(Slide 1) This time of year, as we are all very much aware, is about new resolutions to change something, eating habits and weight; spending habits and debt; spiritual habits and faith.
It is also a time of transition. The calendar that we use day in and day out and year in and year out, is about transitions from one second, one minute, one hour, one day, one month, and one year at a time to another.
Some transitions are sudden, such as a sudden death of a friend or loved one. The death of my father was this kind of transition.
I remember that warm and sunny Saturday May afternoon when my mother called and told me he was with the Lord; shock, profound grief, and overwhelming numbness were my experience. And, it was transition to a new chapter in life.
Some transitions are planned, or at least planned for. I recall this kind of transition when Susan told me that she was pregnant with Jonathon.
We had been trying and the trying paid off!
Even then, I remember at age 36 taking about a week to get used to the idea that my life would be forever changed as a dad. I had to admit that I had got set in my ways and had enjoyed having no parental responsibilities like many of my peers had. But it was the beginning of a transition that required me to change, in many ways, my agenda and I had to let go of some things that I had enjoyed doing, and focus on the growing baby within Susan and what all that meant.
Other transitions are planned transitions.
For some, some, retirement is a planned transition.
The day comes when the decision is made that it is time to retire and change focus. (Now for growing numbers of people, a change from long-term employment in one profession to employment in a part-time way and pursing other interests is the new normal.)
The transition starts at many levels, there is the paperwork and the letting out of the news, there is perhaps the cleaning out of the desk and the files, then comes the final month, the final week, the final day, the final hour and that period of life and work is done… a transition takes place.
Another kind of transition is an organizational transition. There is a lot of that which has taken place in the past year.
GM is perhaps the most noticeable illustration of organizational transitions.
Some organizational transitions are much like GM’s has been – crisis oriented. And if we have been in those (and I have), it is not an easy time.
Other organizations make successful transitions because they are planned transitions. Planned because they recognize that changes are needed to stay in existence and function both successfully and with good organizational health.
Some organizations make good transitions in the midst of crisis because they have a culture that takes that crisis and makes lemonade out of lemons!
Churches are no different. Yes, we are spiritually oriented, but we are subject to the same ebb and flow as any organization.
With one difference, namely, that our agenda is God’s agenda. The challenge then, as it relates to transitions, is that a church that intentionally begins to transition to a new chapter does so by asking, ‘Which direction does God want us to go as a church?’
I believe that it is time for some new transitions for the First Church of God in Kendallville, Indiana.
I don’t know though, what all of those transitions are, but I do believe we need to start asking (and getting the right answers to) this question:
(Slide 2) What kind of a church is God calling us to be in the years ahead?
This first message of 2010 is your entry point into a conversation about us as the First Church of God in Kendallville, Indiana. It is a conversation that I have started having with our Ministry Council this past year. It is also a conversation that God has been having with me this past year. It is a conversation about the future of our church and, most important, the future that God has for this church.
Now perhaps you have been thinking, “Jim, when you say the word “transition” I hear the word “change” and that concerns me. I don’t like change.” I say, “Who Does? But I also hear and acknowledge your concerns.”
Change is going to be a part of our conversation and, at several points, actions.
But then again, change may not be a major issue. What we may find as we actively seek God’s will for us as a congregation is that we are going to re-affirm some things and move forward with a renewed energy and commitment. Even, then this involves some change at some level.
Again, I do not know what kind of change or changes will be coming, but we need to acknowledge up front that in being faithful to God and His vision for this church, change is a given.
Change is strategic to the good news of Jesus Christ. Salvation is about change, really dramatic change.
I also want to make clear a couple of things this morning:
1. I don’t know how long this conversation will last. (Though it is always an on-going one.) Or what direction it will go. (Though I seek it to be God’s direction.)
2. This conversation comes out of my prayerful concern about the kind of church we are going to be when the day comes we enter the new facility we are planning to build.
3. God has a will and purpose for our church here in Kendallville and Noble County and Indiana and the entire world! It some ways it will be different but it is rooted in what I will share in a future sermon as the twin missional pillars of the church – the Great Commandment to love and the Great Commission to make disciples.
The Bible has stories about transitions – both on a personal level and on a large-scale group level. This morning I am going to be using four images (or better yet, stories) out of the Bible to help us get our conversation started. Each one of them is about transitions. Some of the stories have a direct bearing on us, the transitions that we need to make to obey God and follow His vision for our future, and some will not.
