I am unsettled. I don’t know why. I think I fear and I hate it. What do I fear? I fear change.

 

Change is frightening. It scares most people to such a degree that they refuse to allow for any change settling for the "don’t rock the boat policy". The church is one of those institutions that seems most frightened with change. This is one of the more ironic of her character attributes because God is not settled…he is unchanging yet he brings change with him where ever he goes. Nothing God is involved with stays the same – nothing…so why is it that we in the western church seek sameness at all costs?

 

We are so focused on enshrining some traditions and agendas that they become like theology to us and eventually they are almost impossible to change. Fear of change is a cowardly attribute that stagnates growth and is an agenda driven by the lazy and the cynical. Hmmm – perhaps those words were too harsh…perhaps they are not harsh enough.

 

If Abraham had been afraid of change he never would have left the comfort of Ur and his father’s house; his father’s gods. If Moses had been afraid of change he would have ignored God and remained a peaceful shepherd and Israel would have remained in bondage. Imagine. If the apostles had been afraid of change they never would have left Jerusalem and the church would never have survived. If Saul ha been afraid of change he would have ignored the light, got back up on his horse and continued persecuting the church till nothing remained.

 

What are some examples of this horrible fear we in the church harbor? Sometimes it is as simple as becoming satisfied with the way things are. Contentment. We have a nice number of people, a decent tithe, some cool repeatable programs. and an order of service that is as predictable as a Mike Tyson fight when he was in his prime. Why complain? We’ve got a nice facility why invite new people into it…why not enjoy it amongst ourselves…after all we earned it didn’t we?

 

Of course we did not earn it. We earn nothing…everything is given from God to one end and one end only – service of the Gospel which is Christ. Our buildings, our services, our tithe, our clergy jobs, none of it is ours – it belongs to God and he would see us use it completely for the sake of those who do not know him. As a youth pastor I experience fear all the time. Youth can be a frightening bunch. Honestly the biggest fear I battle is the fear of new youth coming to my group. Frankly this is a stupid fear and I don’t mind saying so. The reality is that new youth, particularly youth who are not close to God or have never even heard of him tend to be very disruptive to my nice comfortable ministry. I have sometimes even found myself tempted to avoid them. Imagine that…the very ones God has called me to minister to and I am actively battling the temptation to avoid them. Why? I fear change. I fear the extra work involved in change. I fear the anger of other comfortable people who don’t want their nice warm fuzzy ministry changed.

 

Fear is a killer and must be fought at every step. We must never give in to it…as one of my favorite books says "fear is the mind killer. I must not fear…" Christ followers must confront fear with the truth that God is stronger then our fear and what we are afraid of may be his very hand at work. We must be willing to change everything for the sake of the gospel. If your newly built church communicates the gospel better as a foodbank and homeless shelter then turn it into one. If the gospel is better heard at midnight on Thursday then at 11 am on Sunday then switch your services. Finally and most painfully of all – if the gospel is best served by another person doing what you are doing then quit your job. As a pastor I recognized a long time ago that to be remotely effective I had to be willing to lose my job for the sake of the gospel. I have to be willing to be fired for the sake of the gospel. The minute I become afraid of that I become ineffective.

 

As a Christ follower the same challenge exists. We must be willing to lose everything, our very lives even (and yes, literally) for the sake of Christ or else we all become ineffective. Fear is the greatest tool of evil and the only antidote is to plunge into the dark. As I said earlier God does not change but the church does. The church is Christ, the very substance of God thrust into our world for our sake…becoming whatever he needed to become in order to communicate his love. Are we willing as the church to become whatever is needed in the service of the gospel or are we to become a Holy Club Med where Christ followers can relax till the coming kingdom?

 

So – do not be content. Do not settle and become comfortable with your Christianity. Do not become comfortable with you church. Challenge your pastors. Challenge your elders and challenge one-another to plunge into the change that God holds before you. Every major reformation and revival within Christianity came from bold, fearless believers (or maybe believers who ignored the tremendous weight of their fear) who moved forward into the unknown knowing that God was with them…there is no room for cowards (but there is love).

 

Hard, offensive, emotional words I know and I do not know what led to them but there they are nonetheless.