I can see a world that will one day return to normal, but not the same normal we have been used to. I envision a world where people can still sit side-by-side and pack out restaurants, stadiums, and theaters. But, I also see a world where many people will prefer curbside pickup/delivery, attending virtual sporting events that make them feel like they are part of the action on the field, and watching on-demand movies from wherever they want to. Perhaps one day, the virtual does eclipse the physical. But, I don’t think that’s today.
And what about church? It will be the same. Some people will still want to attend their church at the church building, but others will prefer to attend their church digitally. This is the new reality we all have to get used to and the reality that we have to embrace. We must be able to minister at and away from church, both online and offline for the foreseeable future.
At the breath-neck speed and high-pace that America was going before COVID-19, I don’t think the brick & mortar philosophy could have kept up. Take schools, for example. With ever expanding student populations and lower county budgets, it was never going to be financially sustainable to keep building.
I could imagine a scenario playing out like this one for education in the future: Imagine students attending their school buildings the first week of school for two days a week and then completing online work at home for the other three. Then imagine students flip-flopping and going to school three days a week in week two of the school year and then doing online work the other two. Imagine this flip-flop experience happening every week for the remainder of the school year. In this manner, twice the amount of students could be taught while half the amount of buildings would need to go up.
I think this scenario is the same for many industries and sectors. Would you build a stadium that fits 200,000 people, 300,000? This is why you will see more and more people working remotely from home. What we were doing just wasn’t going to be sustainable.
Sure, there are going to be some things we don’t like about our new world. But, we must realize God is in control and is using circumstances for our good (Rom 8:28). Sometimes, less is more. Slowing down is good, family time is good, and learning life skills is good. As Americans, many of us had grown comfortable and become spoiled. Now, some of our fat is being trimmed. We are already hearing about possible food shortages. Sure, we may miss some of our luxuries, but if it causes us to look up more, that can be a good thing. We can learn to depend on God and trust him more. In the same way, we can adapt and become more proficient with our new digital realities and landscape.