(Slide 3) Wilderness, Exile, Return, Pentecost
The first image is that of the wilderness and we go to Exodus 13:17-14:4
When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them on the road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest way from Egypt to the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led them along a route through the wilderness toward the Red Sea, and the Israelites left Egypt like a marching army.
Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear that they would take his bones with them when God led them out of Egypt—as he was sure God would.
Leaving Succoth, they camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness. The Lord guided them by a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night. That way they could travel whether it was day or night. And the Lord did not remove the pillar of cloud or pillar of fire from their sight.
Then the Lord gave these instructions to Moses: “Tell the people to march toward Pi-hahiroth between Migdol and the sea. Camp there along the shore, opposite Baal-zephon. Then Pharaoh will think, ‘those Israelites are confused. They are trapped between the wilderness and the sea!’ And once again I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will chase after you. I have planned this so I will receive great glory at the expense of Pharaoh and his armies. After this, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord!” So the Israelites camped there as they were told. (NLT)
(Very quickly, the story goes on to tell of the Red Sea escape and the devastating loss of the Egyptian forces.)
Now, I have a question of this text, “Why did God do this to Israelites?” Why not take the most direct route? You and I would, wouldn’t we? (Okay, I know what some of you are saying, “Some of you take the roundabout route from time to time!”)
(Slide 4) It says in 13:17, God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” Why would they do that? They are free! Why would you want to go back to the good ‘ol days that really aren’t good and find yourself in the same position you were before and probably worse? Why return to slavery?
I recently read from the pen of pastor/writer Gil Rendle who wrote about this passage, something that gave me a new perspective on Israel’s wilderness experience and the issue of transitions.
(Slide 5)
“…it took 40 years in chaos, the wilderness, because the people needed time to reorganize at a higher level. Had they made the trip in forty days or forty months, the people of Israel would have arrived in the promise land unchanged.” (Source: Gil Rendle, Leading Change in the Congregation. Alban Institute. Page 98)
Now I have been used to hearing (and preaching) sermons about how stubborn and stiff-necked the people were during this journey. I have spoken of, and heard about, the disobedience and lack of faith within this group.
But think with me for a moment about the point Rendle is making.
We are used to calling this group of people the Israelites, and they were descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But they had been enslaved for 430 years! They did not know how to work as a properly functioning group free from slavery! They had not had a leadership team or structure in place to help them transition to a new chapter in God’s plan. They had no leaders!
They needed help to gain maturity, holiness, and a new level of trust with one another and ultimately with God! They had been slaves and no one appeared to be their leader until God directed Moses to be their leader. They needed to be formed as a new nation.
God knew in His infinite and loving wisdom that if faced with a battle so soon they would bolt and run back to the place from which they had just escaped! They would have sought safety in the only place they had ever known. They needed a season of transition, or preparedness to become the nation that became known as Israel. Some transitions are preparatory times for a new chapter or phase of life (and for a church, ministry.)
Not an easy 40 years it was for the developing nation; the developing people of God.
(Here’s a free-bee this morning!) Consider the giving of the Law of Moses with all of it’s directions on how to do things as the development of their constitution. God was forming a new nation on earth to accomplish His purpose and they needed some clear instructions on how to be that nation. They needed time (and a willing and obedient spirit) to transition into the nation of Israel.
Yet, once on the verge of the Promised Land, as we read in Numbers 13, fear, something that we need to be very aware of and honestly face in transitions, gained the upper hand in the Israelites’ hearts and souls. Fear of those who were present in the land (they are too big, they are too strong!) overwhelmed faith in God.
And so, 40 years would go by before they would stand on the banks of the Jordan River and finally take possession of the land they had already been promised. A big transition was taking place.
But, God made clear to them before and as they entered the Promise Land, “if you do not live by the guidelines I have laid down, you will lose this land.” “Oh, yes, yes, we will follow you God we will obey, WE PROMISE!”
(Slide 6) But they failed and they found themselves eventually, many centuries later, in another transition called The Exile.
The Exile took place in around 587 B.C.E. when the Babylonians finally breached the walls of Jerusalem and conquered the southern kingdom of Israel called Judah.
(Quick history: Judah consisted of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. The other 10 tribes constituted the nation of Israel or the northern kingdom conquered by Assyria over 100 years earlier. The people of the Northern Kingdom would be scattered to other parts of the Assyrian empire never to return to their homeland. The tribe of Judah would return 70 years later.)
We have been reminded in various sermons and lessons that disobedience to the Covenant was the reason for the exile. They had not been faithful to the Lord and so Israel was torn apart then eventually conquered.
