A very dear friend of mine said, “Change is Good, as long as it’s good change.” Like most gems, this one was said almost incidentally. We were talking about some upcoming changes to a student program we were working with and without really thinking she just kinda blurted it out. We laughed for a minute but then we started thinking about the depth that her comment carried. I don’t think anyone of us gathered in the room, at that moment, realized how much that comment would radically affect our lives.
Another friend of mine reminded me of the one constant in life – the one thing that we can always expect, Change. Change is always happening in all of our spheres of influence. It happens in the natural world and it happens in the relationships we find ourselves in. Change happens, it’s something we can count on pretty much without fail. A lot of folks struggle with this very real truth. Change for a lot of folks is terrifying – consistency is the key to life. For others change is an easy thing, it’s more than expected it’s required.
Which ever field you find yourself in the reality is that change occurs. I think the hardest place for change to occur is actually in the church. We appreciate the things that we are comfortable with – in fact we don’t like when we’re not comfortable. Its so easy to see practices and styles as becoming the very “things” that help us connect to God, for some they become the ONLY way to connect with God.
I’ve had the privilege to study church history and the saddest piece of church history is how the church has meandered through change. From the successes and failures of the church’s relationship with change we’ve seen horrible atrocities and incredible strides. Wars, both literal geographic wars and internal church wars, have sprung up because of our ability or inability to surf the waves of change. Worship wars have been a real problem for many local churches as traditional versus contemporary styles and services have been planned.
We think of this as a somewhat modern church problem, but in reality, worship wars have been an issue for a LONG time. Initially, it was chanting that was seen as the new way, until it became the mainstream. Then chanting was challenged by the singing of bar hymns (thanks to men like Charles Wesley). Then newer hymns of the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s replaced those earlier reformation hymns. Then in the 1980’s the rise of choruses challenged hymns and now we have a style called contemporary music being challenged by emergent styles.
People have started and left churches because their preferred style of worship was no longer the only focus for that church. To be honest with you, I’m deeply saddened by it. I’m saddened because of the fracture of the body of Christ over things like worship preferences, but even more I’m saddened because I believe that I, and shepherds like me, have failed the church in a pretty important way. Several hundred years ago, a man named Martin Luther stood on the steps of the doors of Whitenburg and nailed his struggles with the church of his day. One of those problems was that the church had stepped away from the understanding that we are ALL priests and servants of the Christ. Not just the ordained and commissioned, but all of us. He called this the priesthood of all believers.
Now, I believe this is where we have failed – we’ve neglected this tradition. We are all ministers. We are all reaching out to the world and culture that surrounds us to invite and share the life-changing story of Jesus with all we come in contact with. Unfortunately, a lot of us have bought a lie – the church is about ME. It’s not. It’s about Jesus and His bride loving a lost world that has it’s own needs and concerns. Sure I have things I prefer, but when my church becomes my focus and only for my needs rather than the world around me, I’ve stopped believing in the Priesthood of ALL Believers and moved to the priesthood that supports Me.
This is where change can suit us rather than make us hostile. When we see change, how do we respond? Do we shrink away from it or do we find a whole new way to minister and engage? Do we use it as an excuse to not get involved or do we find a new way to live into the communal calling to a be a priesthood of all believers?
What’s your calling – what gets you charged up about the love and grace of God? If you know what it is – capture it! If you don’t remember or know what it is in you – let’s wrestle together and find that calling together! Let’s look at change with the mindset that it gives us an opportunity to serve and minister to a whole new group of folks who need the Love of Jesus in a new way.