You Have to Change Some Things In Order to Stay the Same

You Have to Change Somethings to Stay the Same

My mouth dropped open as I heard chef-owner Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park Restaurant explain in a television interview why he closed his restaurant for three months to completely remodel it, gut the kitchen, re-do the menu and the furnishings. His restaurant is rated Number One in the world (think of it–#1!). Surely that has to be the pinnacle of success for a restaurant. It takes weeks or months to get a reservation. Why would he dare close it for three months? Why fix something if it isn’t broken?

Why take the risk of change?

Because things change. It’s inevitable. Culture changes. Families change. Churches, non-profits and businesses change. Most of all, people change. We age and wear out. There is the law of entropy, after all. So how do we stay the same and yet embrace change?

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We must keep the core of what we’re all about, of what lasts. In order to do that, we must let go of some of the trappings that we grow so fond of: Traditions, expectations, the mindset that “We’ve always done it this way.” And we forget what we’re really all about, and lose our effectiveness.

Change comes in the way we do things. We still communicate, only it may be through text or private message. We still pay our bills, but now it’s online. We still publish, write and read books, but how we do it has also changed as the delivery systems have changed. And I admit, it can be scary and risky to try something new, especially for those of us who have been around awhile.

The challenge is to remember what does not change:
• We need food (really good food, please!)
• We need shelter and meaning and purpose
• We need a way to support ourselves and our families
• We need love and community
• And the biggie—God’s Word! It never changes.

Jesus never changes, either, and it’s been true for ages that we need his forgiveness and reconciliation.

Change can dismantle us, disrupt us. It’s hard to learn new ways of doing things. But we can embrace change while we cling to what’s eternal. Instead of change destroying us, it can make us into better, more relevant people. More equipped to offer the world a timeless message of nourishing love that never changes.

We may have to feel our way in this crazy world, but we can hold onto what we know: “Love God, love people.” “Christ in me, the hope of glory.” We can hold onto the simplicity of the Message that never changes. Show us how to get there, Lord! It can be a bit murky.

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You Have to Change Some Things In Order to Stay the Same
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