Steadfastness in a Culture of Change
- John Alwood
- Mar 30, 2010
- Series: Infusion Blog
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by John Alwood
Everybody admits there is a lot of change, that we desire it, and that we thrive on it. This environment ought to be a kick in the pants for the church to adjust its methods of preaching the gospel and loving our neighbors. This culture of change allows us advantageous mobility, ability to adjust, and could also help aid our perseverance in the midst of a turmoil, not to mention it opens the door for innumerable opportunities and learning experiences.
It also carries with it a huge adverse side-effect: the absence of steadfastness. Certainly there are other great side-effects to our culture of change (such as gluttonous consumerism, individualism, sense of entitlement, and the absence of real commitment, to name a few). A lack of steadfastness not only hinders the work of the Spirit in our own lives, but it causes us to have a flight mentality whenever struggle happens - and struggle is inevitable, is it not? It causes us to value to a greater degree our personal desires instead of those demanded by the Great Commission or the family of believers. At this point, change becomes an idol we hope will save us from the mundane or the difficult. I know this idol all too well, and it is one I continually need to repent of. It is such an attractive idol because we can’t escape its presence and it gives us that instant gratification and momentary “high” we desire. Unfortunately, we will even be tempted to excuse our worship of it and justify it as “God’s Will.”
This lack of steadfastness is detrimental to our togetherness as the body of Christ and the furtherance of our mission. Few give much thought to what kind of impact a cross-country move, vacation, financial decision, or job change will make on our church’s mission. The appealing opportunity our change culture offers us can end up reordering our priorities for us. This reordering can be devastating to our spiritual growth and can cause a setback for the mission. We changed, but what did we sacrifice? Huge blessing? An experience of God working in and through our lives? Maybe. More likely, though, we abandon the very community we were created for.
Of course there will be necessary moves, job changes, upgrades, and tragedies along the way that force us to change. God will call us to another place, and move us through different seasons of life, but do we first consider the mission of our church in community when presented with the opportunity of a life-altering change? Are we driven by that mission, or is it just another compartment of our convenient lifestyle?