When I think of change and the need for change to take place several thoughts immediately come to mind:
If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got.
If we fail to plan we plan to fail.
If you aim at nothing you'll hit it every time.
The good is the enemy of the best.
Several passages of Scripture also come to mind:
But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. (Revelation 2:4 ESV)
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. (Isaiah 43:19 ESV)
Oh sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth! (Psalm 96:1 ESV)
Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins
burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine
is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.” (Matthew 9:17 ESV)
And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. (Matthew 13:3-8 ESV)
I'm sure that there are several other verses that address the topic of change but here's why I chose these verses:
C - Christ first. We need to change because we need to continually fight the urge to put Christ anywhere but first in our lives. Tradition above Christ. Programs above Christ. "The way we've always done it" above Christ. We don't change for the sake of change, we change whatever is necessary to keep Christ first.
H - honoring God. If we truly seek to honor God then change will take place. It's inevitable. We cannot simply go through the motions year after year after year. A rut is just a grave with the ends kicked out. The message never changes but sometimes the methods by which we communicate that message must change.
A - allowing God to work. God does new things. He commands us to sing new songs. Perhaps we need to do something new so that God can continue to work through us.
N - new opportunities. Without a willingness to change we might possibly miss out on new opportunities. New wineskins stretch as the new wine ferments. A willingness to change creates the right environment for new opportunities to flourish.
G - growth. I'm more concerned with the quality of disciples we are creating than the quantity of disciples. But we also need to recognize that healthy things grow. Within our church we need new ways to reach new families, new ways to challenge new growth, new ways to spur one another on and new ways to let people hear the gospel of Christ.
E - examination. Maybe you would have chosen "energize" for this one. And for some people, change energizes them. But for me, I value the simple truth that change causes us to examine ourselves. What am I doing and how am I doing it? Why do I do what I do and how can I allow God to do even more through me?
The more I talk to people the more I realize that almost no one likes change. There's uncertainty, there's the fear of the unknown, there's a fear of failure. However, when the sower sowed the seed he sowed it everywhere. His responsibility was to sow. The soil in this parable represents the hearts of people. Our responsibility is to put Christ first and to honor him so that he might be allowed to work in new and glorious ways in the hearts of all people. Am I allowing God to work? Do I want to see growth in my life and the lives of others? Are we willing to examine ourselves, our programs and our ministries and let God point out to us the necessary changes?
