See, Everything Has Become New

 By Rev. Suzanne How, pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Wymore


So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!  -- 2 Corinthians 5:17


Like that “new car” smell? Or perhaps you were in the store standing before hundreds of toothpaste choices and a box with “new and improved” emblazoned on it caught your eye. Ever watch a show where designers go in and completely change a house and you wait patiently for the end of the program where the shiny, new changes will be revealed? There’s a part of human nature that likes new, bright, different, improved – transformed. Until we’re talking about the way we do church, that is. Then it is less excitement and more consternation.

The questions come hard, and fast: what’s wrong with the way we’ve been doing things? What things need to ‘pass away’ and who gets to decide that? Who is going to be upset? How in the world do we come up with the vision of what the “new” will be like and what happens if we don’t like it? What happens if we take these risks, we try new things, and it fails? How can we manage the conflict that will arise between the vanguard and the old guard? What if we lose even more members?

And my favorite: “Wait, wait! But I’m not ready for change!”

Risk means the potential for loss, as much as the potential for gain. And when we can’t conceive of, or see clearly, what might be gained or what different possibilities could come to life we are reluctant to leap. Perhaps we aren’t asking the right questions first. Perhaps we should start with questions like “What does it mean to be 'in' Christ?” 

That shift in perspective turns transformation into a partnership based not on human power, but on the power of the Triune God, where we know all things work together for good for those who love God (Rom 8:28). Where trust and confidence in the promises made by God to God’s people in and through Christ Jesus are the safety net that emboldens us to risk change. It can seem too risky even to attempt to broach the conversation, but firmly focused on Christ as the cornerstone, we realize we are not alone on this journey of doing church, and fear can give way to creativity. Our human faults and frailties will not hold sway against God’s plan for the enduring renewal of creation, our very selves, and our churches. The answers we seek do not lie within the things we can craft for ourselves but by relying on God’s providence, promises, and power moving in and through us and our churches. Perhaps we should start there, in prayer.


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