Thursday, September 11, 2008

A Change Is Gonna Come

"I was born by the river...," Sam Cooke's haunting, soulful classic spoke to a generation of African-Americans who had been mired in racial inequality promising a change, long overdue, was gonna come. It reminds us of an undeniable truth of life: Change is inevitable. In every facet of life change must take place. For organisms to grow change and adaptation must be in effect. What is true for organisms is also true of organizations. Business, industry, government and, yes, even churches must change in order to grow. I am biased toward that last type of organization and will spend the rest of this post talking about church change.

When someone starts talking about change in church that someone must be prepared for confrontation. For some reason, people have the misconception that churches are immune to change. The mantra that my Southern Baptists are known for is: "We've always done it that way!" On the contrary, I could make a strong argument for the fact that the church of Jesus Christ, to which all Christ-followers belong, has the sole purpose of seeking change. We want to see lost people changed into children of God and we want to see children of God change every day to be more and more like Christ. In order to be effective at those tasks the church must individually and corporately change to meet the needs of her people.

At Indian Springs, where I serve, we are on the verge of some very important changes. At the present, we offer two worship services and one Bible study hour on Sunday mornings. The church has seen continued growth over the past several years and this Fall we have seen our Bible study numbers exceed 500 on successive Sundays. Classrooms that were made to hold 30-35 people are running over 40 consistently. The bottom line is that we have run out of Bible study space. So on Sunday, September 21 we will go from one Bible study hour to three Bible Study hours at 8:45, 10:00 and 11:10AM.

Along with the change in Bible study hours, we are adjusting the times and meeting places of our two worship services. At 10:00AM, our Worship Celebration with full choir and orchestra will convene in our sanctuary. Those choosing to attend this service can choose either the 8:45 or 11:10 Bible study hours. At 11:10AM, "The Spring" with the praise band will convene in the Student Assembly Center (our old sanctuary). Those attending this service can choose either the 8:45 or 10:00 Bible study hours.

The Spring service is probably the most radical change as it will be meeting in a much more intimate and less formal setting in our newly renovated Student Assembly area. This service has been meeting at 8:30 on Sunday mornings in the sanctuary- not exactly a time that most not-yet-Christ-followers find appealing.

Rest assured many have questioned these changes. Some people have commented, albeit in love, that these changes are forcing church families to make certain choices. Much of it is simply the fear of the unknown. That is understandable. But these changes are not being made to accommodate our church family as harsh as that might sound. These changes are being made so that we may accommodate those individuals who are searching for the answer that is only found in Christ. We must make room for others. Our new administrative/education minister, Joel Brister, aptly pointed out that we must be willing to move over and let someone else have a seat, both literally and figuratively. If we allow personal concern over how change might affect us and our family to outweigh our desire to reach people for Christ, we have grossly misunderstood the command, commission and call of God.

A change is gonna come... and it is going to be amazing to experience. I can't wait. Can you?

1 comment:

  1. ah, change in the church... it's quite a ride brother. you look to have go handle on it though. just hang on REAL tight. :)

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