The Cost of Resistance To Change
I grew up with a nominal Anglican faith. It was church at Christmas and Easter and perhaps a few Sundays sprinkled in. I decided that I would leave the church as a teenager because it held little relevance to my life. I was a theist and there was a moral component to my life but that was about it. At the age of 17, I was introduced to an evangelical church and two years later I experienced an inner conversion of faith as I trusted Christ. My experience of conversion came because of the preaching of Jim Gunzel, a wise and godly pastor who took the time to explain the significance of the cross, called for conversion and the fullness of the Holy Spirit, invited me into ministry as lay person and encouraged us to study the bible in small groups. I had found a spiritual home that I have come to love, and this unique cultural milieu has formed me in very specific ways. The experiences that I just noted are identified as part of the uniqueness of the evangelical movement amongst other Protestants in David Bebbington’s Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s.
Bebbington defines Evangelicalism through four key characteristics.
Conversionism: The belief that people’s lives need to be transformed through the work of the Holy Spirit.
Activism: The Expression of the gospel through intense effort as a sign of true conversion to Christ.
Biblicism: A focus on the bible, the teaching of the bible, and a belief that all spiritual truth can be found in the bible alone.
Crucicentrism: Stressing the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, in particular the doctrine of substitutionary atonement.[1]
As I read Bebbington I was reminded of the documents at the National Archives Museum in DC and the importance of having foundational documents to guide the movement. These documents were forged over time and required hard work and sacrifice to attain. Once set, however, there was an understanding that these statements would evolve. I’m sure that after all their hard work, the creators of those documents felt like they had something special and lasting. Yet, one of the displays at the museum noted, “…checks and balances written into the Constitution guarantee that debate continues. The creation of a ‘more perfect union’ is an ongoing process.” (National Archive Display). There was a common understanding that what they had would need updating and refining. Reflecting on this made me wonder why many Evangelicals seem so threatened by change in our movement. Why would we not pursue, “a more perfect union”, rather than resist change? Change is inevitable. Indeed, cultural forces have introduced unavoidable change into the evangelical milieu.
Bebbington notes that in Evangelicalism, “Its outward expressions, such as its social composition and political attitudes, have frequently been transformed. Its inward principles, embracing teaching about Christian theology and behaviour, have altered hardly less. Nothing could be further from the truth than the common image of Evangelicalism being ever the same.”[2] But this transformation has not always been intentional. Ideally, one would hope that Evangelicalism would influence the society within which it is embedded, and it certainly has made a positive impact. However, it has also been unintentionally influenced by the culture. Bebbington explains how this change occurs, “The process of change can best be seen as a pattern of diffusion. Ideas originating in high culture have spread to leaders of Evangelical opinion and through them to the Evangelical constituency.[3] As I read Jason Clark’s dissertation, Evangelicalism and Capitalism: A Reparative Account and Diagnosis of Pathogenesis in the Relationship, I was struck but the way that capitalism has shaped Evangelicalism due to our lack of attention to our form. Clark comments, “Evangelicalism within my accounts so far is seen as both a creature of capitalism, and a way of responding to capitalism. Initially for Evangelicals, and dominant for them, was the desire for inner spiritual renewal of the self around an identity in Christ. Yet that social imagination for the self eventually atrophies and becomes a market imagination within capitalism. We can see that a lack of attention to the form of church by Evangelicals led to its taking a form captive to the logic of market imaginations.”[4]
As I reflected on Clark and Bebbington, I could see how my own church culture has been influenced by the forces of capitalism, among many others. Consumer religion, rather than disciple making, has been long shaped the life, and budgets, of the evangelical community. The role of pastor has, in many cases, been transformed to that of an expert leader who functions as a business CEO and, in some cases, a celebrity. In Bebbington’s work, it was noted that the role of clergyman was transformed from someone who performed services to active work and that Wesleyan pastors worked 90-100 hours per week.[5] My own life negatively testifies to overwork and near burnout. I also reflected on Simon Walker’s “backstage/frontstage” and, in a highly consumer culture, the increasing need for leaders to maintain a certain frontstage image rather than live an integrated life. All of this to the detriment of the formation, care and cure of souls, as well as the formation, care and cure of the leader’s soul.
