Change Change

“It’s all about change.” “A church that refuses to change is a church that refuses to grow;” at least, that’s what we have been told by many minister’s in the national Christian community today. “You’d better jump on the bandwagon of Change if you expect your church to go anywhere.” Well, here I go …. I certainly don’t want to be one who hinders the church from going where God wants it to go.

I’m all for change. There are some significant changes that are in order if many churches are going to get back to being the “city that is set on an hill [which] cannot be hid. … [Letting our] light so shine before men, that they may see [our] good works, and glorify [our] Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14b & 16)

I agree that the decline in church attendance is unacceptable. I think that we should not hold onto every tradition passed down to us without a first or second thought about it. I agree that children and young people ought to be permitted opportunity to participate in regular, corporate worship. Hell’s Angels, prostitutes, drug dealers, dead-beat dads, alcoholics, and smokers should be invited to church and into the kingdom of Christ.

Yep, I’m all for change, except that I’d like to use a more Biblical term, if you don’t mind (or even if you do). Jesus preached about “change.” John the Baptist did, too; and so did Peter. … except they all called it something else – repentance!

“If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and” would just learn how to change … er, I mean, … “turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” – II Chronicles 7:14


(See? I do want change. We could maybe start with replacing our Dictionary of Popular Culture with one known as the Holy Bible. But this would simply be a change back to the way things were meant to be from the beginning. And, of course, this is just a side-note, so please don’t get distracted from the main principle mentioned above, of which this is just one application.)