The Courage to Change

Something happened a little over a week ago that holds the potential for historic change. It remains to be seen, of course, but last week the newly elected Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, held his first extensive interview.

According to the New York Times, “in remarkably blunt language, Francis sought to set a new tone for the church, saying it should be a home for all and not a small chapel focused on doctrine, orthodoxy and a limited agenda of moral teachings.”

The Pope went on to say: “We have to find a new balance, otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel.”

Here’s why his comments might bear the weight of history. Change, especially in the church, occurs slowly. In the two thousand years of Christian Church history there have been two substantive moments of change. One occurred virtually at the beginning when the Church split into the Eastern Orthodox tradition and the Western tradition centered in Rome.

The next major change occurred 600 years later in the middle of the Sixteenth Century when the Reformation gave rise to the various denomin-ations we see today. Our own Presbyterian Church had its origins in the Reformation.

It’s been 600 years since the Reformation. Perhaps the Pope’s rhetoric signals another season of change. Institutional change follows other shifts. When the early Church split between East and West, the differences in doctrinal preferences paralleled the growth and influence of the “Occident” as distinct from the “Orient.” Later when the Reformation took place the changes sweeping Europe followed on the heels of the “discovery of a new world,” and the advances in scientific and philosophical thought associated with the Renaissance. “History” changed.

And it all began when a few brave “explorers” searched for “a new tone,” a new land, a “new balance.” I wish the new Pope well and I will pray for his ministry. I agree that we must “find a new balance,” or “set a new tone,” in order for change to take place. And if that happens one more ingredient is essential. It takes courage to change.

Especially in the church change occurs slowly—and that’s probably a good thing—but we should never forget that the church belongs to God. We are the clay; God is the Potter. As we go forward into a new church year, that’s a good image to carry with us. Thanks be to God!

~Harrell