the pace of change
by JVS on Dec.01, 2009, under 2009
Too often in recent months I’ve experienced stress over the pace of change in our church. It comes and goes, and often revolves around a question like this, “Why is it taking so long for this idea of God-revealing-Himself-everywhere to catch on?” I read something tonight that helped me understand…
In His book, Culture Making, Andy Crouch writes this (quoting another author; Stewart Brand) about cultural change,
“Brand’s most important insight is that there is an inverse relationship between a cultural layer’s speed of change and its longevity of impact. The faster a given layer of culture changes, the less long-term effect it has on the horizons of possibility and impossibility. My life as an American citizen is profoundly shaped by centuries of development in our political system, especially the ideals of governance ratified by the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and shaped by countless legislative and judicial decisions since. But my life is not at all affected by the fashions for men’s wigs in 1787. By the same token, any change that will profoundly move the horizons of possibility and impossibility will almost always, by definition, take lots of time. The bigger the change we hope for, the longer we must be willing to invest, work and wait for it.”
This is a huge change that we’ve embarked on as a church. So big that its easy to miss, misunderstand, or ignore. Patience and hard work are in order.
