Change

I guess I'm doing a series on moving to a new place and how that reflects preaching. A lot of that has to do with the fact that I'm just posting about what I'm thinking right now and the affects of moving are a huge part of my mental process.

Change is a process that we alternately seek and resist. When we're young we desire changes like growing, aging, and advancing in school, but we may resist changes like increased responsibility or moving to a new place.When we're older we tend to desire stability more and change less. We are supposed to "settle down" and get to work. Buy a house, a car, and have some kids.

In church we often feel as if we should never change. Ministries and programs should continue on until the end of time. Small groups should have the same people in them until they all die of natural causes. We don't say those things, but we act like it with the way we organize our structures. We don't have rhythms of change built in. We don't take breaks to re-evaluate our ministries. We don't regularly stop our small groups to give the leaders and the members a chance to rest and move on if necessary.

We can preach to change or we can preach to stability. Our words are often the catalyst for one or the other. What do you choose?