By: Rev. Dr. Anna Hall
More and more these days I am working with churches whose members express a wish that their church would just stay the same, for a while, anyway. Often, the unspoken part might be that they wish the church would stay the same until they are gone, unto death or the retirement home. They may want it to stay the same just long enough to have their funeral. Or to live out their elder years in the comfort and familiarity of the church they’ve always known.
It is easy to understand their feelings. We have been living in a whirlwind of change in recent decades. This change was accelerated even further by the global pandemic. The slow decline of white Western Christianity became a jump off a cliff. I could cite statistic after statistic about this change, but you can simply review my past research for that.
What I would rather focus on now is how we can navigate our longing for stability in this age of radical change.
First, we can focus on grief. Yes, grief. We have not spent nearly enough time allowing ourselves and our churches to grieve the things that will be no more. Maybe it is time for a monthly ritual where we lament and let go of those things we’ll never get back, in church and in other parts of our life. We can light a candle for all that we have lost and spend time in silence, prayer, and mutual support for our losses.
Second, we can practice care. When we take the time to care for one another, we create powerful buffers of resilience that can carry us through times of change. Research shows that a supportive community and mentors/exemplars are key components of human resilience and aging well. We can make sure every church member is connected to at least two others for mutual support. If someone is really feeling down about how things are changing, we can make a visit and take them a casserole. We can make care packages for those struggling to take home from church any day that they feel buffeted and overwhelmed by life’s changes.
Finally, we can preach and teach the Biblical truth that abundant life is only possible when we are willing to die to our old selves and be born anew. The title quote is from the Terminator movies, but we can also hear it in Jesus’ teaching – “unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”
Jesus says we must follow him into new life if we want to truly live. The same is true for our churches. There is no way to keep our churches the same. Using up our energy, time, and money to do so simply means that we are okay with their death as soon as we are gone. Because churches that never change have no room for anyone new to bring their whole selves into church life. They have no room for God to speak to them anew. No church that is truly alive avoids change.
Are you ready to live abundantly? If so, what are you willing to give up to do so? And what support do you need to help you loosen your grasp?
If you are ready to work on building change skills and resilience in your congregation, reach out to us at Convergence. We are happy to help through coaching and consulting that prepares you and your congregation for abundant life.
Here are some additional resources about congregational change:
Can Your Congregation Change? READ NOW
What Does It Take To Change a Congregation? READ NOW
Comments
I agree with most of this and have spent a career in organizational change management, both in my secular career and in the churches I’ve served. But I now find myself to be one of those folks who long for stability in at least one area of life. I well know that we’re in a “change or die” situation. But can we think more broadly about what CAN remain stable in the midst of all the rapid changes, most of which are out of our control? In addition to the personal and relational connections you described, what about the symbolic and historical elements that can be maintained in the midst of change? For example, when a church needs to sell its building and move to a new space, what elements from the sanctuary can be kept and used to mark continuity? Can historical and commemorative plaques be saved? Can photos, paintings, historical news articles be displayed to tell the story of the church community? Speaking of the story/stories of the community, how about getting the longtime members to tell their memories for an oral history? The congregation I attend is a merger of three historic congregations who sold their buildings and moved worship into the parsonage of one of them. All of these elements have been utilized and nearly thirty years after the merger, we are growing. The long time members LOVE to tell the story of our congregation. It has not been easy or smooth, nor a straight upward trajectory. But it is rich and combines change with continuity.