Changing to Stay the Same

As we gather to discuss the proposal of changing our church name (join us for the Elders’ town hall meeting this Sunday at 5:30 p.m.), it strikes me that 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 is very relevant.  Paul talks about adjusting his approach and becoming “all things to all people.”

He goes on to say that his others-oriented, self-giving lifestyle of love is an example for Christians to follow (11:1).  So we can’t just brush off becoming “all things to all people” as a charge unique to Paul or unrealistic for us.  It’s our calling.

But what does it mean?  We know “all things” can’t include literally all behaviors.  If it did, it would force Paul to go against Paul (see, e.g., 6:18; 10:14), and it would force Scripture to endorse sin (like becom­ing “a liar to reach liars” or “a murderer to reach mur­der­ers”—outrageous).  That’s hardly the point of the passagae!

Rather, the idea is that we, as followers of Jesus, as his church, are to adapt and adjust our way of life as much as we can within God-honoring limits in order to relate to non-Christians.  It means taking initiative to fashion our lifestyles (think schedules, social networks, relationship priorities…) so as to create the best possible communication forums in which to express the love of Christ to those who don’t know him.

So take note, it’s our job to flex and adapt and step out and enter into the lives of lost neighbors.  It’s not their job to come to us—come into our buildings, initiate conversation with us, or decipher our theol­ogical vocabulary.  No, the burden of adaptation is entirely ours:  if any kind of gospel communication is going to happen, we must step out of our comfort zones and engage the unbelievers around us.

And the aim of it all is to “save some.”  The goal of becoming “all things” is, by God’s grace, to see non-believers trust in Jesus and be saved!  So it’s about adapting the form of our approach in order to stay true to the content of the gospel:  changing to stay the same.

Then consider the proposal to remove “Baptist” from our church name in this light.  It is a key way to flex on a non-essential feature of our church and thus remove what is (for many) an obstacle to our outreach in this community:  a surface change to stay true to the gospel.