Could it be that our resistance to change, and lack of intentionality, in the evangelical community has made us even more susceptible to the negative forces of our culture? Would we not pursue an intentional and re-greening of our movement, while holding onto the form that really matters, rather than allow ourselves to be unintentionally shaped by the surrounding cultural forces?
As I close allow me to circle back to my own experience. I grew to love the Evangelical movement, and I know that I protect the things I love. Change means we lose something of what we love, and we are forced to embrace a new reality. Change displaces us and disorients us. However, the lesson of Bebbington and Clark is that change is going to happen and if we leave don’t attend to ourselves and pursue change intentionally, we will be unintentionally shaped. It seems that our worst fears are realized by resisting change rather than actively pursuing it to get to where we want to go and become an even better version.
[1] D. W. Bebbington, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain a History from the 1730s to the 1980s (London: Routledge, 1988), 2.
[2] Bebbington, 268.
[3] Bebbington, 271.
[4] Jason Clark, Evangelicalism and Capitalism: A Reparative Account and Diagnosis of Pathogenesis in the Relationship (Newberg, n.d.), 81.
[5] Bebbington, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain a History from the 1730s to the 1980s, 10–12.
About the Author
Graham English
I was born in Cape Town, South Africa 30 minutes from Table Mountain, the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. My family immigrated to Vancouver, Canada where I spent my teen years, met Wendy, and got married. We now live on the Canadian prairies in northern Alberta. I think God has a sense of humour. I'm a follower of Jesus, work in leadership and church development, love my family and walk a lot.16 responses to “The Cost of Resistance To Change”
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Hi Graham, I like how your focus went to the reality of change. This change can occur in so many different areas of life. It may be easy, or not, to see how Christians need to keep a focus and relationship with God to not be tossed about the ocean aimlessly in regards to our faith. Are there other areas of life that might seem to suddenly be different but if you reflect back could see little changes were happening that did not seem significant in the present time the changes were occuring? And if so, what might the impact of those changes be?
Great question, Diane. Here are a couple:
1. Secularism. It’s been slowly growing in the west and has become the predominate worldview. Many Christians are surprised that we are no longer at the centre of society, but pushed to the margins. IMO the political battle in the US that Christians are drawn into is a battle for Christianity maintain the dominance of power.
2. Technology. I once heard a Jacques Ellul quote from the 1940’s or 50’s and can’t remember the source. Apparently he wrote, “In the future we will technologize our intimacy, and intimate our technology.”
Graham, I love how you point out that change is inevitable. I guess, for that matter, we could even point to the Jewish faith of the OT and how Jesus completely revamped it in the NT!
I also resonate with you with regard to burnout and overwork; that is the core of my NPO project. (Just FYI…)
In your context, where do you most see the negative forces of our culture having a detrimental impact on the “people in the pews”, and what might be done to invite them to consider alternative ways of being?
Debbie, I think, due its activism, evangelicalism has lost its ability to form people through classic spiritual practices such as silence, solitude, listening prayer, meditation, etc. As well, we seem to have neglected/violated the Sabbath command. We have not equipped people to withdraw to places of quiet and to actively engage with God. I think these are the dominant ways that the church has, in the past, formed people. Perhaps reclaiming these and shaping people through spiritual practices and liturgies might be a good start.
wow well done Graham! This is so helpful. I’m challenged by your connection to thinking differently about what is expected of us as pastors and leaders in the Evangelical family of churches. How can we intentionally pursue change and reframe what our congregations see modeled in front of their eyes?
Great question, Ryan. I always think pastors should be shaping the culture. Even a change of wording can make a difference. For example, when I “took a day off” people thought nothing of calling me or scheduling meetings. However, when I used the word “sabbath” people were more respectful because they understood the sacredness of the day.
