"Personal Change Precedes Corporate Change": A Church Growth Strategy or a Lived Reality?

by Mike Chong Perkinson

Leadership and serving God’s people can be a very burdensome task if not properly approached. Exhortations such as “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9) and “Strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. Make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed” (Hebrews 12:12- 13) embody the reality of growing tired in the arena of ministry and our responsibility to continue.

On top of this Satanic attack in all facets of our lives brings a level of frustration and tiredness all by itself. Questioning God, ourselves, and our ability to lead God’s people, all lead to the demise of ministry if we permit the evil one to have any foothold on our faith. The distractions the enemy places in our lives quietly drain from us the very life we are trying to offer people. Since, we cannot remove the distractions from this existence a more focused understanding of God’s call on our lives must be implemented and practiced daily.

Finally, ministry involves us as persons and so, we do the work of God as human beings who find some sense of fulfillment in obeying our Lord. In some way, we all minister in the areas of life where we are still working out our own understanding of God, theology, and brokenness. Frederick Buechner was not far off when he said “all theology is autobiography.” This is not to suggest such a subjective element is negative, but to simply make an observation. Now, combine this with the hedonistic model of life our society embraces and you have all the makings of a ministry that is centered on the self and personal fulfillment. Hence, the people become a means to an end and internal comfort is the utmost priority people tend to seek. One could say the highest moral reality is to feel good. I find such a philosophy difficult to digest when we read of Jesus and His personal torment surrounding the finality of His mission: “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (Matthew 26:38). Following in the spirit of Christ, we find Peter making a bold declaration regarding the reality of suffering. He says:

But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. (I Peter 2:20-21, NIV)

It is intensely difficult to encourage people, in our day and age, to adopt a philosophy of life that is willing to give itself for the glory of God, the establishing of His presence in this world (Kingdom centered living which involves sacrifice), and the restoration of the Imago Dei (Image of God) in individuals (Paul tells us we have been given the ministry of reconciliation, 2 Corinthians 5:18-20). The type of people we often encounter in our church work are those who are trying to find a church to meet their personal needs (needs are not bad in and of themselves), rather than finding a place where they can glorify God and offer their service or gifts for the glory of God and advancement of the Kingdom on earth. I am not inferring that seeking God or a church to deal with one’s brokenness is wrong, but that the church never moves from existing as an oasis for personal fulfillment to an oasis that provides comfort to a lost and suffering world. Yes, there is a time for healing and rest, but many never want to move out of this stage in their lives. After all, the healing stage involves a tremendous amount of meticulous attention from others; being the center of the world is a wonderful feeling many do not want to give up. How do we overcome such a difficulty? Although, many are seeking truth in our day and age, the general populace is not interested in following Christ via the 'take up your cross and follow me' mode, but rather “help me to do what I want to do and I’ll attend your church” philosophy. The old Puritan adage is so true: “The truth will set you free, but it will kill you first.” Maybe this is what “personal change precedes corporate change” really means. Not the simple shift of a paradigm or a model to more effectively do church but a transformation that allows us to be the church.

THE PROBLEM

Sinfulness is a large problem and has been since the dawn of time. We are, unfortunately, creatures who want dominion in our lives and a God who will see to it that our wishes are honored. Religious devotion is the norm with very little concern for the element of holy living and the establishment of the Kingdom or reign of God in our hearts. The prophet Hosea spoke well when he uttered the charge against Israel:

Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites, because the Lord has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Because of this the land mourns, and all who live in it waste away; the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the fish of the sea are dying. (Hosea 4:1-3, NIV)

A religious contract has been negotiated by many with God. A contract God has not agreed to in any way. This contract involves religious devotion (going to service and tithing and moral living) from the human side and blessing, peace, and happiness from the divine side. In other words, we give some praise strokes and in return He gives us happiness. Much like investment happy America, we want a maximum return for a minimum investment.

All of this makes me wonder if the slogan “personal change precedes corporate change” has been, at times, reduced to nothing more than a new and fancy slogan to help us “super size” our churches with very little emphasis on super sizing the saints. One would think that the greatest marketing tool we have in our repertoire is a transformed life living in the love and power of the Holy Spirit. Just a thought, but living as real and genuine Christians might actually allow us to truly impact our culture. Just a thought.

THE SOLUTION

Our nation is in dire need of repentance. The Church needs to turn from our religious playground and fall on our knees and cry out to God Almighty for grace and mercy. Much like the people of Hosea’s day, we assume God must forgive us, “He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds” (Hosea 6:1, NIV). As a result, repentance is optional and our great American ideology of entitlement tells us God has to forgive us because we are entitled to it. No wonder God says, “What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears” (Hosea 6:4, NIV). Our commitment to God is so flippant. God help us.

To point the finger at our nation is not adequate nor is it proper to simply adjust the direction of our finger and place the blame on the hard-hearted state of the Christian community. My heart breaks for the state of the nation and the Church. The increase of violence, terrorism, and apathy in our land only amplifies the predicament we find our world in. The prayer of Nehemiah is a model for all in leadership to emulate:

I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s house, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses. (1:6b-7, NIV)

As strange as it might sound, the sin committed by our city and nation is also our sin. As a people of God, we too, have contributed to the sin of the nation by not turning our own lives to His ways. Joshua 7:10-15 records the reply of Yahweh to Joshua over the lost battle at Ai, where 36 men were killed because of sin in the camp. We know the story, Achan was the one who looted from the plunder and took some of the devoted things (7:20-21). Strangely enough, when Yahweh speaks, it is Israel, not Achan, who is indicted and punished.

Much like our physical bodies, when one part is out of sorts, the whole is impacted. We cannot turn our eyes from the nation and bury our heads in the sand of religious denial and pretend to be a holy people when injustice is taking place around us. Isaiah confronts us with his words:

When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. (1:15-17, NIV)

Our worlds are so limited, so small. As long as the problems and the demise of our cities are not a threat to us, we are minimally impacted. Jesus wept over Jerusalem. What keeps us from weeping over cities? Maybe what we need to do is repent personally over the disobedience we have been involved in. Is it possible we need to repent over a heart that really does not care for our neighbor, but only for the peaceful advancement of our own little world?

I am not suggesting we plunge into a social agenda only, but that we ponder what it means to be a follower of Christ in a broken and lost world that is much bigger than the small islands of existence we live upon. I invite you to ask the Lord what it means to glorify God in our personal worlds. We can’t touch the world at large until we touch the lives in our world. May God help us become people who have rivers of living water flowing from their lives (John 7:38), so that the world might know how good and awesome our God is! May personal change truly precede corporate change as we become the sons and daughters our Father intended us to be.