Time of Change and Transition

Everywhere I look, I see transitions underway. Whether it is in local congregations facing a myriad of change, or as individuals. I will be leaving regional ministry and moving into local church leadership, everyone is undergoing some sort of change. Some days we handle those transitions well; other days we are convinced the end of our world is near.

For the last decade, I have watched a parade of change march through my life and the lives of God’s people. During this period, I have had the amazing privilege of observing, and by God’s grace, being a small part of what God has done and is doing within our network of churches. Some of our churches have seen substantial growth, while others have faced the challenges of decline. I have observed where churches and leaders rediscover interdependency, a God given desire for those who are not yet Christians and a focus on discipleship, times of transition have been times of fruitfulness.

I know that change and transition is a gift from God. Transition and change provide for us an opportunity for learning and growth. Transitions are our wilderness experiences, when we live in-between what was and what will be. When we lean into the uncertainty and learn what the in-between season has to teach us, we grow deeper in our faith and discipleship. We pray more sincerely, seek God’s will more diligently, and are willing to be more honest and open about our strengths and weaknesses.

Throughout the Bible, God works in people’s lives during transition. Moses ends a life in Egypt of luxury, goes through a transition period in the wilderness, and experiences a new beginning as the leader of God’s chosen people. Jesus’ baptism marks the ending of life as he knew it, through a time of transition in the wilderness, and launches into a life of ministry.

If we do not take scripture seriously both in developing church culture and our own lives as leaders, we will be overwhelmed and disillusioned in times of transition.

Can I suggest that as leaders, churches and Webnet, during our times of transition ahead we:

HONOUR THE PAST – we will never be able to transition to God’s preferred future unless we recognise and honour what God has been doing up to this point. 

CAST VISION FOR THE FUTURE – we honour what God has done in the past, but we must cast a vision for what we believe God wants to do in the future. We have all read that without vision, the people perish, but it needs to be God’s vision and not our desire.

LEAVE THE RESULTS TO GOD – we are to trust God with the results, or we will try to manufacture fruit to seem to be successful. The times when I have felt most disillusioned is when I try hard and not lean on God enough.

DO THE HEART WORK - we need to be individuals and the people of God who have a heart for God, a heart for God’s people and a heart for those not yet Christians. For transition to be ‘successful’ (God’s purposes worked out) we need to maintain a soft heart, even during the difficult times.

I pray God’s spirit and presence will be more alive and real to you than at any time in your life. I pray that God’s preferred future for the network of churches in the West of England may be discovered and come into reality in the everyday disciple making lives of our congregations.

Only God knows the full story of our lives ahead. Our calling is to walk in faithfulness and to trust God to lead us during our ongoing times of transition.

One last warning! It is so easy to forget our dependency on God and become comfortable with what we have and choose our own way of doing things. This runs against the warning in Deuteronomy 6 verse 12 “be careful that you do not forget the Lord.”