February 24th, 2010
Missing the Point
For God’s Church, change is the point! And yet, most churches have actually entrenched themselves against change. This explains why the majority of churches are stagnating or in decline and why the majority of people in and outside the church have come to believe that it’s irrelevant.
Tragically, most churches are missing the point.
Of course, I lost some of you with my very first sentence. You’re still wrestling or arguing with me over the idea that change is the point for God’s Church. So, let’s start there. Is there any validity to my claim? I’m going to ask you some questions. If you’re honest in your answers, I believe you’ll ultimately arrive at my conclusion.
- What was the impact of Jesus’ ministry in the world?
- What’s the impact of the gospel when it’s genuinely embraced?
- What’s the result of seriously following Christ and His teaching?
- What was the initial and ongoing consequence of the early church when it was working right?
Of course, the honest answer to every one of those questions is CHANGE! This answer is certainly in keeping with Romans 12:2. “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
The reason so few outside the church are finding God’s will and so few inside the church are experiencing it is because so few are being transformed…changed by God’s mind renewing truth.
Here’s the reality all true believers and spiritual leaders must face…Change is the point. When we’re not changing, we’re missing the point. The tragedy of this is two-fold. First, like the Pharisees of old, we miss out on the power of God’s promises and power in our lives. And second, we are unable to help others experience it.
So, here’s the question I’ve been asking myself lately and the one I want to leave with you to ask yourself…am I simply conforming to a “Christian” lifestyle or am I being transformed by the reality of Christ in my life? Am I experiencing or missing the point? And remember, if we’re missing the point, our churches are missing the point…because we, God’s people, are the church!
I’d love to know your response to or additional thoughts about these ideas.
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Sarah
I agree. Christians today are so worried about being “separate” that we forget to be tranformed. Worse yet, people are so busy trying to conform to a religious standard that they leave out love – the greatest commandment.
bob burnside
BARBERSHOP/HAIRCUT : I love this metaphor my sponsor in Alcoholics Anonymous taught me , it deals with CHANGE and I hope it fits…I want to CHANGE ( get a haircut) so I walk by the church (barbershop) and look in at the people , some waiting and some CHANGING (getting a haircut).I walk by this church(barbershop) often but never have the courage to go in and get this CHANGE(haircut).I finally get up the nerve to go in and I sit in a chair waiting for my turn.I’m almost up,a few people before me and it’s my turn.I start to get anxious and I leave.I decided I’ll come back when the church(barbershop) is a little slower.I continued to repeat this exercise for sometime. I’m now tired of going back and forth and not getting what I came for ,CHANGE( a haircut)…I came to find out if you stick around that church(barbershop) long enough you’ll eventually get that (haircut) TRANSFORMATION.
cherilans
Brad, I agree that change is the point of God’s Church. I liked your questions that so clearly drew that conclusion and validated your claim. So, per your concern above, and also of concern to me, is why the Church has not embraced change or chosen to be transformed by the reality of Christ in their lives (missed the point). You’ve certainly addressed this in many, if not every one, of your talks. I would like to briefly address “why” relevant to my experience. Mostly, I think, when we don’t understand why change/transformation is so important to our eternal life, it is simply easier to “talk the walk” than to “walk the talk” or just live a “Christian ” lifestyle. Some Christians just don’t know how to go about it. This was true of me and many I know. They don’t know how to abide in Him or how to be obedient to/remain in Him daily because they are not reading the Bible and hearing His Word at a Bible-based church that speaks their language so they can understand it, like at NorthRidge for many of us. They have not asked the Holy Spirit to guide them in their day to day lives or when reading the BIble.They have not committed their lives to Him by fully trusting Him – one of largest reasons, I feel, that the Church does not embrace Him since most people need to stay in control. However, If the opposite is done, as in my own experience, transformation and growth will occur and one’s life will continue to evolve to be more like Christ’s. This takes time, His time. I am motivated and encouraged by knowing that as I become increasingly dependent upon the life of Christ within me (living by faith), it is not “unnatural” as the world may see it.. Remaining in Christ is actually transforming me and restoring me to the true human life that God meant me to have and live. I really want to live that life!. And I pray that this is true of God’s Church too…
Thanks, Brad, for your excellent post!
Bev Baruk
Member Northridge: this is the point I was wanting to make to my 20 something nephew, who “is in control of his own destiny” and turned tragically cynical and not expecting anything out of life. I gave him The Reason For God by Tim Keller, a book I feel is utterly transforming to anyone asking about the point of God and Church, et al….he has not read it yet, and is defensive, I will back off and continue to pray for God to open his heart….(and that someday he would come to church with me….)
rrich
Change and transformation are action words. They require us to actually do something other than what we’ve always done. My experience has been I become comfortable (lazy) in day-to-day living and instead of looking to Jesus while on a familiar path I lean on my own understanding – “I know how to handle this” or “I can do this”. Being transformed would require me to engage His Word, engage His Spirit and sometimes, God forbid, engage with others.
It is uncomfortable and unfamiliar when walking step-by-step with the Lord and although I have always come out unscathed and find that trust in Him has grown, I am quick to revert to laziness – in spirit as well as in the physical. Change and transformation is hard on the personal level- how much harder is it for the corporate body. But I do not give up hope when I know there are leaders (shepherds) out there trying to lead us bleeting sheep into greener pastures. Thank you, pastor Brad, for being real about the Christian life, walking the talk and encouraging us to hold each other to His standards and not our own. To look up and in instead of out.
