Following are excerpts from an article a friend wrote for Relevant Magazine. Michael Hidalgo is lead pastor/teacher of Denver Community Church and author of Unlost: Being Found by the One We Are Looking For, and Changing Faith: Doubts and Choices about an Unchanging God.
The highest vision of most churches is “safe.” We focus on making church predictable, comfy, typically full of people who think and live as we do. But, from time to time, God wants things to change, which, for whatever reason, means trouble, which won’t happen without troublemakers.
Troublemakers are the people who help God’s church make the changes He wants. They’re folks who have nothing to lose, and a clear vision of where things need to go. But because change can be so painful, these troublemaking servants of the Lord are often seen as “sinners.”
Change may be the only constant, but it is a terrifying idea for many. Many of us resist change, and are just fine with the way things are. Something in us knows change is a form of loss, and loss is painful. And change brings something else that few people like, the unknown.
When things stay the same, life is comfortable, predictable and familiar. And when that is threatened we become uncomfortable, uncertain and confused. We often find ourselves reacting against change, and we think of those leading change as troublemakers.
Continue reading When Saints Seem Like Sinners, You Can Bet There’s a Change Coming