The Times are Changing

I’m sure that you have heard all the talk about change, how it is happening now and will continue, and how it can be difficult to deal with. Change has been so natural in your life that you probably don’t give it a thought. Well done! As we grow and mature how we see the world is different and that seems natural to us. So also is the life cycle of the institution of the Church. The early church, like from the time of the book of Acts, was based in peoples homes. There were no large buildings for hundreds of years and how the administration of the church worked was different also. 

When we think about change we should consider that there are two different types of change. According to the experts, Continuous and Discontinuous are the types of change that happen in the world.  Continuous change is that which we expect, like as you age you expect a change in your mobility. Some of us will change from the crawling stage to the standing and walking stage, others will find that they can’t run like they could some years ago. 

Discontinuous change is not anticipated. Things like the backlash running through our culture from the often overbearing authoritarian stances of the institution of the Church up through the 1950’s. The authority of the Church has been exhibited in many different ways and some of them were loving and kind, but others were abusive. The number of people who have left the church system due to their experiences with the church rose dramatically over the past few decades and while we may have been able to foresee that happening it has not been easy dealing with those changes. So this is a change that is considered discontinuous. 

There are many different parts of our culture that are affected by technology and the closeness of globalization that have changed in ways that were not expected. As the author of Ecclesiastes said, “There’s nothing new under the sun.” However, we are each affected by all the change that is going on in the world. So what’s a congregation to do? 

Awareness is the first step along this path. Being aware of the change and being aware of how that change has affected each of us is of the utmost importance. Dealing with our feelings takes many different forms and as you know each of us will deal with them in different ways. How we deal with our feelings can be healthy or unhealthy. One of the more healthy ways to deal with our feelings is to discuss them. This can be private or in a group setting but verbalizing them is very important. Some people journal and others may want to share with a group of trusted friends. Each of us are on the path toward wholeness, we just need to keep moving forward.

You are blessed! 

Bruce 

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

1 Corinthians 13:12