If I’ve learned anything over the last 45 years of being a pastor, it’s that church life is always in the place of transition. It’s just the nature of it. Just like the actual human body which completely changes its skin every 7 to 10 years, the “body of Christ” is always changing. People come and go; babies are born and the elderly pass on. The problem is that the majority don’t like change. It’s because our security often comes with familiarity with things around us. People usually gravitate to friends rather than reach out to visitors. Perhaps Paul had this in mind when he tried to encourage his young pastor and son in the faith, Timothy when he said this in 2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV)
“7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
Timothy was the first pastor of the church of Ephesus. Paul did not want his young protégé to live in fear. Instead, he encouraged him to live in power, love which would allow him to operate in self-control and confidence. The Lord would be with Him. Indeed, pastoral ministry is not for the timid. On any given Sunday, every person present will interpret the Pastor’s message through their own grid. The larger the crowd, the greater the possibility for offense.
There are other kinds of change that can create uncertainty. Jesus said to be aware of seasons of change that would take place by His Father’s authority; Acts 1:7 (ESV)
“7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.”
There would indeed be seasons of opportunity (Kairos) in the regular working out of “chronos” time. I personally believe we are in one of those “seasons” of transition. Neville Johnson told us years ago that we were transitioning from the “church” age to the “kingdom” age. Many of us who grew up with a “dispensational” mindset do not have a grid for that understanding. This is not consistent with theology that we have been taught historically in the church. Yet, it seems to make more and more sense as we see the unfolding of events happening all around us. When we begin to understand that “truth” is actually the person of Jesus (John 14:6) and not a doctrine, it will allow us to move through different seasons much more smoothly and with greater grace. In fact, every change we walk through requires us to embrace a different paradigm. Dr Laura Sanger who will speak at the “Patriots Arise” conference said this about change…
“Opening up to a shift in paradigm takes courage and depending on the paradigm, may require some foundational work. People are often hesitant to shift paradigms. Honestly, it can be scary. If how we navigate through life is built upon a foundation of thoughts, experiences, perceptions, and ideologies, when those are shaken, life suddenly feels unsettled. A predominant emotion triggered during this shaking is fear, fear of the unknown, fear of losing control, fear of being wrong, we know our human nature is to avoid fear. Who really enjoys being afraid? So, it’s understandable why paradigm shifts are frequently resisted. I think we would be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge how much work it takes to allow for a paradigm shift. It requires rethinking ideologies/theologies, recategorizing experiences, and reformulating thoughts. With our fast-paced 21st-century lives, very few people are willing to engage in this level of effort to allow the shift to occur. But then again, there are those times in life when we don’t really have a choice whether we switch paradigms. A new paradigm thrust upon us that we can avoid nor deny.” - Laura Sanger, PhD “The Roots of the Federal Reserve”
Isaiah 55:8-9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
As I was putting boxes in the church dumpster today, I was having difficulty navigating the flattened box in the strong wind. As I was getting a wee frustrated, the Lord reminded me of the word of prophecy from last Sunday morning; “that the coming awakening would be confirmed by ‘strong wind’! I then came into the office as a call was being received from someone in Washington DC. You could hear the strong wind in the earpiece as the wind rushed over the microphone of the phone from the person making the call. Extremely encouraging. Get ready for a shift in our paradigm.