Learning Experiences, Part 3

Change.

It is inevitable. Over the course of a lifetime, we see more of it than we could possibly imagine. Some we readily accept, while some we reject, or are at least suspicious of it.

When it happens in the church, it gets closely examined, sifted, turned, examined again, questioned and frequently resisted and rejected because we often equate changes in methods with doctrine and theology, and it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to pull the two things apart. Personal preference also makes it difficult. Change happens all around us, usually outside of our control but in the church, especially a congregational church where every member has a voice, one person can make a difference.

It is certainly not a bad thing to question change as it applies to the ministry of the local church. What we believe comes from the scripture, and we do not have the authority to change it to make it suit our own lives, though many, many people in the church do exactly that. But the way we do our work, the methods we employ related to evangelism, discipleship and missions, most definitely do change, in order to be relevant so that the message we preach and teach can be understood and accepted by people who come under the Spirit's conviction. Churches which do not change their methods in order to reach people with the gospel are churches which do not survive, or have a future. And I've heard some Christians express the thought that they would prefer to see their church die, rather than see it change, not a thought that I believe can be supported by scripture.

So, a couple of weeks ago, while in Chicago, I attended a Blue Sky conference at Willow Creek Church related to change; why it needs to happen, how it happens, and how the church can deal with it. It was the second time I've attended a conference utilizing Christian principles combining an audience of both church and business leaders, and that makes for an interesting presentation. It also helps make the presentation crystal clear with very pertinent examples.

In the church, when it comes to methods, there is a unique dynamic at work. Doctrine and theology do not change, and the text that provides the basis for these beliefs is anywhere from two thousand to thirty-five hundred years old. In addition to that, most Christians believe the church is headed by Jesus, who works through the Holy Spirit to provide leadership. So a church, seeking to do God's will and carry out its assigned purpose, must seek the face of God first before doing anything. The whole process changes from "what I'd like to see happen," or "what I would like to do," to a question, "Is this what God wants us to do?" And who decides that?

The bottom line is that churches which have a sense of the leadership and movement of the Holy Spirit are the ones which transition necessary change with success. Principles of human origin, and thinking which travel along the lines of pop culture and the "latest ideas" generally meet with limited success in the church, and fade quickly, in terms of providing spiritual growth and progress in discipleship. They may draw a crowd for a while, as many fads do, but without substance they cannot be measured as success in Biblical terms. It's a fine line, but a critical one, in determining the difference between a church which "attracts" people through its own effort, or one to which people are attracted because the Holy Spirit is at work.

I hope we are the latter.