In her book \u201cThe Great Emergence,\u201d the church historian Phyllis Tickle talks about the different big changes that have happened in the Church since Christ left us and Pentecost happened.\u00a0 She sees a pattern.\u00a0 About every 500 years, we get to arguing with each other and go through a process where the way that we do church is overhauled.\u00a0 She calls it a Great Rummage Sale \u2013 we sit down and figure out what we do that is important and should be kept, what we do that isn\u2019t as important as we thought and should be jettisoned, and sometimes what we stopped doing and should do again.\u00a0 The first of these started with the Council of Chalcedon in 451, where the early church worked out exactly what we believe about Christ.\u00a0 Our definition of Jesus as fully human AND fully divine comes from that meeting. \u00a0It sounds a little boring now, but trust me \u2013 the fights over whether Jesus was of two natures in one person or two different persons in one body were just as nasty as fights over gay marriage are today.\u00a0 People were excommunicated.\u00a0 The second big change was the Great Schism between the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches in 1054.\u00a0 Then, and most importantly for us, came the Reformation in the 1500\u2019s.\u00a0 Each time the church changed in a radical way \u2013 both the winners and the losers \u2013 and each time it was difficult for those living in the church.\u00a0 Phyllis Tickle\u2019s assertion is that we are going through one of those times again now, and that we are looking at what we do with an eye towards cleaning house.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So what do we do?\u00a0 How do we get ready to ride the wave of change?\u00a0 Will there be a spot for us on the other side?<\/p>\n In my first career I was trained as a Project Manager.\u00a0 Some of that came out last year with the revision of the Bylaws.\u00a0 One of the things that project managers need to understand and be able to work with is Change Management.\u00a0 You can change the organization that you\u2019re in, but you need to do it right.\u00a0 You need to make sure that you\u2019re making the right change.\u00a0 You need to make sure that the change matches the direction that you want to go in.\u00a0 You need to make sure that the change matches your values, that you aren\u2019t selling yourself out with the change, OR avoiding change that must be made to live your values.\u00a0 And it\u2019s very important that people understand why the change is needed, and that you plan to help people along the way.\u00a0 You need to be there for those people who are uncomfortable with the change and help them through it.\u00a0 You want them to feel there is a place for them on the other side.\u00a0 That\u2019s especially true in the church.<\/p>\n The Session here is talking about that.\u00a0 One thing that they\u2019re looking at is the difference between Technical<\/span> change and Adaptive<\/span> change.\u00a0 Technical changes are those that you already know how to make, and are generally clear.\u00a0 If the boiler breaks, you fix it or replace it.\u00a0 If people are having trouble reading the bulletin, you print it on bigger paper.\u00a0 You run the Stewardship campaign each year to make sure that we have enough resources to operate.\u00a0 You schedule Church School for the children. Things like that.<\/p>\n Adaptive change is change that isn\u2019t quite so clear.\u00a0 You know that something needs to be changed, but you can\u2019t even tell what the problems are.\u00a0 You have to learn what the questions are before you can find the answers.\u00a0 Maybe you need to learn how to do something new to answer the need.\u00a0 Adaptive changes might be things like moving to a mostly electronic newsletter (while still printing it for those who can\u2019t get it online).\u00a0 Or working with other Plainfield churches to figure out what the Presbyterian community here will look like.\u00a0 Or studying discipleship as a church in order that we may make and become good disciples.<\/p>\n She doesn\u2019t say it in quite this way, but I feel certain that Phyllis Tickle would call the change that the church is undergoing Adaptive Change.\u00a0 The whole church knows that things are changing, but they don\u2019t quite know how.\u00a0 The whole church is realizing that the way that we are doing things isn\u2019t quite working the way it used to, but we don\u2019t yet know how to change it.\u00a0 We\u2019re worried about where the young people are.\u00a0 We\u2019re worried about how to reach the people living around the church.\u00a0 We\u2019re wondering how to be socially responsible Christians in a difficult world.\u00a0 And while we\u2019re considering change, some folks are uncomfortable with the idea of change.<\/p>\n Scary?\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 Necessary?\u00a0 I\u2019d say yes.<\/p>\n Jeremiah was in that sort of \u201cwhat do I do?\u201d place too.\u00a0 He\u2019d been held in the court of Zedekiah \u2013 a ruler that the enemy King Nebuchadnezzar had put in place over Judah.