[I have written several pieces on change and encourage you to find links to them here.]

There is something startling about a Christian that doesn’t like change.  We have come to see our faith traditions as monolithic and unchanging.  We look back through our lives and we such static behavior coming from Christianity.  We are used to it.  We expect it.

But the truth is that for Christians, change isn’t actually on the table.

But, Drew, you were just saying… you respond.

No, change isn’t on the table, because it isn’t actually enough.  It isn’t big enough.  Christians aren’t really about change, we’re about transformation.

Dictionary.com defines “transform” as:

1. to change in form, appearance, or structure; metamorphose.
2. to change in condition, nature, or character; convert.
3. to change into another substance; transmute.

Transformation is to undergo a metamorphosis, to be changed in some fundamental way.  What else are we saying when we see ourselves as a people transformed by our faith?

The two most potent symbols of our faith involve transformation.

In baptism, we see it as a death to our old life, so that we may be transformed by the Holy Spirit as a new creation.

In Jesus’ resurrection, we see death and rebirth: Jesus and humanity transformed into a new creation.

Our belief isn’t about small changes, tinkerings with the lighting or music, but about transformation: about the transforming power of the Great Mystery.

If we truly believe the transformation at the heart of our faith, why aren’t we embracing the transformative power in everything?  Not just in our lives, but in our communities, and even in our congregations.  We must embrace that transformative power in our worship, formation, and mission and embrace the truth that GOD works in transformation.

Next to that, what’s a little change, anyway?