What’s ahead in 2022?

2020 was so traumatic, and 2021 was a deepening of that, that many people are wondering on day one of this new year, “What’s ahead in 2022?”

Of course, only God knows for sure. But based on trends, we can make some informed and educated guesses (keyword: “guesses). Following are some thoughts about the potential for 2022 based on what we’ve seen and experienced at Scott Free Clinic over the past couple years:

We’re likely to see the greatest need for mental health services we’ve ever seen in our lives. That’s because, without question, the onset of the pandemic in 2020 was traumatic; that, coupled with other significant issues, we actually saw a greater manifestation of that trauma in lives during 2021, and that hasn’t been healed or dealt with. In fact, we haven’t begun to address the massive issue of a mental health crisis that existed prior to the pandemic morphing into what we have now — a mental health disaster.

Buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy ride for a long time when it comes to mental health.

Change in the church will be a necessity that’s embraced or decline, even closure, will quickly follow. The pandemic provided a unique opportunity for the church to learn several very important lessons it needed to learn but, to date, we’re not seeing much progress in learning those lessons. Here’s a bottom line “new normal” reality that needs to be grasped: It’s time to bury the “church growth movement” and replace it with making disciples. Churches that begin to “get” that, and embrace it, have the potential to flourish; those that refuse to accept that fact will likely decline quickly, even to the point of having to close permanently. If they are stubborn enough to refuse to make the changes that should have been made long (even decades) ago, then they’ll deserve the consequence of fading out of existence.

However, while we’ve been on a long journey of being “hot” about church planting, there is a fast-growing new seriousness about revitalizing declining churches. We’ll likely see the biggest effort in this area that we’ve seen in decades. That’s a good thing.

Lifestyle changes will continue to be abundant. Actually have to spend time with the spouse? Actually have to spend time with the kids? Work from my kitchen table? You mean I don’t have to live in a major metropolitan area to make a “decent” living?

Many have responded to such questions by improving their relationships, choosing flex schedules or to permanently work from home, or to move out of the city or state they thought they were “stuck” in — and millions have chosen to quit their jobs in search of something either “better” or “different.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg of how people are introducing some fairly significant changes to their lifestyles. Not all those changes — like choosing to drop out of attending church — have been good. But many people are just getting started at choosing to make some changes in how they live their lives. We’ll likely see much more of this in the year ahead.

Persistent anxiety — some of it healthy! In a very negative and detrimental way, levels of anxiety and depression have reached record levels over the last couple years. But some anxiety can actually be good for us — like the nerves a student feels before taking a test can make them focus more sharply, etc. a continuation in changes being introduced in how we live will keep a persistent strain of anxiety in our lives until we reach a place where we settle more into a “new normal.” Key will be to manage stress, and keep anxiety to healthy experiences as much as possible.

Some of the “next big things” might be just around the corner. History teaches us that often during times of great upheavals we become more creative and innovate more. Sometimes that’s just to survive, but often those pushes of creativity and innovation move us to progress in various ways and out of that comes the “next big thing.” Because of the striking need for change that exists today, don’t be surprised if we see some incredible creativity and innovations in the near future.

The big question in your life is, what’s ahead in 2022 for YOU?

Pray about it.

Think on it.

And may the coming year be everything God wants for you.

Happy New Year!

Scotty