Change

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. " 

Reinhold Niebuhr's prayer dating from 1943 was written at a time of great change, conflict and uncertainty that puts into perspective the changes and worries we have about our own times.

Most people are anxious about change - we are all comfortable with what we know.  You sometimes find enthusiasts for change per se but I often feel that they are disconcerting people to be with. It is almost as if they are running away from something!

Change is inevitable. Everything changes!  If you refuse to change you end up like Charles Dickens' Miss Haversham - an anachronism in a time warp.

Change should be the way of life for the Christian. The bible is continually exhorting it:

The Old testament Prophets continually call for the people to change their ways.

John the Baptist came preaching a message of "repent - turn around"

Jesus teaching as we have it is all an instruction not to follow the way of the world but change and follow a different counter cultural path!

The church has the Orthodox tradition of theosis (growing into the likeness of God) and our own Methodist tradition of holiness sanctification and perfection. Change should be in the DNA of Christians but perhaps it is because it isn't that there is so much in our tradtions to encourage it.

Change is a journey and journeys can be good in themselves not just for the destination that is aimed for. To journey together people need to agree that they want to be somewhere different to where they are now. Once there is consensus on the need to move then all it takes to start is one small step. A trajectory can be set without a distinctly defined destination.

My vision of the church is of a group of friends out for a hike

1. They meet up
2. they agree to walk together
3. they agree on the direction of travel
4. they set off at a pace that is right for the slowest
5. some may want to dash ahead - they go with the groups blessing
6. some may wish to explore side paths or different directions - they too go with the groups blessing
7. the group continually and transparently reviews the progress made and the decision to be made at every junction
8. no one is excluded from what is happening
9. the leader may not always be at the front
10. they share their resources one may have a map another a gps another a compass another a set of walking poles another a water bottle and another some energy bars
11. they share and find they all have enough
12. the group will allow others to join in the journey
13. they look back and see where they have come from and recognise the changes which may have happened gradually so they missed them.

When dealing with change must remember that:

1. Different people react differently to change

2. Everyone has a need to feel in control, to know that they are included and that there is openness in the process.

3. Change often involves a loss and people will go through a grief process

4. Expectations need to be treated realistically- no one change is going to make everything perfect!

5. Fears have to be faced.

 

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." - Barack Obama

This post is based on a short presentation I made on change this week. 

Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net