Monthly Archives: June 2011

Coalitions. Organizations. 501(c)3 non-profits. Collaborations. Foundations. Networks.

All are words that describe different types of groups that exist in almost every community. The differences between these groups are difficult to define at times.  The boundaries between these different groups are rather flexible.

Most of the groups listed previously came into being in order to create some kind of change either of  individuals or organizations. Changing the status quo, or defending against the change suggested by another group or individual, is the driving force of the life of these groups.

The most significant change, however, is usually not noticed on a large-scale, but on the level of the individual. And that is as it should be. Sometimes those of us who are immersed in social change groups forget that societies are comprised first and foremost of individuals.

To facilitate large-scale change the focus must be on changing the attitude and action of individuals. Organizations, systems, groups can only change as the individuals that make up the group change.

I know that these are not earth shattering insights and that others have made these observations more eloquently.  But, I need to be reminded that the changes I hope to make must be focused first and foremost on the individual level before we can expect social change.

I can still hear his words over thirty years later. I was a young (immature!)  youth pastor serving in a small church near the college I attended. I don’t remember anything else about the exchange except those words- “Without a personality change you will never serve as a pastor.” As I was scanning through my email this morning I stumbled across this link:

http://www.carlkingcreative.com/10-myths-about-introverts.

I have been an introvert as long as I can remember. Over the 30 years of ministry I have agonized over those words spoken to me. Can an introvert truly serve as a pastor? I hope you will check out the article I referenced.

DIFFERENT SUBJECT!

Are we asking the right questions?  Some time past Campus Crusade for Christ ran a nation wide campaign focused on three words: I Found It!  My favorite response – though I wholeheartedly agreed with the motivation for the campaign- was seen on a bumper sticker or poster (I can’t remember which): I never lost it! I wonder if the messages we proclaim, the messages we use to connect with people in our community actually connect to what is happening in their lives. Are we proclaiming a message no one wants to hear? Or are we sharing our message in ways that resonate with the past and not the present?

I haven’t ‘found it’ (i.e. the answer to my own question if we are asking the right questions), but I am on a mission to find an answer…

As an insider agitating for community change I have been privileged to work alongside a number of wonderful people. The longer I am involved in this never-ending process I realize that genuine change comes as people change not as systems change. In other words, what we often think of as community change is not about changing policy or statutes or laws, it is about helping people recognize that they themselves are the change that is needed.

Last weekend I attended a training on the 40 Developmental Assets, which is a framework for thinking about helping kids (and adults) have the resources they need to change. The Search Institute (www.search-institute.org) has been working for over 40 years on the premise that kids need certain internal and external assets in order to succeed. Instead of developing programs, Search Institute is focused on changing the way adults (teachers, parents, policy makers and so on) think about kids and creating the assets they need to succeed.

At the end of the day the change that needs to occur is individual change. As people change, their communities change. As communities change larger systems begin to change.

As a Christian my entire focus has been spiritual change- leading people to the gospel for the change that must occur if we are to discover what it means to be right with God and to live as God intended us to.

Addressing change, then, is the most important part of my task as a pastor, community member, parent, and the other roles I have been given. The challenge for me is simple, yet complex: trying to frame the necessity of change in the context of spiritual truth. And here is the rub. Many people I speak to are ‘spiritual’ but without any grounding in truth. How do I live out the gospel so that the undeniable and unchangeable truth of God is preeminent?

Indeed, that is the question and the answer, well, let’s just say it’s in development.

Trevin Wax, now an editor with Lifeway (our Southern Baptist publishing house) recently published a book, Counterfeit Gospels. It is well-worth reading (and I am almost finished). I am intrigued by his thesis that the gospel is built on three foundations: the story, that is to say the facts of the gospel; the announcement, i.e. the preaching and proclamation of the kingdom of God; and the community, i.e. the fellowship of faith. Since I haven’t finished the book I can’t effectively review the entire book, but what I have read has stimulated my thinking, and affected my preaching.

Nearing my 20th anniversary as pastor of this church, and nearing 30 years of pastoring small, mainly rural churches in the Northwest, I am deeply concerned about the model of ‘church’ that we seem to plan and model. I have been as guilty of others of promoting a way of doing church that is rooted in tradition rather than Scripture. Yet, trying to break out of that pattern is difficult. Though I grew up in a suburb of a large city, the church I attended was more like a rural church in that everyone seemed to know everyone else (and their business). The center of our social life was not the community but the church and never did the two meet (at least as best I can recall).So, I struggle with a 50 plus year old habit in my own life.

Now to the point: a recovery of a biblically true presentation of the gospel will change the way we do church. Instead of gathering to gossip and share information we should gather for mobilization into ministry. Instead of using our building to house the saints, we should utilize our building to facilitate community building and activities that offer platforms for proclaiming the gospel. Instead of centering our social lives around the activities of the church we should center our lives in our neighborhood and community and use the large gatherings not just to reinforce what we already believe, but to offer opportunities to explore how what we believe changes who we are and how we live in families, neighborhoods, and communities.

Just some thoughts for a Monday…!