Just finished a fantastic book called, Who Stole My Church. It is a post-session requirement for a class that I'm working on, but what a great book. It deals with changes in church.
A couple years ago I pulled up to a traffic signal to make a right turn. For years I had made this turn, and it struck me how much longer I was having to wait at the red light because the traffic was constantly heavier on the highway. I reflected on how our community was changing, and it struck me. Change is a constant in every area of our lives. I think church is a place that people take refuge from change. Because it is ancient in history, and founded on historical teachings it becomes a sanctuary from the change we face everywhere else in life. Our jobs may make us learn new computer programs, but I'll know the songs we sing on Sunday. I may not know what the stock market will do, but we know the pastor will preach a sermon with three points and teach us some new tidbit about the God; the same way he always has.
The problem with this is that the mission of the Church calls us to change constantly to reach the culture. The most troubling thing is that the Church is ussually more interested in staying the same that by the time we try to engage culture we're a few steps behind.
Change in the church is never easy, but always neccessary. Unfortunately, the change agents (typically pastors) don't lead people through it very well. This book offers a pattern that I admire in helping everyone recognize their place in God's church.
--Ben
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