Change

Change.

That word – change – might be the scariest damn word in the English language.

Few seek out change for the sake of change; even when one does, the continuous change is the very thing staying the same.

Yet, utter the word change in our churches – and it will send a shudder down folks’ spines.

Why?

Because of the warm feelings of the familiar.
Because of the comfortable.
Because of the known and verifiable.

Yet…

As Christians we are changed.  2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “we are being transformed.”  We are changed through Christ, and are called to be the hands and feet of Christ in this world – to be the change.

But why do we resist change so much in our churches?

Well, its scary.  And we tend to be full of fear.  After all – the Bible asks us to “fear not” over a hundred times (depending on how you count/translations/etc you could get the number up to 365).  Clearly God realizes that when confronted with something different we tend to be scared.

Though – if Christ is with us, if we are yearning to create a right relationship with God – what do we have to fear?

2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us:
¹⁷ So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived!

We are new creations in Christ.

Can we let the old things fall away to walk into this new creation?