Christianly Thinking – Transformation or Bust

God has allowed “Christianity” to run itself into chaos. Instead of growing “to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God (Ephesians 4:13)” and all the benefits such unity affords, we have become progressively divided. Still, the Bride is making Herself ready and she will be perfectly joined and knit together (vv. 14-16). To avoid missing the wedding (Matthew 25:1-13), we must begin applying greater spiritual force against that which has us moving in the wrong direction.

This is not to suggest an ecumenical council to work out the common answers for everyone. That has been tried and failed. We are simply incapable of creating unity, only resisting it. But our point here is not our failures, but our precarious position in this current and critical moment. The shaking has begun (Hebrews 12:27); and perhaps longer ago than we realize.

As leaders, we will answer for those deceived because they did not have the love of the truth (2Thessalonians 2:9-10), for those who did not have a growing faith (2Thessalonians 1:3), and for those whose houses fell greatly in the storms (Matthew 7:26-27). Let us not deceive ourselves: Worldly measures are not reliable. God and His Son will not employ them at their respective judgments. Counter to our current way of thinking, the number of sheep lost may be more important to God than the numbers we managed to corral and keep in the pen (Matthew 18:12-14).

On the positive side of this, the chaos allowed by God has opened a window of opportunity for some important foundational changes. If your confidence and dependency on old paradigms, processes, and programs have been shaken, consider that a blessing. Rather than lose followers, perhaps God intends to shake loose what is no longer working and what has too much of the world in it, so we might become prepared for a new harvest of souls.

To put it another way, God has made our comfortable thoughts and ways of ministry increasingly painful since the beginning of this decade. Hopefully, we will learn from Israel’s well documented mistakes and stop going back to our compromises with the world. This is not to suggest we come out of the world, only out from under its influence. God has used the chaos to loosen the world’s grip on our ministries – to set us free from the quicksand of worldly thoughts and ways.

The sooner we bravely step into the unknown of transformation, the better. Every day wasted on the old, every day spent clutching for a renewal of the comfortable, is more detrimental than we can imagine – to ourselves and to the future generations of church leaders. Look at the world around us, both in and outside the church. Is there any hope that God and His Son will not hold the church and its leaders responsible?

For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? 1Peter 4:17

Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. James 4:17

Warning: Attempting to step around God-intended transformation is futile. I can testify from personal experience that jumping directly into a new work, without a season of transformation, eventually exposes itself as detraction/deception and an awful waste of time and energy. In God’s economy, transformation is simply the next unavoidable step outside of our comfort zones.

Encouragement: Once we step over the threshold, the Holy Spirit is quite capable of accelerating the process – in part depending on our willingness to participate, and more fully on God’s sovereign timing. God knows the urgency of the moment better than we, and He is a careful orchestrator of our lives. Patience and discipline are keys to efficient and effective transformation.

The Purposes of Transformation

The Greek word metamorphoo appears four times in Scripture (two are the same event). Each occurrence speaks volumes about God’s purposes for transformation in our lives, and the lives of those entrusted to our care.

Romans 12:2 – And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed (metamorphoo) by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Transformation de-conforms us from the influence of the world’s thoughts and ways, by the renewing our minds.

2Corinthians 3:18 – But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed (metamorphoo) into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. Transformation spiritually matures us and those entrusted to our care into the image of the glory of the Lord.

Matthew 17:1-2 – Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured (metamorphoo) before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. Transformation exposes the glory of the Father, through the Son, into our personal and corporate ministries.

There is a process here which applies directly to our current, critical situation:

1.?????? Escape the world’s influence;

2.?????? Allow the Holy Spirit to prepare you and your people; and

3.?????? Walk in the good work that glorifies our Father in heaven (Ephesians 2:10 and Matthew 5:16).

We have been teaching transformation here at inLight Consulting for over fifteen years. We know, by personal experience and through our work with hundreds of clients, that transformation is an adventure. And like all adventures, it includes both fear and excitement. Not coincidentally, the transformation process includes the casting out of all fear by God’s perfect love (1John 4:18).

Indeed, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit provide everything we need for everything they encourage and require. If this has been a word for you, faith will come. Our responsibility is obedience to that faith in taking the first step.

Getting Started

Discovering God’s will for ourselves and for those entrusted to our care is the obvious first step in this new adventure. Psalm 37:3-7 provides the framework and process for our journey.

3?Trust in the?LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. 4?Delight yourself also in the?LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your?heart.

5?Commit your way to the?LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring?it?to pass. 6?He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday.

7?Rest in the?LORD,?and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who?prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.

The purpose of this article is not to expound this passage fully, but provide a few key points to help leaders take the first steps toward individual and community transformation:

1.?????? Verse three contains the prerequisite position for transformation: Faith, righteousness, and security and dependence on the LORD.

2.?????? Verses four to six describe the transformation process. The Hebrew word anag, translated as delight, literally means “to be soft” – like clay, surrendered and moldable in the Potter’s hands. Committing our way to the Lord requires exchanging our human and worldly ways of ministry for those comparatively higher, as the heavens are to the earth (Isaiah 55:9). Trusting Him to bring our desire to pass suggests a growing faith and a dependency on Him to manifest the desire as He determines. The glorious conclusion of the process is the revelation of Jesus Christ – our righteousness and light – in the good works of our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).

3.?????? Verse seven is a concluding encouragement for those, like myself, who would rush the process and/or become distracted by the success of others.

Perhaps the most important encouragement we can draw from this passage is God’s promise to bring to pass the desire He has stirred in our hearts for this critical season. If we will lean into that desire and step into transformation, we will be swept away into His adventure for our lives and the lives of those He has entrusted to our care.

Conclusion

It would be easy to close with a warning against the temptation of comfort and security. I have done that plenty of times in the past. But that type of motivation is no longer appropriate or necessary. Those who may be feeling comfortable and secure will not for very much longer. More importantly, the opportunities for kingdom impact far outweigh any challenges which might keep us from the adventure.

As we have noted on several occasions, even secular philosophers and cognitive scientists argue that the chaos and crises provide new opportunities for religion to once again become the source of meaning and purpose in people’s lives (Vervaeke, McGilchrist, and others, 2021). The door has opened. People are desperate. We carry around, in our being, the answer to every crisis and desire known to mankind. ??

As bad as things look, as bad as things have been, we do not have to work up hope for the days ahead. We have only to step into God’s will and purpose for it – Commit your way to the?Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring?it?to pass.

If you are at all moved by this article, please respond in some way. This is the desire of my heart: to help Christian leaders in the church and in the workplace navigate the chaos of transformation and find joyful, Spirit-filled ministry.

In the meantime, God bless you with wisdom and courage for the greatest adventure you will ever experience on this side of heaven.

Have a strong day in the Lord,

Rob

#iamjustthepen

Vervaeke, J., McGilchrist I., and others. (2021). The 4 Horsemen of Meaning. The Dr. Jordan B. Peterson Podcast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCvQsqSCWjA.