Ok, you got me, I confess. I’m ready to tell the truth. No longer will you have to guess at my motives or my agenda. No hidden agenda here, I’m aiming for full disclosure. Are you ready? Can you handle the truth?
I am a change agent. There, I said it. ‚ÄúHello, my name is Randy and I am a change agent.” I believe, with all my heart, that change is what God wants, expects, and demands from His people.
Life in the kingdom is built upon the very notion of change:
If anyone belongs to Christ, there is a new creation. The old things have gone; everything is made new! (2 Corinthians 5:17 NCV)
The call to belong to the kingdom is a call to change:
John said, “Change your hearts and lives because the kingdom of heaven is near.” (Matthew 3:2 NCV)
From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Change your hearts and lives, because the kingdom of heaven is near.” (Matthew 4:17 NCV)
So the followers went out and preached that people should change their hearts and lives. (Mark 6:12 NCV)
We can’t even share in the things of Christ without a willingness to change:
Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you must change and become like little children. Otherwise, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:3 NCV)
It will take only a second–as quickly as an eye blinks–when the last trumpet sounds. The trumpet will sound, and those who have died will be raised to live forever, and we will all be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:52 NCV)
Those people who welcome change correctly assess their need for God and grace:
John came to show you the right way to live. You did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes believed him. Even after seeing this, you still refused to change your ways and believe him. (Matthew 21:32 NCV)
If there were ever a time when change was needed it is now!
He said, “The right time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Change your hearts and lives and believe the Good News!” (Mark 1:15 NCV)
The right time has come. The time to quit living for self and living for Christ. The time to stop advancing “our church” and begin to advance Christ! I continued to be amazed at the negative rhetoric and the heretical innuendoes leveled at those who seek change for the sake of the Kingdom.
Answer this question: “God patiently waits for us to do what?” If you said, “change” you were right!
He has been very kind and patient, waiting for you to change, but you think nothing of his kindness. Perhaps you do not understand that God is kind to you so you will change your hearts and lives. (Romans 2:4 NCV)
Remember the Domino’s commercial where the man stands at the door bragging about all the different kinds of pizza‚Äôs he can order for just five bucks? While he goes on describing elaborate combinations his wife comes to the door and says ‚Äúand yet you ordered three pepperoni pizzas.‚Äù His response? ‚ÄúI fear change.‚Äù
There is a difference between fearing change and resisting change. I may be afraid of a particular change because of that natural tendency to be uncomfortable with things that are different. Resisting God’s call to change is a willful action of disobedience.
There are those who believe that God only likes pepperoni pizza. There are those who believe that to offer any thing but pepperoni pizza to God is wrong.
I’m with those who believe that it’s all about the pizza and not about the toppings. It’s about our offering from a pure heart and not about the fixings - or should I say trappings?
The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Our faces, then, are not covered. We all show the Lord’s glory, and we are being changed to be like him. This change in us brings ever greater glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. God, with his mercy, gave us this work to do, so we don’t give up. (2 Corinthians 3:16-4:1 NCV)
So, I won’t give up in this process of change. I will continue being an agent of change.
5 Responses to “Change Agent”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
May 19th, 2005 at 12:06 pm
I’ve looked at this 3 times and can’t really put my thoughts into words. Usually, when I make a statement like that, I end up saying more than when I’m sure of what I think! But “thinking,” instead of going to the Word, is what sometimes gets us into trouble in this area, anyway, isn’t it?
Obviously, I can’t argue with the passages of scripture you refer to, nor would I want to. Change IS good, as long as it adheres to His direction.
I’m afraid I’d be labeled a stick-in-the-mud in a lot of areas where the church is concerned. I’m over 50, so I guess you could say, in a lot of ways, I’m from the old school of thought. But, on the other hand, I really enjoy and feel uplifted by some of the new breezes blowing. I get scared sometimes, though. A thought often conveyed in the 60s was “It only takes one generation for apostasy to set in.” (I THINK apostasy was the word used to convey a complete falling away from truth.)
God bless us as we continue to search and grow.
May 19th, 2005 at 12:19 pm
I’ve looked at this 3 times and can’t really put my thoughts into words. Usually, when I make a statement like that, I end up saying more than when I’m sure of what I think! But “thinking,” instead of going to the Word, is what sometimes gets us into trouble in this area, anyway, isn’t it?
Obviously, I can’t argue with the passages of scripture you refer to, nor would I want to. Change IS good, as long as it adheres to His direction.
I’m afraid I’d be labeled a stick-in-the-mud in a lot of areas where the church is concerned. I’m over 50, so I guess you could say, in a lot of ways, I’m from the old school of thought. But, on the other hand, I really enjoy and feel uplifted by some of the new breezes blowing. I get scared sometimes, though. A thought often conveyed in the 60s was “It only takes one generation for apostasy to set in.” (I THINK apostasy was the word used to convey a complete falling away from truth.)
God bless us as we continue to search and grow.
May 19th, 2005 at 12:19 pm
Well, I’ve done it again…..sent two comments. Sorry!
May 19th, 2005 at 12:44 pm
Well stated! I heard Rick Warren state one time that he did favor “change for change’s sake” at his church so that when they really did need to change something, the people were in a mindset that allowed change to happen.
I’ve found in my experience of 30 years in ministry that anytime we try to be more Christ-like and focus on Him rather than on those in Scripture trying to focus on him, it makes people very nervous! We’re far more comfortable with status quo than we are being Spirit-led.
The Spirit never seemed to be all that concerned with happiness and comfort. He seems to be concerned with holiness and compassion.
May 19th, 2005 at 11:01 pm
Ah, change as an abiding Christian ethic. Even so, I prefer to add the word/prefix “transformational” to change (transformational change) to describe the sort of progress or evolution that SHOULD characterize our Christian walk. According to the words of one of my favorite hymn, we are being “changed from glory into glory till in heaven we take our place”.