This week we continued to discuss what it means to cultivate God's presence at RCC, and how we can approach the mission of the church with an openness to the changes that God may be leading us through. 

A Mission Will Drive Change

"So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey..." (Exodus 3:8)

Growth means change, and the whole Christian life is about change. Paul writes that we all, "who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Change Is Not Easy

"The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death." (Exodus 16:3)

The past wasn't perfect, but to the Israelites it was at least predictable. We too experience this resistance to change.

Hold To What Is Key

"By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people." (Exodus 13:21-22)

In times of change there are key things that remain constant which are essential, like the fact that there is one Gospel that transforms us and saves us. And on the flip side, there are things that aren't constant, things that we can practice holding more loosely, like the various strategies that the church uses to accomplish its mission. 

Questions for Small Groups
  1. Think of a time of significant change in your life. How did you eventually adapt to the change, and what did you learn from the experience?
  2. Recall Israel’s journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. Despite having a clear mission, many Israelites wanted to turn back (Ex. 16:3). What do you think are some of the top reasons why people are resistant to change?
  3. What does the Rogers Diffusion of Innovation bell curve teach us about the process of change?image.png
  4. Did anything from the Q&A strike you as interesting? As a group, continue to pray and think through the “Three Buckets” principle, which prioritizes a review of how we do Sunday morning (greeting, worship service, children and youth programming, fellowship)—i.e., a focus on a central part of our “Garden.

 

Missed this Sunday's sermon? Watch it here!

 

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