J.
The Holy Spirit is alive within us…thanks for sharing its message.
Michelle Peters
Transformation requires a choice. It’s a reality in my life and the lives of other Christians I encounter.
We can look at the smorgasborg of abundance Christ offers, hear others speak of it, see the evidence in the lives of others. It’s breathtaking on every level. Inside we know something is missing even if we are believers. We might even know the missing piece is surrender, but we choose to hold onto what’s become comfortable, familiar, beloved believing that’s where we’ll find our satisfaction. Even the crash and burn of temporal satisfaction isn’t enough to make us change. For surely we’ll find something else to assuage our sense of lack.
What hastens change and transformation? Getting to know our Father, every nook and cranny of His heart. and surrendering ALL to Him. When we get there, we can claim Rom 8:28 with gusto and aplomb. Lack of change is symptomatic of a heart where everything else takes a higher priority than our relationship with Him.
I know this story all too well. Praise God for His mercy and patience.
Thanks for a thought provoking post! Your leadership and conviction is appreciated.
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by bradpowell: CHANGE…it’s the point but sadly most are missing it. For more read my new blog. Share your thoughts. http://bit.ly/cngbA4…
Sherrie English
Brad,
You actually took the thoughts from my brain/heart and put them into words. Thank you for that, I’m passing this message along to the friends I’ve already been discussing this with. Inspiring, thanks. God Bless.
Korey
I feel that change is good, sometimes it will be uncomfortable, other times it will be seamless change.
While growing-up as a young person in a church, I always felt that I never understood what the rituals were about and what was being spoken about. I felt like all I wanted to do is fall asleep in the church services. After high school, I fell away from church because of this experience. So, everytime you get on your “religion” experience as a younger guy, I can totally relate.
When NRC came to Plymouth, I had a family member tell me I had to check NRC out. I admit, it took a little while of this person to work on me before I CHANGED and came to NRC. It has been life changing and I can completely stay awake in your talks even without utilizing the coffee shop! (I don’t drink coffee anyway)
I have family members that are reluctant to change, it’s disappointing because they could totally experience life to a whole different level.
Keep up the good work Brad!
Adam
love it dude.
bottom line for me: laziness.
I don’t change, and I don’t give myself over to the transformational work of Jesus because I’d rather sit on the couch and eat cheez-its while watching The Office. Haha. Nothing wrong with that, but all too often it takes the place of the daily disciplines required for change.
absolutely love serving with you.
cherilans
Hey, Adam! Thanks for responding and sharing your thoughts. I admire your honesty. Most people could probably claim the same, i.e. laziness. Do you believe what Brad says above: ” When we’re not changing, we’re missing the point… we miss out on the power of God’s promises and power in our lives…and we are unable to help others experience it.” ? I ask this in light of you serving NRC with Brad.
Adam
@cherilans
of course. just think if Jesus wasn’t willing to rock the boat in the context he found himself. he wouldn’t have been on mission, which would have rendered him useless. we must create a habit of change…our circumstances change and people change, so our leadership must adapt. i will even say that we must allow our view of God to be ever-expanding…how foolish are we to think that we would ever get to a point where we could fully understand God…even our view of Him at times is required to change. Change is good. Change means we’re living. Change means we’re participating in our context. I’m all about change
Kate
Are there more verses in the bible that support change in the church? I’m not sure if this is the place to bring up personal problems, but I need help.
My boyfriend goes to a very old fashioned church (Church of Christ)t hat he gets spiritual fullfilment from, but I don’t. They have a congregation of about 70 and sing old hyms without any accompanyment. They sing without instruments, because they think it’s the right way, but I know in Psalms it mentions praising with harp and horn. I’ve gone with him a few times and could appreciate that the talk was bible-based.
I tried showing him one of your talks on growing in faith and he reacted so negatively to it. He felt like you were attacking smaller churches and down-playing reading the bible and attending church. I told him you said it was a means to growth, but not growth. Which I happen to agree with. It worries me, because he was so threatened by the truth.
He is a christian, but seems to have a more narrow view on how to worship. I respect the way he chooses to worship, but I want the same in return. I was also hoping he and I would be able to share our faith together. I could really use some advice on how to approach this issue.
Thanks for your time, Kate
eddy
here’s the problem: studies are now showing that the large, seeker mega-church isn’t producing deep, long-lasting spiritual/moral life change. how can this be? isn’t the parking lot full of cars, isn’t the auditorium packed out with people each week, isn’t there a flurry of activity going on all the time — what gives? answer: human needs are being met, but not the kind of deep, profound spiritual needs the gospel was meant to meet. as long as we measure church success by attendance numbers, budget size, facility size, etc. we’ll miss the point of real change. the biblical test for true christian spiritual conversion is moral transformation. let’s stop measuring things superficially in the church today. let’s measure our church success against the true marks of discipleship. the main criticism of the seeker church movement is lack of spiritual/moral fruit produced for all the money and resources expended. have the courage to call people to moral repentance (change) and risk losing half the church attendance on sunday and holding members accountable to basic christian morality and risk losing members as well. it’s more important to make real disciples than it is to build mega-churches.