Transformation

There are many crises of our times in all areas — family, economic, religious, moral, societal and political. There is an unprecedented need for spiritual renewal all over the world. If there is still the opportunity for radical transformation, we desperately need a way forward, a Godly strategy that will set forth the principles we need to follow.

Since becoming part of the Transforming Melbourne movement, I have been reading and reflecting on the subject of transformation. C. S. Lewis once argued, every culture has its own blind spots, its own outlook. It is good at "seeing certain truths and especially liable to make certain mistakes." C. S. Lewis placed great value on seeing through other people's eyes. He said, "My own eyes are not enough for me, I will see through those of others."

In this context we desperately need community, the church, so that we are stimulated to love and good deeds. The church, as Paul said to Timothy, was intended to be "the pillar and foundation of the truth" that transforms. We can hope for victory not because of our own strength but because the battle is the Lord's. We can trust in the character and purposes of our Lord. We need to intervene in the conflict, but we also need to maintain our strength through intercession. Even if we lose personally, our God wins in the end. That is our sure and certain hope.

Several concluding observations can be made related to transformation as a unifying mission for the Church at the beginning of the twenty-first century. A three-year World Inquiry related to the mission of God has shown that “the patterns of the past are showing ‘wear’ and are in need of repair.” A new paradigm that helps us interpret and organize our approach to mission for the future has emerged. God is on a mission of transformation and is calling out servants to act as catalysts in mobilizing the whole body of Christ to bless the nations through the transformation of people, churches and culture.

Are you willing to take part in that?