Everything Changes Today

10. October 2009 by Sherri.

There’s an old joke that says, “How many United Methodists does it take to change a light bulb?” The response is, “Change?!!! Who said anything about CHANGE!”

As human beings, we tend to resist change — and yet, things are always changing.  Mike Slaughter, pastor of Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church, says that change today is not evolutionary, it is revolutionary.  We may not like it, but change is happening at an astounding pace -and the church needs to keep up.  While the world may be changing, we, the church, have an unchanging message - God loves humanity and wants to be in relationship with us.  While the way we share the message may change, the message itself is unchanging.

I have spent two days at an awesome United Methodist Church.  The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection begain 19 years ago with four people and a dream to launch a church that would reach thinking people who were not actively involved in a church and help them see that the Christian faith could change their lives and change the world. Today, COR  is one of the largest churches in the United Methodist connection.  Over 15, 000 people worship, study and serve at three locations in the greater Kansas City area.  They are fulfilling their dream in exciting and dramatic ways and I am inspired!

Now, I know some people might be thinking, “Well, Sherri just wants to be pastor of a mega-church.”  That could not be further from the truth.  Here is what Sherri wants.  She wants to serve God and her neighbor by doing what COR has done, to create a community where all people are welcomed and valued, a place where they can come to know Christ and become deeply committed Christians by serving him.   At UMCNC we do that.  We have good worship with good music, Tuesday morning Bible study, Adult Fellowship, youth group and Sunday school.  We reach out to our neighbors through mission projects, like collecting school supplies, food for the food pantry, Thursday night dinners, Habitat, Farmers Market, A Meal and More.  We do lots of stuff - maybe we do too much.  Maybe we spread ourselves too thin.   Maybe we are so busy doing all this stuff that we have lost our focus.  Sometimes when we get really busy we forget the reasons why we do what we do and the activities become the focus rather than the vehicle for the vision and mission.

So today, everything changes.   Instead of just putting our heads down and persevering on, we’re going to stop and ask, “why do we do what we do?  What is our Mission?  What is God’s Vision for us? What is our Purpose, our reason for existing?  What is our plan to achieve that Vision?”  Yes, we have a vision statement - “To actively make disciples of Jesus Christ in our community and throughout the world.”   But let’s be honest.  Do we believe that?  Do we support that?  As nice as that vision statement is, I think for most of us, it holds very little meaning. We need to check in with God and see if that is, in fact, God’s vision for us.  And if it is, we need a plan to make it happen.  If it isn’t we need to listen and hear where God is leading us - and then make the plan.  The bottom line is, we won’t get anywhere without a plan.

So today, everything changes.  We’re going to stop doing some things.  We’re going to stop playing church and start being the church.  We’re going to stop grumbling when we don’t get our own way.  We’re going to stop gossiping and talking about other people.  We’re going to stop making excuses. We’re going to stop doing the things that don’t fulfill our mission as the Body of Christ.

And today, we’re going to start doing some things.  We’re going to intentionally listen to God and look for God’s leading.  We’re going to make our faith journey a priority in our lives.  We’re going to start talking to the people we need to talk to when we have a problem with them.  If we hurt someone, and we will sometimes because we’re human, we’re going to seek reconciliation and ask to be forgiven.  If someone hurts us, and they will because we’re human, we’re going to seek reconciliation and grant forgiveness.  We’re going to take our discipleship seriously.  We’re going to take the Gospel seriously.  Why?  because that’s what followers of Jesus are called to do.

We have good news to share with the world!  We need to begin by sharing it with one another, by holding one another accountable to what it means to follow Jesus. God can do amazing things if we will let him.  I’ve seen it with my own eyes and I can’t wait to share some of the things I learned and some of the stories I’ve heard.  God is going to bless us.  I can feel it!  And God is going to bless others through us!  I know it!  Everything changes today!

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