Sin, disobedience, and lack of faith can cause transitions in our lives that we do not want to occur or keep the right transitions from taking place. However, in many different places in the Old Testament prophets, we read about God’s plan to bring back His people to the Promise Land.
Exile was a profound experience for the conquered nation. There was no more homeland; no more familiar customs and cultures; no more freedom.
(Slide 6a) Walter Brueggeman makes an interesting point about this period. He says, “Judah had two tasks in this crisis of life and faith. It had to let go of the old world of king and temple that God had now taken from it. It had to receive from God’s hand a new world which it did not believe was possible and which it would have not preferred or chosen.” (Source: quoted in Gil Rendle’s book, Leading Change in the Congregation. Alban Institute. Page 39)
God would create a new Israel into a new history and a new covenant in this transition that would eventually lead to Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection. The Lord made this clear through the prophet Ezekiel, who was a Babylonian captive as we read in Ezekiel 36:22-28.
I am bringing you back again but not because you deserve it. I am doing it to protect my holy name, which you dishonored while you were scattered among the nations. I will show how holy my great name is—the name you dishonored among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign Lord, then the nations will know that I am the Lord. For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land.
“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart with new and right desires, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony heart of sin and give you a new, obedient heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so you will obey my laws and do whatever I command.
“And you will live in Israel, the land I gave your ancestors long ago. You will be my people, and I will be your God.
(Slide 7) Notice that God says through Ezekiel, “I will give you a new heart with new and right desires, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony heart of sin and give you a new, obedient heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so you will obey my laws and do whatever I command.”(Verse 26)
The Lord is re-forming His people.
Transitions sometimes are about being reformed. Transitions involve a change of heart; a change of attitude; a change of priorities; a change of direction.
And because of the lack of obedience and faith, the people of God required some painful transitions to bring them back to where they needed to be.
Ezekiel’s contemporary was Jeremiah and the Lord spoke through him of what really needed to happen during this transition. We read it Jeremiah 29:4-14
“The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, sends this message to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem: “Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food you produce. Marry, and have children. Then find spouses for them, and have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away! And work for the peace and prosperity of Babylon. Pray to the Lord for that city where you are held captive, for if Babylon has peace, so will you.”
The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says, “Do not let the prophets and mediums who are there in Babylon trick you. Do not listen to their dreams because they prophesy lies in my name. I have not sent them,” says the Lord. “The truth is that you will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and bring you home again to your own land.”
This is a familiar passage, isn’t it? I suggest that we see it in light of the transitions that God had the people of Judah make during a time of transition from captivity back to freedom.
This transition would take place 70 years later when Nehemiah and others would lead groups of people back to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls. This was a tough and demanding transition.
A lot changes in 70 years, doesn’t it? 70 years ago was…1940. There was war in the world but it would be 23 months before the war came to us.
Jerusalem was different by then. It had been destroyed. The temple was gone and so were other landmarks.
(Slide 8) The transition in re-building is one of the hardest transitions to make. Think for a moment about a stroke victim who has to re-learn some basic skills lost to the stroke. Think about a family who has lost their house due to flood or fire. Think about the man or women having to rebuild their lives after the death of a spouse or a divorce. Nothing is the same anymore.
(Slide 8a) In Nehemiah 2:10 we read, “But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of my arrival, they were very angry that someone had come who was interested in helping Israel.”
From the very start, those who did not want it to succeed would oppose the rebuilding of Jerusalem. This happens in transitions – there is opposition and sometimes the opposition is… us. Remember what I said about fear a few moments ago.
But eventually Jerusalem is reoccupied and God’s purpose and plan is carried out through the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a major transition and it requires a transition that can only happen through the power and work of the Holy Spirit.
This brings me to Pentecost and Acts 2 starting with verse 1.
“On the day of Pentecost, seven weeks after Jesus’ resurrection, the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm in the skies above them, and it filled the house where they were meeting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.”
The task and the purpose of spreading the gospel, which God had in store for His people, required a significant transition that could not be programmed in any way. To tell the Good News of Christ’s saving grace, required, as Jesus indicated in the late chapters of John’s gospel, the coming of the Holy Spirit. Until that event, that transition took place, nothing could happen.
(Slide 9) Psalm 127:1, “Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is useless.”
(Slide 9a) Transitions require power of various kinds. The kinds of transitions we must make, as a church requires the power and work of the Holy Spirit. We cannot make or go through the changes unless we surrender, individually and corporately to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to work in, through and around us.
So, as we face this new year (and really this new decade) we must begin to make some transitions that I am not calling us to make, but I believe that God is calling us, and even requiring us to make so that we become the church that God is wanting us to become.
