Change, The Only Constant

"Things they are a-changing", were the words I heard my father say over last weekend. His reference was a pile of what remained from cabinets and shelving that had been a part of my grandparent's house for the last 40 years. The new owner of the property had already started the much needed repairs and changes that had been neglected over the last several years. And there lay, in a pile on the driveway, memories. Things are indeed changing.

Of course that's a constant of life; change. And we all know that, but I find there are a few different ways people deal with change. Some will avoid change at all cost, they don't want anything to change, especially if it "ain't broke". Some will accept change after they've let others test the new model long enough to know it really works. Still others are always looking for what the next change will be.

You probably identify with at least a shade of one of those areas. I definitely do. Today another change for me. I am switching banks. I have banked with the same bank for more of my life than not. It's a nice place, with nice people, and a small town bank kind of feel. The kind of place you don't have to show ID, because they know you and your parents and siblings. It really has been a nice bank. But in a recent buyout another bank has taken ownership of my branch, and though the people haven't changed, their website has, and it drives me nuts. I'm picking a new bank based on online benefits. This is not your father's banking.

I guess it's because of my vocation, my desperate interest in and love for the local church that makes me wonder if there are different ways people are choosing to connect with churches. What might that mean for the focus we ought to place on helping people connect. For what it's worth, I tend to believe that church is a place where people are much more comfortable with things staying the same rather than changing. Sometimes I wonder if people don't try to gain sanctuary in the church from the change that is constantly occurring outside its walls. Churches that don't face and embrace change are churches that will be left behind as nice places with nice people, that just don't meet a new generation's needs.

--Ben