Change and the Church

It is an article of faith in many sectors of Christianity that everyone must be for every change in the church, no matter what it might be. “Change or die” is their motto, and there is some truth to that adage. Companies determined only to sell buggy whips have gone out of business. But there is a corresponding truth that is often overlooked: if you change, you will die. Many companies have tried tinkering with the formula that had brought them success and were quickly driven into bankruptcy. Change can breathe new life into a dying organization, but it can also kill off a healthy one. Healthy babies must change by constantly growing and maturing. Healthy adults, however, often have to resist changes, such as cancer and the deterioration of the body.


Change in and of itself, therefore, shouldn’t be the be-all and end-all of the church—or a company or organization or government. We shouldn’t tell pastors that their one calling in life is to be a visionary leader of change. And we certainly shouldn’t tell pastors that their Sunday sermons are supposed to be all about keeping in front of their congregation’s eyes the organizational changes they desire. (A few years ago I was actually told by an expert in my denomination that this should be the focus of my preaching rather than the Scriptures!) We shouldn’t condition congregations to embrace every proposed change unthinkingly. And that means we need to stop joking about people who are resistant to change, as if they are all troglodytes who think that the wheel will spell the downfall of civilization.

Instead we should have a more nuanced approach. When a body is growing, there are certain constants (e.g., the DNA is always the same, as is the overall structure), even as there are certain changes being made (e.g., in height and weight). Even when a body has reached maturity and is not growing any more, little changes are constantly occurring, as when one cell dies and another replaces it. And thus we should expect that life in the church (as well as in society at large) will balance change and constancy. Constancy won’t be sclerosis, and change won’t be artificial. There will be an organic development, one where the change confirms and builds upon the substance.

In order to do that, churches and pastors must cultivate a climate that welcomes both new ideas and constructive criticism of them. Everyone must understand that God has placed in the church people with different attitudes toward change. Some will automatically be for it, others against it, and many in the middle who (like myself) embrace some changes while eschewing others. Rather than write off the other groups as unrepentant degenerates (as many church leaders have treated those less than eager for every change), the church ought to welcome all these voices. Those who embrace change without a second thought need to listen to those who oppose it. They must also give them time to formulate their ideas because often opponents can sense a negative result of a proposed change before they can articulate it. At the same time, opponents of change must be willing to consider whether or not they are against a particular idea simply because they don’t want to be bothered with something new.

This process should also help people to see that a change need not be merely an either/or proposition. Sometimes the question is not whether a change should be made, but when, and that point gets lost in the debate. To use an example from my personal life, I often welcome the announcement of new technologies, but I am also rarely the first to buy them, mainly because they are pricy and full of bugs when they first come out. I wait to buy them until they have gone mainstream. By the same token, a church that chooses to adopt something that is rather unusual will often have to pay an extra cost and deal with many unforeseen problems, while another church that adopts the same general ideas a decade later may do so with fewer difficulties.

All change isn’t of God—or of the devil. Therefore, we need a spirit of discernment in order to make wise choices.