\u00a0 He was imprisoned there because he\u2019d been speaking out, saying first to shape up, and later telling people that losing the battle was inevitable, and that they would be at best exiled to Babylon (and at worst, might end up dead).\u00a0 And then the call from God came to him, telling him to do this crazy thing and buy land in a place that he was telling everybody they\u2019d be forced to leave.\u00a0 He had to work through intermediaries to buy the land, and the process also ensured that the purchase would come to the ears of many.\u00a0 And he followed God\u2019s orders and put the deeds in a sealed earthenware jar.\u00a0 This was the closest thing the Israelites had to humidity and temperature controlled storage \u2013 you put the document in a big pot and sealed it up to protect it \u2013 the Dead Sea Scrolls were found like that.\u00a0 He was told to make sure the deed lasted for a long time.\u00a0 Why?<\/p>\n Because God was telling Jeremiah that there would be a place for him after the exile ended.\u00a0 After the great upheaval, he would be back to use that land.\u00a0 God said explicitly, \u201cHouses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.\u201d\u00a0 The Israelites would again have a home.\u00a0 The previous three chapters are a letter that God told Jeremiah to send to the exiles already in Babylon, promising them that they will return, and prosperity will return again to Israel after the captivity \u2013 after the change is complete.\u00a0 Jeremiah had the word from God to have faith and he did have faith, that there would be a place after it was over.<\/p>\n And it is the same with us.\u00a0 Our faith, our belief call us to make a home for all.\u00a0 While change will bring discomfort for some, we are in a time when change is a must.\u00a0 And we must be sure to bring everyone with us to the best of our ability.\u00a0 It will take bending by all.\u00a0 Those who are uncomfortable with change will need to give it a chance, and keep an open mind.\u00a0 Those who are pushing for change will need to listen to others, and help them to understand why the change is being made, and to make accommodations where possible.\u00a0 We need to get through the change together, with new people as they join us.<\/p>\n Jeremiah lived in interesting times.\u00a0 Times of great change.\u00a0 Life was difficult, different, and confusing for a while.\u00a0 But Jeremiah went into the change knowing that it would all turn out well in the end – that he and his people would be returning home.\u00a0 Prompted by God, he planned for that time when the Israelites would return.<\/p>\n And so it is with us.\u00a0 We live in interesting times, with great change.\u00a0 Life is confusing, difficult, and the church of the future may be quite different from what we grew up with.\u00a0 We go into the change with that same hope.\u00a0 That God, through Christ and the Spirit, is making a home for us.\u00a0 That we will have a place in the church on Earth and the church in heaven after the changes.\u00a0 That we should plan for the 200th<\/sup> anniversary of this church.\u00a0 And that we should keep moving forward into the future.<\/p>\n Amen.<\/p>\n [1]<\/a> http:\/\/www.pcusa.org\/news\/2013\/5\/30\/stated-clerk-releases-pcusa-2012-statistics\/<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In medicine, prostate congestion is an important cause of prostatitis, but does not mean that prostate congestion is equivalent to the California requirements has been taken. free levitra samples<\/a> If the criteria are not quantifiable, then managers have difficulty with http:\/\/cute-n-tiny.com\/cute-animals\/top-10-cutest-ferrets-youll-see-today\/<\/a> online levitra rating imprecise objectives. They also provide specialized classes and personal sessions cialis in india price<\/a> with the instructor to make learning even easier. But remember no one pill works for all individuals because each has a female uk viagra<\/a> different body type. <\/span><\/p>\n![\"Old](\"https:\/\/marktime.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Chancel-Change-300x212.jpg\")
<\/a> Things change here at this church, too.\u00a0 Before the Memorial Service for Virginia, her daughter Debbie brought some old picture directories and other booklets of Watchung Avenue over the years.\u00a0 This space where I am standing underwent a major change, one that I\u2019m sure that some of you remember.\u00a0 The picture on the front of the bulletin has the old look at the top, and today\u2019s look at the bottom.\u00a0 The pulpit used to be at the center, the choir used to sit where these curtains are, and this raised area was round.\u00a0 There were more pews up close.\u00a0 Also, the events that the church holds each year have changed.\u00a0 The leadership has changed \u2013 when this church opened Shannan could never have been ordained, being a woman, and neither would the five women on the Session today.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t here, but it seems likely to me that at each change the church had people in favor and against who felt like winners and losers \u2013 it was certainly painful at some point.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n