I've been keeping an eye on the maple tree outside my sliding glass doors at home and watching as the leaves go through their autumn metamorphisis. One side of the tree changed fairly rapidly. The leaves shifted their colors and one by one, they plummeted from their branches to the grass below. Before long, one side of the ground around the tree was blanketed in leaves of various colors. One side of the tree, though, held out. It stayed green for a while and then very slowly, the leaves started to change. It started in the tips, the part of the leaf farthest away from the moisture source. The colors crept down the veins of the leaves until the whole leaf was a new color. Now, for the most part, the tree is just about bare.
Fall is an interesting time of the year. It's all about change. When we think of new things, we usually think of the spring when things start to grow again. But so many new things happen in the fall that it's hard to limit the idea of "newness" to the spring. Think how exciting the first day of school is come August or September (for me, the first day of school was always in September, but I know different states follow different calendars). It's a new year. It's a new book bag, new books, new lunch box, new clothes, new everything. Fall is all about new. It's a chance to reinvent yourself.
I've been thinking a lot about the tree in the front yard of my apartment complex and how part of it held out while the rest of the tree was happy to change, as was expected of such a tree in its season. Churches follow the same pattern. It's hard to change, and when it comes to change there are sides that resist it. In our own individual lives, sometimes we recognize a need to change but there's a part of us that seems to resist it. Change can be bad, for sure, but it doesn't have to be. Change is all about perspective.
When a church considers making a change, whether it's a change in leadership or in worship style, or even in just rearranging a few items of furniture in the nartex, the church goes through a process. Change should always be accompanied by at least two questions: First, is this change going to help us further our ministry for the service of God's kingdom? and second, "Who does this change affect?"
I knew a church back home in New Jersey several years ago that wanted to change their front doors. The old doors were heavy wood. Solid. Sturdy. Old. The pastor decided that the doors looked foreboding and he had a thought that maybe changing the doors would encourage new people to visit the church. He went to his session and asked about switching out the old doors for a set of clear glass doors so people could see through into the sanctuary. At first, his idea was met with resistence. The old doors were perfectly functional. They were historical. They were gorgeous. Eventually, the pastor convinced the session to switch out the doors. An amazing thing happened when they did that. More people came into the church. Younger families started visiting more often and membership grew. When the session asked people what attracted them to the church, many of them said that they saw through the doors how inviting worship looked and they decided to check it out. It's amazing what change can do.
Change can certainly be scary. We get set in our ways and we like to hold on to what is comfortable. But sometimes change is just what we need in order to reach out to people in a new way. We don't have to change everything all at once, but steps here and there to discover new ways to do ministry is a great way to keep the Message from going stale. If we do things a certain way because that's the way we've always done them, we fall into the risk of getting too dependent on a routine. Routines can be good, but if our routine is keeping us from experiencing God in new ways, we have to ask ourselves if the routines are really worth it.
The tree outside my apartment is mostly bare, but I know in the spring it will have new beauty to offer. In this season of new and season of change, I'm excited to see the new and exciting ways we can discover God's presence and glory in this world.
Change one thing, today. It doesn't have to be a big thing. Change something small. Maybe take a different route to work. Wear different shoes than you usually wear. Try praying differently. You might be surprised how making even a minor change in your routine can help you experience God in a new way.
God Bless,
Pastor Becki
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