I received a disturbing e-mail from MA Catholic Conference calling on pastors and Christian parents to take action against an aggressive Sex-Education agenda aimed at Pre-kindergarten through 12th grade public school students. The proponents of LGBT rights and Planned Parenthood are heavily promoting it. Health Curriculum Framework does contain some very good educational topics but it also contains very dangerous topics which aim at indoctrinating Pre-kindergarten level children to the different sexual orientations. By the time a student reaches the junior high or high school grade levels this indoctrination will have significantly shaped the young teen's attitude towards accepting an unbiblical worldview of human sexuality. Do we really want this for our children? Will this truly benefit our nation?
When I read this e-mail I wondered how things have changed since “the prayer and mandatory Bible reading is removed from public schools in 1963. The USA that once used to be a Christian nation doesn’t look like it any more. Many are lamenting these days saying; “the moral values of the western world and here in the USA have been lost” What used to be normal is not considered normal any more. Right is considered wrong and wrong is considered right. We are indeed living in a strange and rapidly changing world. Change can be frightening.
Is change overwhelming you? How are we to understand change? What should be our response to change? How can we preserve Godly values? In a 1985 popular movie “Back to the future”, where the hero Marty McFly travels through a time machine into the future and then back into the past to avert impending disasters in the present. We don’t have a time machine to travel back into the past but we do have God’s time tested word to help us understand the past, present and the future. It also helps us not to be overwhelmed and how to stand our ground as Christians, because we belong to an unchanging God in a changing world.
I. UNDERSTANDING CHANGE:
When we look at nature and read history one thing becomes clear is that change is inevitable, imminent, and necessary, at times can be frightening. Life goes through lot of changes isn’t it? If change is unavoidable, necessary and happens sooner than you expect then how should we respond to change? What is the biblical basis for change?
We can attribute many factors to change. Some are very natural but others are supernatural. The world is shaken up by the recent double tragedy in one of the most developed countries in the world. The recent Tsunami graphically showed us how forceful and powerful water can be. Water a source of life, now became a force of destruction washing away entire villages, and tearing down strong buildings. We can give all kinds of scientific, geological, and astrological explanations to what caused that Tsunami, but where is God in all this? Is God involved in the affairs of the world and in the lives of individuals? Is God involved in our Church?
The scriptures tell us that God is the creator and the ruler of the universe. He is absolutely sovereign and in control of the world. Nothing happens without his knowledge. Dan 2:21 “It is He (God) who changes the times and the epochs. He removes kings and establishes kings. He gives wisdom to wise men; and knowledge to men of understanding.” God sees from the beginning to the end and He knows what he is doing in the world.
God not only changes times and the period of times but also changes lives. We see this working out in the biblical history. Acts 17:26, “He made from one every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation that they should seek God if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.” These scriptures tell me that God is involved not only in causing change but also but controlling it with the view of changing man.
II. THE NEED FOR CHANGE
The world in general and the western world in particular hold a drastically different perception of life than it did a few decades, let alone a century ago. Morris, the author of the High Impact church notes, “The predominant underlying influence of modern Western culture today is secularism, a philosophy the relegates religion and morality to the private sphere. Only facts and influences derived from the here and now are considered valid.”[1]
While on one hand secularism and skepticism seem to threaten the very core beliefs of the Christian faith, on the other hand the influx of immigrants provides an opportunity and poses a challenge to the Church in America. How are we to deal with these rising trends? How are we to be different in the way we run church and in the way we communicate the gospel in a post modern society? I realize that there are no easy answers but I do know one thing that we can not afford to run church the same old way as we have always done it. We need a fresh approach to leadership and innovative and creative ideas to do ministry.
The Church at large in the Western world has been grappling how to cope with changing trends. Many traditional churches have declined and died, others are thriving, and some are at a plateau. Church growth experts say that the longer a church is at a plateau, the more difficult it is to revitalize it. We have seen the Lord adding to our numbers and starting to revitalize us. We are at a crucial time as a church, do we rejoice with what God is doing or do we resist and remain where we are? Even the church in Jerusalem had to wrestle with this. They had seen tremendous growth initially, but along the way they got stagnated. Among other things they made two significant changes, they changed their leadership structure and they changed their target audience to include Gentiles. In the same way we too need to change the way we view leadership and the way we do ministry in order for us to continue as a vital and growing church.
- LEADERSHIP CHANGE
I’ve been long enough in Christian ministry to observe different styles of leadership. Some were good and others were stifling. Who does the most of the work in any church? In the old model, “the pastor, his wife and one or two individuals run the whole show while the rest watch.” Let me illustrate; there are four main bones in every organization or Church. The wish-bones: Wishing somebody would do something about the problem. The jaw-bones: Doing all the talking but very little else. The knuckle-bones: Those who knock everything. The back-bones: Those who carry the brunt of the load and do most of the work in the end they are burnt out.
Is that the model that we were used to? If so, is that in need of change, if we are to see growth and manage growth in our church? Absolutely! Here is how the Jerusalem church worked out a leadership change. We read about in Acts chapter six. Peter and the apostles were involved in running the ministry as well as the logistics of the early church. Any decision was always deferred to the apostles. As the church grew so were the problems. The apostles realized that they had to make some changes in the leadership structure. They chose seven men who were full of the Holy Spirit and Wisdom and handed over the responsibility of running a huge food pantry. This illustrates that the ministry of the church doesn’t depend on one or a few but on many people as they are selected and appointed by God. Some of us tend to think that we would rather do it ourselves than to delegate responsibility to others. If that is our attitude in the long run it will not be good for and for the Church.
Throughout our ministry Wilma and I have tried to invest in people and here we are no different. We realized that it takes more than one person to build a Church. From the time I became your pastor; I tried investing in others by giving them various ministry opportunities. I let several of our church members to preach from the pulpit, and lead prayer.
Wilma has started what we call focus groups for women so that more women can be involved in ministry. We released and empowered people in their gifting for example the Alpha group or the Freed Up finances, the Worship team, Prayer team; Audio ministry; Sunday school for adults and children, Hospitality, The youth group, Men’s ministry and Hospital visitation. Why do we do that? Because we believe it is un biblical for one man or woman to do all by themselves. We need one another. How do we respond when others are given opportunities and are released in their gifting? Do we rejoice and support them to become successful in their ministry or do we sulk, resent it and try to make their job as difficult as possible? Not only we need to change how we view leadership but also need innovative approach for ministry.
B. MINISTRY CHANGE:
Times have changed; what worked twenty years ago may not work today when it comes to reaching the post Christian society? We need new ministry models. When I see great numbers of people attending both the AA groups in our church I can’t help but wonder what is it that they are doing differently that attracts so many? Aren’t we supposed to be having the truth on our side? Isn’t Jesus sufficient for all the problems in life? Then why aren’t people running to church to listen to the life giving words of Jesus? What is hindering us from attracting non Christians to our Church? I don’t have answers to these questions. I believe this is where we need the mind of Christ to help us think outside of the box. He knows what the best way to reach people is.
Let’s not be afraid to do things we have never done before as a church. Some of us listening to this message may need to have a paradigm shift when it comes to leadership and how we do ministry. Are we willing to let go of our old ways and take risks? Or we just satisfied with status quo and stay where we are today? In closing as Willam Carey said, let’s “Expect great things from God and attempt great things for God. May the Lord help us all. Amen.
