Change & Church

Change and growth go hand in hand. When I talk about change among Christians, I often hear three responses.

• “But change for the sake of change isn’t good.” Okay, I confess. I said that recently to a Spectrum representative trying to figure out my new cable box.
• “Change might be inevitable, but we should take it slowly and carefully.” Nothing could be more life threatening to the church than that attitude.
• “We shouldn’t change if we’re going to leave people behind.”

A study was done by Lifeway Research on fast-growing and slow-growing churches. The conclusion was that churches who were fast-growing and reaching the next generation had three common traits: Faster decision-making (accessible through clear lines of authority), fluidity, and flexibility. There was less resistance to change, or to put it another way: the leadership was willing to embrace the pain of change for the win of seeing more people meet Jesus.

What does this mean for First Free? First, change for the sake of change can be good, if it forces us out of our comfort zones into re-evaluation and revival mode. Second, when we change too slowly, the culture around us moves on without us, leaving empty and outdated church buildings in the wake. That’s when you leave people behind, broken by disunity and disheartened.

The bottom line is, at First Free, our goal is not comfortability or safety in terms of our faith. It is learning how to be a missionary in Lincoln, redeeming a lost culture for God’s glory. That matters more than anything!

We might say it this way: Don’t mess with God’s truth. His principles never change. Do mess with any system, structure, or strategy that becomes ineffective in carrying out the mission.

If a program is dead, we’re going to bury it. If something is broken and we can’t fix it, we’re going to scrap it and replace it. If it’s not growing, diagnose it. If it’s comfortable, challenge it. Change! Now! The souls of men and women depend on it.

Blessings,
Pastor Mark "The Bru" Brunott

P.S. Shouldn’t we accept the body God gave us without enhancing it? They burned the body in pagan worship, why would anybody want to be cremated? A Christian shouldn’t mark up his/her body, should he/she? Join me at 9:15 and 11:00 this Sunday as we address the question: Is it okay for a Christian to get a tattoo, have cosmetic surgery, or be cremated?