Change Without Change?

Repackaging is something that many companies do with an old product. When you have a product that has been popular but is declining, you give it a new outside and hope that kick starts a surge in purchasing. One of the more recent repackaging efforts has been that of Miller Lite. Last summer it was repackaged with it’s original styling. People liked it and bought more.

While repackaging may be something useful in the beer industry it’s pretty silly when it comes to being the Church in the world. Yet, many local congregations are doing just that.

Everyone I know agrees that we are quickly moving into a post-Christendom culture here in the US. Intellectual ascent to reality is a good thing. The problem arises when we begin discussing how to enter into a society and culture that is becoming increasingly post-Christian. Buzzwords get thrown around like “missional”. Congregations decide to change “strategy” to become more “missional”.

In reality they’re not really doing anything different than they were before, they’re simply using different words to describe the same thing. They are repackaging. They are attempting to change without changing.

Bible studies become “discipleship groups” or “community groups”. But, they’re still Bible studies. Programs are called something different, but they’re still programs. People’s lives are still filled to overflowing with church activities. They are still cloistered away, living out their daily lives in holy huddles.

We need to actually change. Repackaging is not the solution.

When I first became a missionary to the college campus I read a little book about the life of Hudson Taylor. One of the things that struck me was how he was disowned by his missionary agency because he chose to fully enter into Chinese culture. He adapted to the Chinese dress, facial hair, haircut, he assimilated into the culture as a missionary. He refused to bring English culture with him, he believed that the gospel was enough. He didn’t seek to convert the Chinese to English-ism. As a result, he was cut off by his agency.

Today we consider that approach normal when people head overseas as missionaries. Most missions agencies now train their would-be missionaries in becoming cross-cultural and try to help them assimilate into their new culture. Why? Because they know that this is the best way to incarnate the gospel mission. As Derek Webb sings, “You must become what you want to save.”

Yet, here we are in the US and we are living in a new culture where the Church must recognize that it is on the mission field. We think by repackaging the same programs and paradigms that we will be able to reach those far from Jesus. We won’t. We must take our cues from the missionary world and begin to ask the hard questions about what needs to really change so that we can truly incarnate the gospel in this culture.

Change is necessary. Changing without changing isn’t going to cut it any longer. We can continue competing with one another for the same flock or we can go about the hard work of disassembling the current institutions and creating something new for a new culture.

The post Change Without Change? appeared first on The Journal by Daniel M. Rose. It was written by Daniel M. Rose.

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