(Slide 10) Who is God calling us to become as the First Church of God here in Kendallville, Indiana?
It used to be that churches were very much the same. They followed the denominational plan and used, for example, the suggested Sunday School material. They organized the same way (in our case, the Trustee’s were the main governing body.)
But today, is different, isn’t it? Drive around our town and visit a church and you will see different building styles and different worship styles. Though there are theological differences among the churches of our community, there is far more diversity today in the church than ever before.
There are different models for a local church to try to follow. Each has its strengths and weaknesses.
But what kind of a church is God calling us to be; requiring us to be in the days ahead?
As we seek the Lord’s direction, we must remember this: We are “we” and not “they.”
(Slide 11) Video clip “Who are We?”
What are we good at? What are the needs in our community that God is calling us to meet?
In your bulletin is a half page insert that I ask you bring out and look at this morning.
Very simply, from the work of Dr Greg Wiens, the State Minister for the Church of God in Florida is the life-cycle sketch that I have shared with our Ministry Council and which is the starting point for our discussion.
Please take a moment and get it out of your bulletin.
(Slide 12) Where are we as a church? Are we in childhood, adolescence, maturity, empty nest, old age, or are we near death?
I am going to ask you to mark on your half circle where you think we are as a church using this slide as a frame of reference and turn it in after the service. You do not need to put your name on the sheet simply mark it with an “x” and then write which stage you think that currently describes us.
(Slide 13) Here is where the Ministry Council believes we are as a church, on the downward side of the life cycle. However, just because we are does not mean that it is inevitable that we keep going downward. We have a choice to make and that choice is to either re-vision/re-purpose our self, as God directs, or not.
(Slide 14) The bold arc on this slide indicates a re-visioning is an intentional decision to start making some strategic transitions in order to start moving forward.
Please notice for a moment the repeating phrases on the inside of the cycle: vision, relationships, ministries, and structure.
Dr Wiens suggests these are four things that can (and do) drive a church’s ministry depending on where it is in the life cycle. He calls it ‘What drives your ministry?’
Vision is a vital aspect to the beginnings of a new church. It provides passion and direction and is usually centered around evangelism (a part of the Great Commission). But, a vision needs people to help it become a reality and people need to be in relationship, good and honest relationships, to help fulfill a vision.
But vision and relationships are one thing. Ministries or programs are also needed to help a church move forward as well. Sunday School, children’s church, VBS, worship, etc are examples of necessary programs and ministries for a church to have in place.
Then some structure has to be in place to help the ministries get done. All this then is a part of the growth and development of a church.
When the downward slope is hit, the first thing to go is vision. Our passion for helping people come to God begins to wane. We get comfortable with our relationships, our ministries, and spend a great deal of time on structure.
Then, for a variety of reasons: death, season of life changes, moves, and even conflict, relationships begin to take a hit and there is a change in the relational climate of the church.
As a result ministries begin to wane and die because there are less and less people willing (even, I think, in larger churches) to keep them going. What is then left is a structure no longer able to be maintained. Death sets in and a church dies.
10 years ago, this is probably where this church was. I don’t think that we are here again, but I think that we are in need of a renewal and re-visioning of our mission and purpose.
We need then to start intentionally making transitions in seeking and choosing God’s purpose for our church. What are those transitions? Before we can answer that, we have to determine what kind of a church we are going to be.
This means we have to take some time and prayerfully and carefully discern what kind of a church God wants us to be. Only then can we then begin to identify the transitions needed to become that church.
Now as part of the conversation, we can start at many different points. But for me here is a critical point right now: (Slide 15)
How many generations is our church to become? One, two, or multi-generational?
How many generations do most new churches focus on? Usually two – young adults with kids. They want to reach young adults, most likely married with kids and so they gear everything, budget, worship style, space allocation to those two groups.
Is this what the Lord wants us to do?
What about the other generations? What is God’s will for them?
(Slide 15a) For each of these three types, there are budget, worship, and space implications.
At the bottom of your insert, write down what you think about this. Is our church to start focusing on becoming a single generation, dual generation, or multi-generation church? What is God’s will for us?
I have given out a lot of information today so I am going to stop for now.
However, I stop on this note. God has a future for this church! I firmly believe this! Yet, we need to seek prayerfully and honestly His will and direction in becoming the church He wants us to become. This means that we will be saying ‘yes’ and… saying ‘no.’ It means that we will be making some transitions that not all of us like but we must make to be obedient to God.
Let us seek the Lord and His will be done. Amen.
