The Challenge and Opportunity of Discontinuous Change
Twenty-first century Christians have found ourselves in a position of liminality with the change of society from a Christian to a non-Christian context. This change we have been experiencing is not a slow, steady change but a disruptive one. However, during the past year another layer of challenges have been added. Challenges of pivoting to a new way of being the church have called for a paradigm shift in the way we do ministry. The pandemic has also physically moved people to new jobs and different homes. Perhaps some of the biggest challenges, though, have been societal changes and challenges surrounding justice. Churches are having to confront aspects of themselves that they aren’t prepared to confront, and at times it seems like the challenges are coming from all sides. How should churches respond?
When anyone faces a challenge, it’s tempting to think that we are the only generation that has faced challenges, which can feel incredibly discouraging and isolating. In his book Cadences of Home, Walter Brueggemann uses the metaphor of exile to refer to the place in which Christians find themselves. He does not use this term in a geographical sense, but to address the widespread social, moral, and cultural uneasiness felt among Christians. [1] However, we have to remember that we are not the first generation of Christians to face challenges and change. The early Christians did not fit in with their surrounding culture and often could not participate in the social events in their communities, many of which were dedicated to other gods or involved immoral activities. In John 17, Jesus discussed the tension of being in the world but not of the world. Christianity was birthed in an era in which it did not “fit in.” We can retreat and wish for easier times, or we can rise to the challenge even if it means stretching ourselves in the process.
One of the earliest examples of the church rising to a challenge is found when the Hellenistic Jews complained that their widows were being overlooked in distributions (Acts 6). I have often wondered how things would have gone had modern churches been in charge. Would we have devised a plan involving equal representation among the men newly appointed to handle it? Would we have even gathered a group to address the situation? Would we have opted to reassure that no harm was meant or that there wasn’t a problem? The early church chose to follow Jesus’s teachings of going the extra mile (Matt. 5:41), and they chose to populate the entire group with Hellenistic Jews to make sure there was no mistake that they intended reconciliation. Their gesture was not overlooked and seems to connect with the church’s continued growth, including the conversion of a large number of Jewish priests (Acts 6:7).
Roxburgh and Romanuk note that the type of change we are now experiencing – discontinuous change – is often present in periods when a culture experiences major transformation. [2] Roxburgh and Boren point to Jesus’s conversation with Nicodemus (John 3:1-8) as a situation similar to that of the modern church: Nicodemus thought he understood the ways of God, but Jesus told him that he needed a new imagination. [3] It is through this new imagination that the church will be able to meet the challenges it is faces. Newbigin also points to the church’s situation throughout Acts as a time of disruptive change, one in which the church must answer the question, “What is this new reality?” Answering this question is important in modern times as well. [4]
The current position of liminality within the church provides a unique opportunity to discover new ways to do kingdom work. During a time of re-imagination, these challenges can open new doors and help us see our communities in a new light. While the past year has held many challenges, both personal and communal, it is amazing to see how God has always been at work weaving things together for the good of his people.
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[1] Walter Brueggemann, Cadences of Home: Preaching Among the Exiles (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997), 1-3.
[2] Alan J. Roxburgh and Fred Romanuk, The Missional Leader: Equipping Your Church to Reach a Changing World (San Francisco, CA: Josse-Bass, 2006), 7.
[3] Alan J. Roxburgh and M. Scott Boren, Introducing the Missional Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2009), 120-121.
[4] Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1989), 132-133.
