Welcome to The MHB Podcast. This is Michael Baun. And welcome to my 131st episode. In this episode I want to talk about how to approach life after a pandemic. I’ll readily admit that this episode has been difficult for me. Data is coming in and things are changing so quickly that it’s not easy to track where this crisis is going. But even though the particulars of this pandemic are like shifting sand, there remains some solid principles we can talk about as we move forward. This episode is going to explore my long-term strategy for handling this moment and the days to come. Every challenge in life presents opportunities to grow, but it’s up to us to take advantage of those opportunities. The COVID-19 pandemic will likely prove to be the most challenging crisis of our generation. The magnitude of this challenge means there will be even greater opportunities to learn. It is absolutely possible for us to come out of this disaster even stronger and smarter than we were before it happened. But we must approach it calmly, carefully, and thoughtfully. I want to walk you through some ideas on how you can improve yourself as an individual, and show you how these improvements will work to strengthen the social fabric itself. If we do this correctly then we will become a nation that meets and exceeds the stability we had before coronavirus. We can also become more resilient to future pandemics.
If you’ve been paying attention for the past few weeks, you know that we’re facing twin dangers and not just one singular threat. On the one hand we have the virus. This virus, SARS-nCoV-2, will likely plague our population until we have a vaccine. We don’t know much about how the heat of summer will affect this virus. Many viruses degrade in the heat and summer time works to reduce the spread. Some experts suggest the lipid layer of the virus will become distorted in the heat therefore causing the virus to die on surfaces faster. Others say this lipid layer will function like insulation, making the virus resistant to heat. At the time of this podcast, we’re still waiting on more data before we come to a conclusion on whether the coronavirus will survive the heat of summer. If summer brings a lull to the infection rate, we will likely see a resurgence in the fall when temperatures drop again. Epidemiologists call this the second wave. Fortunately, the second wave of coronavirus won’t take us by surprise and we’ll be ready for it. Every day that goes by brings us closer to effective therapeutics, efficient testing methods, and ultimately a vaccine.
In the weeks ahead the U.S. Federal Government is going to begin recommending that certain states lift their shutdown restrictions. You need to understand this doesn’t mean going back to normal. The ease of these restrictions is likely going to involve further guidance like wearing a mask, avoiding crowds, and keeping the vulnerable in quarantine. Anything can happen, but as of this moment I don’t see a way for us to go back to normal until after we have a vaccine. You need to prepare yourself for this on a psychological level. One of the negative consequences of these stay-at-home orders is they make people feel extremely vulnerable. The first step in easing this anxiety is understanding that contracting coronavirus does not mean you’re automatically going to die. The vast majority of people who become infected simply recover on their own without a hospital. The stay-at-home order was never about protecting you from a violently lethal illness. It was only meant to flatten the infection curve so that all of us didn’t get sick at the same time. We have about 925,000 staffed hospital beds in the United States. The CDC’s models predicted infection rates that would result in approximately 2.4 to 21 million people in need of hospitalization. That’s why the government shut everything down. Not because COVID-19 is a death sentence. So you need to bear in mind that coronavirus is nothing like Ebola or any other especially deadly virus.
The other piece necessary for your feeling safe in public is the understanding that this virus isn’t seeking you out. It has no free will or agency. It’s just a particle – nothing more. This means that your personal protective measures are highly effective in preventing your infection. You only need to remember two things to minimize your risk of infection. First, wash your hands every time you enter your house and do not touch your face while outside of your house. Second, keep a buffer zone of about six feet between yourself and other people when in public. Physical distance is your best weapon against respiratory viruses. If you practice those two strategies religiously, you’ll always be ahead of this virus. The shutdowns are likely going to be lifted while the virus is still coursing through our population. You can save yourself from the negative psychological effects of going back to work by remembering that this virus is not automatically deadly and your personal protective measures do actually work.
Since lifting the shutdowns does not mean going back to normal, you need to do your best to maintain your shutdown infrastructure. Over the past few weeks you’ve likely developed protocols for working from home. Don’t delete your Zoom accounts or throw out your webcams yet. You should continue using this infrastructure as much as you can in order to limit your exposure to the virus. Many churches have launched online services in the wake of this disaster. It would be wise for you to continue attending church online rather than going into a crowded sanctuary. New Rochelle is a suburb outside of New York City. It has nowhere near the same population density as New York City – yet New Rochelle still suffered a severe outbreak. Through contact-tracing the authorities were able to determine that New Rochelle’s outbreak was caused by just one infected person attending a church service. Some estimates suggest that one contagious person can spread the virus to as many as forty people during the course of their illness. If you’re in the vulnerable class of people, it’s not safe to go back to church until we have a vaccine or until something else changes.
