Ok Doc, I will Change!
In late January, I sat on an examination table, and my mind raced with many diagnoses and possible outcomes for my situation. The question that weighed heavily on me was how I would be able to keep doing my ministry. My goal was to make it to graduation with school, church, and food ministry and make adjustments. As the doctor came back into the room, she explained that my body, kidneys, and heart seemed to be under severe fatigue. She simply said to me your body can no longer keep up with your schedule and stress; you’re not going to live much longer at this pace. She had a list of medicines she wanted to prescribe, and I asked for one year to make changes. If I can’t reverse all this in one year I will go on the medications.
As I left the doctor’s office that day, I wondered how people have dealt with vandalism and threats in the past. I was still nervous about driving the trucks for the food ministry. I wondered if something worse would happen if the truck would roll if someone would be injured or killed. My wife and I decided we would drive separate cars, and the kids would no longer travel with me. I wondered how other pastors have dealt with prejudice and oppression in their lives. Did their families suffer like my children have? I wondered to myself is ministry worth the cost? I thought to myself how did I end up here? I wondered if I would truly change or if a stranger would come to find me dead on the forklift or in the refrigeration trailer.
In Immunity to Change by Kegan and Lahey. They point to a study that showed that even when doctors tell heart patients that they will die if they don’t change their habits, only one in seven will follow through successfully.[1]
In the book Atomic Habits by James Clear, we can summarize the book into 3 main points:[2]
- An atomic habit is a regular practice or routine that is not only small and easy to do but is also the source of incredible power; a component of the system of compound growth.
- Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don’t want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change.
- Changes that seem small and unimportant at first will compound into remarkable results if you’re willing to stick with them for years.
We can assertain that systems, habits and the way things are, often get in the way of coming through a new threshold of living an incredible life of understanding and communicating. Creating better systems allow for change and improvements in our society.
Trueman notes, “To put it bluntly, the modern cultural imagination sees the world as raw material to be shaped by the human will.”[3] And, before that, he observes, “We might say that the death of God is also the death of human nature or at least the end of any cogent argument that there is such a thing as human nature. If there is no God, then men and women cannot be made in his image and are not, therefore, required to act by that image.”[4]
If the world can kill God and anything that resembles Him, the world will truly worship Satan and the things of this world. The nations will embrace sin and rebellion and celebrate it. However, a good approach is needed as Christian Leaders. A roadmap if you will to reconcilation and redemption. We know with tanks that their armor is thikest at the front, therefore a frontal assult rarely brings victory. A better approach is needed then what has mainly been used in the past. How do we help bring reconcilation rather than division and war.
In the Revolutionary War, the American forces lost considerably going head to head with the British. A different tactic was needed for American forces to win the war. A new strategy was developed through Benjamin Franklin influenced by Native Americans and guerrilla warfare was introduced.
The war between good and evil will always rage on. The battleground will always change, however even as Christians our tactics will continually need to change. In my own life and ministry, things will have to change.
[1] Kegan, Robert, and Lisa Laskow Lahey. Immunity to Change. Harvard Business Review Press, 2009.
[2] James. Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Habits and Break Bad Ones. Penguin Random House, 2018.
[3] Carl R. Trueman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution (Crossway, 2020) pg.95
[4] Ibid pg.62
About the Author
Greg McMullen
Pastor Greg resides in Lake Stevens WA and pastors a small rural church in the Machias area . The Well Church has a large food ministry in which many different cultures come each week to gather food and counsel. The Church has a small school that is bearing good fruit. Pastor Greg has a large family of 10 children and enjoys fishing and hiking.7 responses to “Ok Doc, I will Change!”
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Greg, Thank you for your post. I am so sorry about the stress you are having to confront in your life and the impact on your family. Keeping you in prayer and lifting you up.
I like this quote of yours: “Creating better systems allow for change and improvements in our society.” This seems so true at all levels of individual life and community. Appreciate your willingness to tell your story and the changes you are working to make in your life and community. Appreciate you!
Jenny,
You have been such an inspiration, thank you. I will cherish our conversations. Thank you for making this program special. Bless you.
Greg, thanks for sharing your story. I appreciate your heart for the people in your community and your openness with the struggles that can come with it. I am praying with you, your family, and community.
Change is so hard! As you highlight, even being informed and knowing what steps to take doesn’t necessarily make it easier. And I think you model how a self-reflective and open posture can make change possible, so thank you!
Caleb,
Thank you, you have helped me become more aware especially with younger people. Thank you for sharing your life and ministry with me so I can be more aware of how I communicate to others. You have been a gift in my life, thank you!
Greg, thank you for your vulnerability. I continue to hold you and your family in prayer.
“A better approach is needed then what has mainly been used in the past. How do we help bring reconcilation rather than division and war.”
I love this! Yes, we need a new approach. We cannot keep fighting as we have in the past. How do we change? How do we move forward in this ever-changing battleground? I remember my pastor years ago telling me, “Do not be a rubber band, be liquid. Rubber bands eventually stretch to far and snap. Liquid goes where it needs to go, it flows.” I think of how a small drip of water can, over time, make a huge change. How can we be the change in this world?
Thank you Becca.
Great,
So many good things in this post. I love that you recognize the need for a new approach to Christian leadership in navigating these challenges, advocating for strategies that promote reconciliation and redemption rather than division and conflict.