Return to the M.B. Herald Vol. 35, No. 11
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There's a fortune to be made in advising people how to plan for change, how to restructure, how to reposition, how to "be competitive in a global economy". Airport bookstores don't sell any paperbacks about stability and how to be successful by repeating what you did last year; neither do book tables at church conferences.
For all the talk of change, most of us have difficulty adjusting to changes which we haven't initiated. When change is imposed on us, we resist, even if we think of ourselves as flexible, progressive and forward-looking.
Take the example of people in the church who courageously led the way in initiating a language change 30 years ago. It was part of a global movement: from German to English among Mennonites, from Swedish to English among some Lutherans and Baptists, and from Latin to the local vernacular in Roman Catholic churches worldwide. Many of the people who initiated these changes found it hard to adapt to the new worship music a generation later. And those who led the way in introducing changes in music will undoubtedly encounter changes that they will resist.
Some explain this by saying it's just a matter of age. Up to a certain age you challenge the old ways, and after that you begin to defend the old ways. There's some truth in this; but there are advocates of change and defenders of the status quo among both old and young. I think the reasons go deeper.
We prefer the changes that we have initiated. We like our own ideas. We're slow to accept the ideas of others, regardless of how sensible they are.
A simple example (happening this moment in a household near you): She says, "Let's change the carpet in this room." He says, "There's nothing wrong with this carpet. Why should we get rid of a perfectly good carpet? If we do that we'll have to change the wallpaper too!" She says, "I know. I was getting to that."
Another example: He says, "I recommend that we move the counter toward the front of the store so that when customers enter, staff are able to make eye contact and greet them." His manager is cautious and says he's not sure it will make any difference. He thinks the disruption and cost won't be worthwhile. Four months later, the manager comes back from a customer service seminar in San Diego full of new ideas which must be implemented as quickly as possible. One of these new ideas is to move the counter toward the front of the store so that the "interpersonal quality factor can be enhanced".
Okay, these are stereotypes. But it happens. I know. I've been on both sides of these discussions.
It's curious that Christians are often so resistant to change. Our faith is based on Jesus, the man who went around disrupting the established order. We call people to conversion, a fundamental, radical change of orientation. But after that we want everything to be done decently and in order. It's a bit like training a gifted horse to race and then putting it into a small paddock for the rest of its life.
It's not surprising that Christians are so reluctant to change. Religious faith is rooted in authority--the authority of the Bible, or the authority of a Confession of Faith, or the authority of a denominational decision, or the authority of the elders of our congregation. Surveys analyzing personality types in society at large and in the church indicate that while 40% of society is tradition and authority oriented, well over 50% of church members are oriented this way. While nearly 40% of society dislike rules and prefer risk-taking, only 10% of church members are so inclined.
So we have a most peculiar anomaly. Churches, largely composed of people who resist change, are in the business of challenging people to change their lives. And then we wonder why our overall church growth rates are so low, and we're puzzled why some churches are bursting at the seams with eager new participants. We demand that our own schools and colleges have the same programs that they had 30 years ago, and then we wonder why their enrollments languish while other schools make change after change and flourish.
This is not complicated, but it is difficult. It is difficult because trusting the changes that other people initiate is not easy for any of us. We have confidence in our own ideas and those of our closest friends, but we're suspicious of that other group, the ones who don't have coffee with us, the ones who worship differently, the ones who read different books; some of them even like country and western music.
Well, I had better practise what I preach. We're going to look for new carpet next Saturday--and new wallpaper.
James Pankratz
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