Pastors need to keep this in mind as well. You’d be doing your congregation a potentially deadly disservice if you admonish them to return to church too soon. The shutdowns aren’t being lifted because the virus threat is passed, the shutdowns are being lifted because our economy can no longer sustain the shutdowns. I would advise all pastors and church leaders to continue their innovative approach to streaming services online. If you have elderly or vulnerable people in your congregation, tell them it’s okay to stay home because they are still at risk. I think this same advise is going to be part of the CDC’s guidelines once the shutdowns are lifted. Church leaders need to be prepared with a long-term strategy because it’s possible you won’t see physical attendance for 12-18 months. This means developing a plan for one-on-one visitations for those in the vulnerable class. You need to learn about the proper use of personal protective equipment like masks and gloves. You can safely visit vulnerable members if you practice fastidious precautions. Don’t neglect the online outreach that you’ve built during this shutdown. Whether you know it or not you’ve discovered possibly the most powerful evangelistic tool by switching to online ministry. The most influential voices in our culture are found online. As a pastor, you definitely need to be in that pool of influential voices.
Maintaining your shutdown infrastructure applies to all people – not just churchgoers and pastors. Virtual meeting platforms like Zoom have seen massive increases in utilization over the past weeks. If you’ve never used video meeting software before chances are you’ve been required to learn in order to stay connected with your workplace and your family. I think it would be a very good idea to keep these programs in place and continue to learn more about them. If you’re an employer listening to this, take some time to notice all of the functions your business has been able to perform without physically gathering. For many elements of work, video meetings are both more efficient and more resilient. I’ll talk more about resilience later. One thing we’ve noticed since the shutdown is the toll traveling takes on our bodies and relationships. People who once spent a significant portion of their time traveling are now staying home and reconnecting with their loved ones in a deeper way. Overnight we’ve all be forced to learn how to be content and comfortable at home. This is not a bad thing. Developing a good home life provides you with the safety, stability, and peace of mind that is often denied to you in our fast-paced world. Keep looking for ways to improve your home life even after this crisis is over – you won’t regret it.
Many advanced employers have been leveraging the work-from-home model with great success for years. One example is the company called Automattic. Automattic is the developer behind WordPress. Automattic employs over one thousand people and WordPress powers approximately 36% of all websites on the internet. Their entire workforce is 100% distributed which means each employee works from wherever he or she wants to. Automattic has enjoyed success the likes of which cannot be achieved in a traditional office environment.
The founder of Automattic, Matt Mullenweg, describes the transition into a distributed workforce in five progressive levels. Level one is non-intentional forced distribution. This includes everyone who was leaving home to go into work right up until the government ordered the shutdowns. They’ve had to scramble to learn Zoom and other workforce distribution programs. Level one employees and employers are typically uncomfortable and unable to use workforce programs to their greatest potential. Level two includes companies that intentionally become distributed, but try to replicate the old-style office environment online. These companies might have seminars and training videos in an attempt to make their employees more comfortable using the software. Even still, level two organizations fail to distribute in a way that achieves maximum potential.
A level three distributed workforce begins to understand the nuances of what makes this kind of office function so well. They invest in better computer equipment as well as software. They learn how to use elements like screen sharing so they can increase employee cohesion. These organizations understand the critical importance of good reading and writing skills. Maybe most importantly they invest in good audio equipment. It’s actually possible to have a microphone that allows you to work in a noisy house full of kids and pets without anyone on the other side being able to hear them. Good audio and video equipment basically eliminates the technological barrier that makes you feel like you’re on a video chat. The difference is like trying to read a book on your smart phone, which wasn’t designed for reading, versus reading a book on a dedicated e-reader. The dedicated e-reader makes a world of difference.
