Derek Lang
“And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, ‘What is this? A new teaching--with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.’” [Mark 1:26-27]
It sounds like a scene from the Exorcist. Personally, I think I would be hiding or running away if I saw this happen at CCUMC. But you have to admit that Jesus does surprise everyone with this supernatural feat. Jesus had a way of showing everyone something new. It was exciting if you were looking for hope and salvation. It was unnerving if you were part of the establishment. The same can be said even today. My homework assignment as part of my Conference Lay Minister discernment is to read the book “Who Stole My Church?” by Gordon MacDonald about how people deal (and sometimes not too well) with changes at their church.
One change you may have noticed at our church has been the formation of Small Groups. Intuitively we understand that growth is a good thing. But in the last year we have really taken seriously that to grow we need to individually commit to being active in our faith outside of just Sundays. Otherwise, if we are not growing, we are stagnating or dying. Jesus is calling us – calling those spirits of complacency to get out of our bodies so that we can make room for new things. Those new things are developing the practice of seeing God in our daily lives, encouraging others in their faith walk, being comfortable with sharing with others the exciting surprises or simple graces God has sprinkled in our lives, and being able to spend time in prayer talking to and listening to God.
Indeed change can be scary, especially if you are stuck. But change can be exciting, renewing, and uplifting too if you are looking for hope and salvation in your life.