Quick Thought

“The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them."
Albert Einstein

The legends surrounding Einstein are vast. Whether or not they are all true has nothing to do with the fact that he was a great man and a great thinker. His ability to think beyond his context and transcend into higher realms intellectually has been repeated by very few.

The quote above is very appropriate for the state of things in the church today. There is no question that we face significant problems in the American church. However, those problems will never be solved by trying to do the same things and think the same ways we always have. That is what got us here in the first place.

The answers we need lie in a radically new way of thinking and doing things. I am not saying a new theology as some fear this means. I mean embracing new techniques and methods and using technology and situations that exist within the culture to impact individuals. Mark Batterson of National Community Church in Washington, D.C. is often quoted as saying, "I believe the best ways of doing church haven't even been invented yet."

If we will be honest with ourselves, the vast majority of problems we face were created by us directly or through inattention.

God is calling us to a new thing and a new level.

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:19

The Power to Change

“What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!” – 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT)

In ministry I have encountered people of all ages in some of the darkest struggles of their life; suicide, cutting, abuse, eating disorders, unwed pregnancy, uncaring parents, family conflicts, death, divorce, and the list goes on. In all of this, there has been one theme that we have endeavored to make clear; only God has the power needed to change their situation. While many of these are still walking through the valley of their current circumstance and struggle, some have experienced God’s power to change, which has brought them freedom and victory. One who has struggled with an area for many years was touched in a marvelous way and is now a testimony to the healing power of God. Another young person recently gave their heart to the Lord out of a great trial in their life as they let faith replace unanswerable questions and doubt.

Each one of us has a past riddled with mistakes and regretted decisions. Thanks to a God who loves us, we can count those things as behind and leave them there. We have no reason to go back and relive the past. As Paul stated in Philippians 3:13, “Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead,” (HCSB). Once we have been touched by the power of God to change our hearts and lives we are a different person. When people come to us with such dark and impossible issues, Christian cliches and pithy words won't do them any good. They do not need pat answers or quick fix solutions. Offering human centered advice won't cut it. They need faith in God that will sustain even without having the answers to "Why?".

It is only in the Word of God that we can offer them any hope. Anything else would be hollow and worthless.

Only Jesus can give the power to change.