Level four organizations learn how to become asynchronous. You’re probably used to doing Zoom or Skype meetings with people in real-time. There’s often pain associated with making sure everyone gets connected properly. But an asynchronous organization functions more like a hub with many spokes. It no longer matters how or when employees choose to complete their projects – just that they complete their projects by the deadline. Instructions and finished products are moved from the spokes to the hub where they are shared and comprehended by the group. Level four organizations are able to use programs like Slack instead of traditional email. If you combined group-chats and forums you would come out with something like Slack. Instead of depending on email, Slack allows you to organize your company’s projects by channels. Every employee can review the channels at any time to see all correspondence that has been sent regarding any particular project. Slack gives you an environment to see what’s going on in the company without having to wait for an email to be sent to your inbox.
This is just one of the tools that allows you and your employees to become asynchronous. Asynchronous organizations are superior to synchronous ones because asynchronicity allows your employees to use their time more efficiently. It gives them time to mull over ideas rather than providing an immediate, reactionary response. It also allows you to get the valuable perspective of employees who are too introverted to speak up during a live meeting. But probably the best benefit is that it allows your organization to go from 8-hour productivity to 24-hour productivity. You can work with people all over the world regardless of time-zones because your productivity isn’t shackled by everyone being online at the same time. Never again will you or your employees have to miss important family events because of work. Never again will your workers be required to contribute to high-value targets during moments when they aren’t functioning at their best. In just about every way asynchronous distributed offices are superior and smarter than the traditional mode of working.
Level five organizations are the top of the mountain when it comes to distributed work. These companies are both asynchronous and able to integrate elements that would be impossible at a traditional office. These organizations are able to give their employees full-control of their own work environment. One of the problems with traditional offices is that not everyone’s productivity is tied to the same things. Some people work better with music on. Some work better in silence. Some work better knowing that their kids are safe. Some work better when they get to do some exercise in between projects. This subjectivity from person-to-person means that no traditional office is going to be set up for optimal performance across every individual worker. You don’t have this problem when your workforce is distributed and each employee can tailor his or her workspace individually. The one major fear most employers have about distributing their workforce is that their employees will become less productive. But for level four and level five organizations the opposite is true. It’s hard to calculate how much time has been wasted in traditional work spaces when an employee has to punch in eight hours of time for three hours of work. The truth is that a distributed workforce has always been superior to the traditional model but up until this moment we’ve lacked the technology to do it. I understand that some work has to be completed in-person, but many companies can become fully distributed today if they simply understand how and have the faith to take the plunge. Your company may be burning thousands or millions of dollars because of your fear to make the change. A distributed workforce is something you’ve been forced to explore over these past few weeks. My suggestion is that you work to refine it and improve it rather than abandoning it when this is over. Oh, and one last benefit to this style of working: it’s pandemic-proof. You won’t have to shut down during the next viral outbreak.
There’s just no reason to suggest that unlocking extra time by completing your projects more efficiently isn’t the right direction to go in. The most important factor in whether or not your organization functions well is whether or not it’s composed of high-functioning individuals. Without having to expend time and energy on redundancies, your employees will be able to shore up areas of their life that needed some extra attention. This will result in team members that are developed in a more well-rounded way. Communication, productivity, and workplace morale will all see improvements as a consequence. On a more philanthropic and global scale, we could refit the massive amounts of unused office space to provide better housing for those in need. The world was very rapidly transitioning to an online infrastructure before this pandemic, and the virus is just another very good reason to make the change. I don’t think we can resist the phasing out of brick-and-mortar shops and offices – so either we get thrust into a distributed workforce involuntarily at level one, or we take advantage of this shutdown to build up our infrastructure and abilities so that we can be ahead of the game.
At the very least, having this type of workplace even as a back-pocket alternative gives your company some stability and resiliency in the face of another global outbreak. How many restaurants lost more money than they needed to because their take-out and delivery services weren’t up and running at shutdown? How many companies were faced with decreased communication between employees because they didn’t know how to use these programs? Imagine a world where something like coronavirus could come out of Wuhan and the U.S. economy is resilient and adaptive enough to avoid shutdown altogether. We need to get these strategies in place because it’s highly likely coronavirus is not going to be our last pandemic.
Even in my own neighborhood I’m seeing indicators of how thoughtless certain companies’ reactions have been. A good example is one-way grocery store aisles. Someone needs to tell the committee that one-way grocery store aisles do nothing but increase the spread of virus. The rationale behind one-way grocery store aisles is that it makes social distancing more effective. This is so incredibly short-sighted it boggles the mind that an idea this bad could make it into large-scale implementation. Think about this for a moment. If grocery store aisles are one-way then a sick person has to travel twice as far to get to their desired products. This means the infected person covers twice as much territory in the store. It also means the sick person spends twice as much time in the store. Barricading walkways so that you funnel all foot traffic through the same spaces virtually guarantees that you’re going to expose everyone in the store to a single person’s virus. How could they possibly think this was a good idea? Why not just tell people to maintain six feet of social distance and patrol the store to make sure groups of people aren’t standing around chatting? These kinds of blunders are a direct consequence of companies being fully unprepared to handle a disaster like this. Don’t make these mistakes yourself.
I want to talk a little bit more about resilience. I don’t know about you, but up until this pandemic I was not building my life around resilience. I was building it around efficiency. And sometimes efficiency and resilience do not fall hand-in-hand. A good example here is the prepper. A prepper is a person who stockpiles goods for potential disasters. People who invest in these kinds of things are sacrificing their ability to invest in other things. When there is no disaster this can look like a silly waste of resources fueled by fear. But at this moment I humbly admit that I was wrong to view them this way. One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned throughout this outbreak is the value of being prepared. I mean have you seen how long the traffic lines are at the food banks in major cities? I cannot fathom the level of anxiety and frustration those people are feeling in those lines. And the simple truth is that many of them would have avoided this anxiety if they had kept a storehouse of food and supplies. The panic-buying of toilet paper was another example of this problem. There’s never been a shortage of toilet paper or paper towels. The problem emerged when shoppers started seeing other shoppers buying up huge amounts of toilet paper. This caused the masses to start fearing a potential shortage and so everyone started buying more than they needed. It was a chain reaction that never needed to happen. If most people kept a stockpile of toilet paper before this pandemic then this rush on paper products would have never occurred.
I want to talk briefly about the elements of a good emergency supply. Again I’m not saying you should go out and panic-buy all of this stuff now. Do it slowly, calmly, and methodically. You should try to stock enough supplies so you and your family can last three months. The reason for three months is that most likely your neighbor or someone you know is going to need your help. In reality this means your stock is going to last about thirty days. Build your menu of breakfast, lunch, and dinner based on foods that you like to eat. Don’t forget to include various medicines you might need. Also remember to stock up on dog food and paper products. Bottled water is a good idea as well. Buy some storage containers so you can keep your supplies ready to move in case you need to evacuate. These containers should be transparent so you can see the contents inside. Tape labels to the containers all the way around so you can see them even if they’re stacked. Make sure each container is small enough that even a ten year old can lift it. Rotate your products according to expiration date as you use them to prolong their freshness. It’s best to build this supply a little bit at a time when there’s not a crisis going on. But if you must do it now, remember to shop responsibly and think about the needs of your neighbors.
Another way to build for resilience is to transform your financial goals. Instead of buying a new car every three years, you should take care of the car you have and save that money. The idea here is to assume another catastrophic event is going to happen in the future. If you factor potential crises into your decision making, you’d be surprised how much differently you behave. We also need to start thinking about getting away from rogue nations like China. American materialism has entangled our economic strategy with China. Our dependence on China likely factored into their decision to resist cooperation throughout this disaster. Our dependence on China is what caused our shortage of personal protective equipment for health care workers. How do we disentangle ourselves from China? The key here is transforming our purchasing habits. Never has the demand to buy American meant more than it does right now. This may mean making your devices last longer. It may mean taking care of your phone so that you don’t have to upgrade every two years. You have to keep in mind the only reason companies like Apple and Google continuously produce new devices each year is because people buy them. If the majority of consumers were oriented around keeping their devices for a long time rather than upgrading to the latest and greatest, then companies would start manufacturing devices that prioritize longevity. The key to having cars, laptops, and phones that last longer is demanding companies to produce them. Reforming our own consumption habits is the most important step toward a powerful economy that is functionally independent of China.
