Change is a constant in life. This has always been true, but it feels like the past couple of years this has been especially true. Covid-19 brought about a huge disruption and a lot of change all across the board. The chaos that the pandemic brought is likely not over. Changes that were temporary have become the “new normal”. In some areas if we ever do go back to how things used to be it will have been so long that going back will feel like a change. Many of these changes have impacted our church as we have sought to adapt to the realities we find ourselves in.
Change is inevitable but it can also be exhausting. After all of the changes we have already endured over the past couple of years we can find ourselves longing for stability and longing for things to stay the way they have always been. This can lead us to find ourselves resisting change. This can be harmful because sometimes change is not only inevitable but it is necessary and good.
However, if despite that you are still someone who tends not to be wild about change, there is good news. Change is a constant, but it is not the only constant. Our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Until Jesus returns, the mission of the church will remain to make disciples and until every person confesses Jesus as Savior, we have a job to do. No amount of change in the world is going to change the unwavering love of God, the mercy of the cross, or the mission of the church. Knowing that those bedrock, foundational truths will not ever change can help ground us and help us not only face the inevitableness of changes, but we can even embrace change.
Change is not always something to dread. It can also be something to celebrate. Change can mean adapting not just to survive, but to thrive. A couple of those adaptations begin for our church this month as we move from two worship services to a single worship service at 10:30 A.M. This month I will also begin serving the two churches that we have partnered with to form a new three-point charge. As we make these changes there will be a learning curve as we learn how to get it right, but in the end these changes will better enable us to focus on the constants. As a church we will be in a better place to last and focus on our mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
This new year of 2022 will be different and it will involve a lot of change, but I am excited for the story God is prepared to tell through North Judson UMC this year, and I am looking forward to you being part of it as well!