Change

Sorry! I've been a slacker blogger. I get paid to blog twice a week on a different site, so it's hard to keep both blogs up to date. That's not to say that I haven't thought about stuff to put here... I just haven't developed thoughts enough to put them into writing. The "good thoughts" or "thoughts worth pondering more" have been few and far between. Perhaps it's because I'm stressed to the max. Perhaps it's because this book review is consuming my life (read Social Construction: Entering the Dialogue by Ken and Mary Gergen and expect to have your world turned on its head). Perhaps it's that I've grown lazy. Perhaps it's because a lot of my friends have put amazing thoughts into words that I don't feel like mine compare. Perhaps it's a combination of them all.

With that said, here are some rough thoughts to ponder. I'm developing this blog as I write it, so don't expect me to have all of the answers figured out and the loose ends tied in a pretty bow.

Theological debates aside, I'm not a big fan of altar calls primarily because it leaves those of us who already know Christ sitting there uncomfortably while those "new believers" head to the front of the congregation. Sometimes I also feel like preachers who end with altar call are just pushing an agenda: get people into heaven. Just a reminder, the Bible doesn't say "make converts;" it says, "Make disciples." Sorry, I said theological debates aside so I'll stay focused here even though I've seen three or four different tangents peruse.

Last night, I was at a worship service with an altar call. Yes, I felt like the preacher was pushing his goal of making converts. As he stood on stage, he made every single one of us in the congregation nod or shake our heads to simple questions such as: do you know Christ? Does Christ have control of your life? And stuff like that. By the time he got to where I was sitting in the back, I was starting to get annoyed. That's when it hit me. Perhaps I'm not giving me life to Christ for the first time (or second or fifteenth) but that doesn't mean He and I have everything right. When the speaker said to the new believers, "Are you willing to change?" It hit me. As we say in ASL, HEART PIERCE! Are you willing to change? Really, it's not a one-time change. It's a continuous, life-long process. Change. Not fun. Not easy. Not avoidable. Change. It must happen.

Are you willing to change? Maybe you're not throwing off the ways of this world and submitting your life to Christ, but that doesn't mean you can't change. Are you willing to change? Are you willing to spend more time with Him? Are you willing to wait? Are you willing to unite with your brothers and sisters in Christ around the world? Are you willing to change?

I am.
<>< Katie