I want to say a few things about obsolete habits. There are many norms in our society that are making us vulnerable to disasters like pandemics. The handshake is a good example here. Do we really need to shake hands every time we see someone in public? Are there really no better ways to do this? Since the outbreak began the namaste from of greeting has become more popular. It’s a greeting that likely originates in Hindu culture and it’s just a simple bow. No touching involved. Obviously I’m not telling you to stop hugging your family or close friends. But when we spread the peace at church do we really need to shake a hundred hands in close proximity? Is this antiquated practice spreading more undesired things in addition to the peace? I’ve been in many churches and most people think this two minute process of forced conversation is awkward and annoying. So let’s drop it from our order of worship. I think all of us would be shocked if we knew how much disease was passed each Sunday because of this practice. The key to making these improvements is understanding the icky feeling you get about changing is simply that: it’s an aversion to change. But just because you are averse to change doesn’t mean change isn’t necessary. Contrarily, any time you improve yourself or learn something you have to experience some discomfort. Think about what learning is: it’s you accepting the fact that you’re not optimal the way you are and that you could do better. Then it’s you putting to death your old self so that you can bring to life your new self. No one enjoys that process but everyone enjoys the outcome.
That brings be to my next point which is to think about the ways in which this pandemic has made you better. Look at yourself, you’re walking through an event in world history that would make most people cower in fear. Yet here you are walking through it. That says something about you. That says you’re an individual who may become part of the next greatest generation. It says that you are strong and resilient. It says your faith is the real deal and is durable through moments of suffering. Your ability to walk through this crisis calmly and faithfully matches your Creator’s ability to walk to His crucifixion calmly and faithfully. In the coming days you’re going to discover things about yourself that you never knew before. You’re going to see the depths of your perseverance and the amazing power of your wisdom. This crisis allows you to witness your own deep commitment to God and your own love for your neighbor. That opportunity is unique to this moment in history and that means you have the potential to leave a legacy of inspiration for those who come after you. Will you be remembered for doing the right thing when the situation got difficult?
I have a word of warning for you. As I walk through the grocery stores and see people on the streets I’m starting to see the tension in their gaze. As Christians, we have the responsibility to remain calm, wise, and loving throughout this entire disaster. Many businesses in my area are implementing draconian measures like not allowing you inside without a mask on. They’re also limiting the number of people who can go into a store and they’re not allowing families to go in together. I want to caution you against rebellion here. Our natural tendency in the face of these kinds of restrictions is to rebel against them. But that’s your fallen nature speaking for you. The truth is we are not in a constitutional crisis of liberty yet. At the time of this podcast we are just trying to implement measures to slow the spread of coronavirus. Apart from a few bad actors, that’s the page all of our leaders are reading from. As a Christian, your duty is to humbly submit to these recommendations provided they don’t require you to rebel against God.
If your fear of death causes you to mistreat your neighbor then you’re doing Christianity wrong. It’s possible that we are entering a time where Americans become less patient with each other and quicker to aggression. Let this be a time where Christians stand out as people unaffected by this spirit of fear. Let this be a moment where we display the power of the Holy Spirit within us. Don’t fall into the temptation of allowing fear to govern you. Wisdom and fear are not the same things even though fearful people can sometimes accidentally make the correct decisions. In the final analysis wisdom leads you out of the crisis, fear makes the crisis worse.
We’ve gone over a lot of different ideas in this podcast and I’m all too aware of overburdening you. So I want to finish this episode once again by reminding you of the only two things you need to keep in mind as you get through this. First is to manage the virus. This means washing your hands, maintaining six feet of social distance, and staying home as much as possible. Second is to manage your finances. This means being the squeaky wheel so you can get the grease. Be patient as you try to get through to unemployment and the various forms of economic relief. Be prudent in how you use your resources. Understand that all of us are in the same boat so you’re not sinking alone. The government is responsible for governing us through this pandemic. But you, as a Christian, are the one responsible for ensuring we make it through spiritually intact. I want to finish this episode by reading you the words of Jesus Christ. This is Matthew 5:1-16. These are the beatitudes as well as the passage on being salt and light. These verses make up the preamble to Christ’s Sermon on the Mount – the greatest sermon ever preached. Again if you’re watching this on YouTube I’m not going to put the verses up on the screen. Just sit back and listen to the words of your God:
Mat 5:1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
Mat 5:2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
Mat 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Mat 5:5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Mat 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Mat 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Mat 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Mat 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Mat 5:10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Mat 5:12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Mat 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
Mat 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Mat 5:15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
Mat 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
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