Transformation

"Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world,
but let God transform you into a new person
by changing the way you think."
—Romans 12:2 (New Living Translation)
"To some degree, our communities need to be changed because we in the faith community are being changed," writes the Rev. Tom Ehrich in a column for Episcopal Life. He goes on to wonder aloud how we might know if people are being transformed, saying in part,

Church involvement can't be the only measure; faith is about the whole of life. Indeed, some people pursue church involvement for precisely the wrong reasons, as a way to avoid their personal transformation in the forms of better use of time and wealth, or ethics at work, for example.

In evaluating our efforts, we need to ask the difficult question: Are we simply bolstering the institution, or are we leading people deeper in their faith and helping them to seek new life? Are we so focused on the mechanics of membership growth that we fail to see whether members are actually growing as persons?

Churches have worked hard to engage members in society's political and moral issues. On both conservative and liberal sides, church members offer their time, activism, money and votes to political office-seekers.

But we must ask — in a humility that doesn't come easily — does our activism spring from transformation of life, or from having certain historic or tribal buttons pushed? Are we enlisting in a cause because God has driven us to our knees in prayer, or are we praying publicly and fervently to bolster a cause we already cared about, perhaps an attitude or prejudice we already possessed?

Church leaders need to ask: Do they see constituents as foot soldiers in a cause that somehow will benefit the church, or are they leading their members into a transformation that might well spin out of the institution's control?

The full text of his essay are online here: The hard but necessary work of transformation

Journey to Wholeness
This evening, my wife, Victoria, and I will be working with the Rev. Linda McCloud to lead the last Journey to Wholeness Retreat of this school year. The retreat will finish with a communion service tomorrow at 1 p.m. We hope that it will be transformative for those taking part. There is still room for a commuter to attend if a few persons are interested and then there is always the Cursillo retreat later this month. Ask me about it if you want to find out more.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor