I am writing this column on the first day of school here in Bryan County. By the time you read it, they will have almost a full week behind them.
But from what I have heard, it was rather chaotic this morning at the new elementary school on the north side of the county. We knew it would be. Trying to figure out the traffic patterns for a new place is always a challenge, but the school being right behind the high school and middle school only added to the challenge.
Now, I’m not complaining. I don’t have a child in any of the schools. It is just that I know change and adjustments are never easy. Even when we know the change is necessary, it can be uncomfortable.
One person said that the final words of the dying church will be, “We never did it that way before.” And indeed, it can be doubly difficult for a church to make changes. Whether it is the music, dress style, architecture or any number of other things, we grow accustomed to how things are. We really don’t want to change.
And we can even make it sound spiritual when we quote the Bible, where it says of God, “He is the same yesterday, today and forever.” So, we reason, if God does not change, why should we?
Well, here is the thing: We should not simply change for the sake of change.
I heard a pastor say one time that he would not allow a song to be sung more than two times in a year, saying we need constant change. It seems to me that is a bit extreme. But we should not resist change just because we are familiar with how we currently do it. After all, one definition of insanity is, “Doing the same thing over again and expecting different results.”
It is true that God never changes. He is the same, constant and consistent, and we can count on him. But we are not God; we need to change. Change often means growth and maturity. If I’m the same today as I was 25 years ago, that is probably a problem.
And the same may be true for your church. We need to be open to change that will help us become more like the Lord himself. He is in the business of changing lives for the better. I know that he changed me.
I pray that he will change you as well.
God wants us to change for the better
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