Editorial for April 6, 2006
By Jim White
Editor
Have you noticed in your reading of the Gospels that Jesus is not the least bit bashful? In the first few verses of Matthew 18, the disciples came to Jesus asking, “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Implicit in their question was another: “Which of us is greatest?”
Jesus called a little child to him and told his followers, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” What a blow to their egos! To a group whose discussion had been not whether they would enter, but who would be greatest, Jesus countered by saying without changing, none of them would even make it. They needed to release their egos and embrace the humility of a child. In short, they needed to change.
Change. It is often considered a bad word, but Jesus used it without hesitation. It implies the awareness of a current insufficiency followed by an intentional adjustment. That's not all bad. I have a close friend whose mother is seriously ill in an intensive care unit. He has been praying for a change. When workers anticipate a salary figure for the coming year, they hope for a change-a positive one. When I step on the scale, I hope for a change-a negative one. Change can be good!
Still, when most churches think of change, they feel anxious. More than in most other dimensions of their life, “church” represents for people safety and security. When things get stirred up at church, their sense of well-being is at stake. No wonder people like things to be left as they are.
But Jesus' word continues to echo throughout the centuries. “Change.” Not simply for the sake of change; not to adapt to this year's fashions; not “out with the old, in with the new!” Jesus intended for the disciples to take spiritual inventory and make some intentional choices about the men they would be.
Likewise, by logical extension, Jesus challenges the church to do the same. If most churches are honest, their spiritual inventory will reveal areas where radical change is necessary. Take evangelism, for example. Six months have passed since the clock began ticking on SBC President Bobby Welch's challenge to baptize 1 million people during the 2005-2006 church year. What would a spiritual inventory reveal about evangelism in our churches?
Or take the matter of designing worship to take into account those we are trying to reach. The truth is some of our churches need to be turned upside down and inside out. Their focus has become so introspective that many have lost sight of the mission field around them.
I have long held that deacons hold the keys to church vitality. They are in unique positions, as leaders in their congregations, to be obstructionists or to champion changes that need to be made. Don't get me wrong. Pastoral leadership is essential, too. But experience tells me that deacons are so influential in most Baptist churches that they can bless the pastor's leadership or they can withhold their approval and not much happens.
Deacons and other church leaders have a wonderful opportunity to focus on spiritual priorities on May 5-6 when church leaders from across the Commonwealth assemble at Eagle Eyrie for a time of training and inspiration. Entitled “Turning your Church Inside Out” the conference will provide a time for deacons, pastors and other church leaders to enjoy the beauty of the mountains, get to know their counterparts in other churches and refocus on the spiritual needs of their churches. A call to the Virginia Baptist Mission Board at 1 (800) 255-2428 will provide information about registration.
In the meantime, a hallmark of a growing Christian is the ability to be honest about his own spiritual needs. Because individual spiritual growth is so critical for pastors, many of them have groups they meet with to challenge and encourage them to keep growing and changing. An accountability group is a good idea for every spiritual leader.
Without change, there can be no growth, of course. Growth inevitably leaves behind what has been and emerges into something new. The irony is that change will come one way or the other: as growth or as decay. We will grow in Christ as spiritual beings and as congregations in Chirstlikeness, or we will recede spiritually into carnal mindedness and inflated egos. We can intentionally change as the Spirit urges or we will be changed by worldly forces around us.
The disciples may have been offended by Jesus' remark that if they didn't change they wouldn't have to worry about who was greatest in heaven because they wouldn't be there. Was he overstating their situation to get their attention? Probably. But, I'm sure Peter and the others got the point. When self is the focus, the kingdom can't be.