Is Adaptive Change Possible?

Church Renewal and the Kingdom of God-Part 2

In my previous post, I discussed the decline of Christianity in North America and three lies that churches have bought into to stave off such decline. The point was to suggest that instead of being into the lies of Christian relativism, Christian consumerism, and Christian nationalism, the future for church renewal is discovered in seeking the kingdom of God. With this post, I want to expand on this pursuit of God’s kingdom more and the sort of change this pursuit requires.

Albert Einstein described insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” That’s true not only with science but also with churches in the way believers organize and function as a congregation. If a local church is confronted with years of decline, loss of vision, and congregational morale, continuing to do the same is insanity will likely just yield more decline, loss of vision, and congregational morale. What the local church needs is a renewed pursuit of God’s kingdom but that will require change in the way the church organizes and operates.

Is such change possible? Well, anything is possible but not everything is probable. In my experience, even the talk of change is troublesome for churches. I sympathize to a point. When it comes to the local church that we are a part of, that we have invested ourselves in, change is especially difficult. Such difficulty isn’t just because we’re having to learn some new ways of organizing and operating but because we have emotional ties to what is going on.

What we need is to step back and take a deep breath. In other words, pray. Praying is not only a part of any renewed pursuit of God’s kingdom but in surrendering ourselves and our church to God in prayer, our anxiety begins to subside. Once the anxiety level lowers, we can think more and begin to see with eyes toward a long-term vision. A long-term vision can help us become less reactionary and avoid the ever temptation of quick-fix solutions, which usually fail and only produce more anxiety when they fail.

Let me be clear that I am not talking about change by means of taking a wrecking ball to the life of the church. Anyone with a hammer can tear something down but that is foolish. The change I have in mind is more likely to happen in gradual increments. For some, slowness is frustrating but let’s remember that the best barbecue is slow-roasted barbecue.

Nevertheless, a renewed pursuit of God’s kingdom involves change that will require courage and conviction. Although the past informs our present so that we step wisely into the future, our future is never just a rerun of the past. Consequently, following Jesus in a renewed pursuit of God’s kingdom means we must accept the necessity of learning to do some things differently when it comes to how we organize and operate as a church.

For example, many existing churches learned how to embody the gospel in the 1950s to 1960s among predominantly White suburban neighborhoods. But now, these same churches, likely predominantly White, find themselves among ethnically diverse neighborhoods that face a lot of economic challenges. Changes are necessary if these churches want to embody the gospel in their neighborhoods. Learning new ways of thinking and doing does not mean changing the gospel message but learning new ways of embodying the gospel in our new contexts.

The kind of change I’m talking about is adaptive because it requires new ways of thinking and doing. Adaptive change is different from technical change, which doesn’t require any new ways of thinking and doing. For example, if a church decides to replace the pews in the church building with chairs, it's a technical change because the church can carry on with business as usual. New ways of thinking and doing are unnecessary for replacing the pews with chairs. On the other hand, if the same church realizes that it inhabits a racially diverse neighborhood, then learning to embody the gospel in a manner that opens space for more racial reconciliation will require new ways of thinking and doing.

It’s not that technical changes are unnecessary. There will still be times when technical changes become necessary to accommodate the adaptive changes that are happening. Just realize that technical changes are not the kind that allows a church to step beyond the present into a renewed future. If our churches are to step forward into the future and discover fresh ways of embodying the gospel within the local context, then learning to adapt isn’t an option but a must. In doing so, we’ll do well to remember that taking such steps requires more trust in God. Let us remember that God’s Spirit is dwelling among us and leading in our renewed pursuit of his kingdom as people following Jesus Christ.

There is so much more to say about church renewal and the kingdom of God. I’m just trying to explain the need for change, particularly adaptive change, in an easily understandable manner. For further reading, I want to recommend two books:

1. Tod Bolsinger, Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory, expanded ed., Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2015. The book provides a more thorough discussion of the necessary leadership for churches that find themselves in decline but desire to engage in a renewed pursuit of God’s kingdom.

2. Jack R. Reese, At the Blue Hole: Elegy for a Church on the Edge, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2021. This book is focused on the past and future of the Churches of Christ, leading the reader to a discussion of adaptive change as a necessity for the future.