I’m reading a book called, “Transforming Congregational Culture,” by Anthony Robinson.  It was recommended to me after reading and discussing a few other books on church ministry and addressing the changing culture while on my sabbatical.  So the learning and growing goes on.  As I read through this book, I will be posting some thoughts, reflections, and questions to ponder as we continue to address the need to change and be changed by God for the sake of our souls and of the world.

We don’t need anyone to tell us that the mainline churches in America are facing many challenges and changes from without and from within.  This shouldn’t be new or surprising to folks, although how these changes and challenges are manifesting themselves may be new and surprising, if not disconcerting.  Nor should it be surprising that there continues to be steady change in how Americans think and behave where religion is concerned.  This is not just a mainline issue! 

In times such as these, and we are not alone in the story of God’s people on earth of having “times such as these,” I am reminded of the church camp song, “The Rock!”  The words come right out of Psalm 18: 46 - The Lord Lives!  Blessed be my ROCK, and exalted be the God of my salvation!”  I need a rock to stand on, a firm foundation when life is so shakey and uncertain.  If it feels like you are on ever shifting sands, perhaps what you are relying on for stability is not God, but something else that has become a substitute for God.  Power, possessions, and prestige in one form or another often are the substitutes we go to instead of seeking God.  God wants to take away any and all substitutes that we have put in place of God, so that God can be our Rock, our center, our very life.

Change is actually the point.  God wants to change us, save us, and transform our lives.  So, I end with the beginning of Robinson’s book on transforming congregations, it begins with a question: what is our God given purpose?  Who is God calling us and changing us to be, and from that, what is God calling us to do?  This is not a one time question, but the guiding question for us as Christians in community, keeping us focused on God our Rock!