Also see my answer to Debbie’s question. I think there is overlap here.
Hi Graham,
Love your post!
In your experience, what lessons from Bebbington and Clark could be applied to foster positive, intentional changes within your own church community? How might resistance to change contribute to the church being negatively shaped by cultural forces?
Shela,
I think the words I might use are “awareness” and “intentionality”. It seems that we resist change or introduce change without awareness and intentionality. We often don’t stop to think about how resistance to change influences us or our people. We often bury our heads. So the lesson I would take away is to be aware of the culture around us and intentionally interact with what is happening.
Hi Graham! I truly enjoyed your post and your comments about change. It is often said the two arenas with the most resistance to change in higher education and the church. Im curious to your approach to change resistors in your context?
Thanks Daren. That’s a good question. I have tried all sort of things that have had varying degrees of failure and success. The least efffective thing that I have done is to inflict change on people. That is, I come up with a vision or a solution to a problem, and then try to convince others they need to adopt the change. These days I use something like Appreciative Inquiry. The strength of AI is that it is a co-creative process. The AI process engages people, welcomes everyones input, identifies the strength within the system, focuses on the positive, creates a co-shared vision and co-shaped design. I have found that if people can co-shape the change they are more likely to own it. However, if people feel that change is “inflicted” on them, they are more likely to resist or at the most comply.
Graham, I always appreciate your posts and especially liked your take on change. We will indeed be participatory in change, either actively or passively. I, for one, want to be an active part. Change is necessary but challenging. What are things that help you thrive in change?
Thanks, Kari. What helps me thrive in change? I think having a clear shared vision in probably most important. I also need to know that I am hearing from Jesus in real time. So maintaining closeness and receptivity through practices such as solitude, sabbath, meditation and scripture reading. I’m a quiet extrovert and an activist so these are difficult but super important.
Hi Graham, I echo all the comments. You wrote a fantastic post. I appreciated how you tied in your experience at the National Archives Museum and the importance surrounding updating and refining, especially in Evangelicalism. It doesn’t have to be a threat but an opportunity. You mentioned AI in your response to Daren. I am very interested in this co-creative process. Would you be willing to share an experience where AI fostered healthy change in your context?
Thanks, Elysse. Following our church fire in 2016 we led our entire congregation through an AI process to co-create our top four priorities. This process took place over a period of 6-8 months.
1. We held a series of 4 conversations through which we walked through the Discover and Dream stage of AI.
2. Our elders took all of the data gathered through those conversations and we formed our priorities from what we were collectively hearing.
3. Once we articulated these we took them back to our people and asked them to discern again with us. “Do these seem like what Jesus is asking us to do in the next 5 years?”
4. A few months later we tied our building campaign to these 4 priorities. It was not a rebuilding of the past but an extension of the work that God had been doing and we sensed wanted to continue through us.
That’s one example but we use this type of process with our teams quite frequently. For example our District Team just created our values using a collaborative process.
Graham, I appreciated the aspects of your personal journey shared in your post. You mentioned the pressure on pastors to be expert leaders functioning as business CEO, to which I can relate. I am curious how you coach pastors to make steps toward the priority of soul care?
Great question, Chad. In our coaching of leaders we would equip them toward practicing discernment, individually and corporately. We fundamentally believe that Jesus is leading his church in real time and that he has something to say to us. It seems that leaders who live in obedient response to Jesus rather than the pressures of the culture and expectations of others is a key to soul care.
I went for too many years trying to lead out of a more corporate model and it was soul crushing. Once I began to encounter Jesus in real time, and began to help leaders do the same it took a lot of pressure off.
Secondly, practicing the disciplines of disengagement – Silence, Solitude and listening prayer were very helpful. Henri Nouwen’s book, “The Way of the Heart” really helped me understand how to do this.
Thirdly, spiritual direction from others was very helpful. Finding a good spiritual director, or friend who operates in this way, is very helpful.