Are you any different?

Still writing from Willow...  Here's a question that I've been chewing on throughout this conference:  Are we moving forward?  Now, just to get everyone caught up, the whole point of this conference is to challenge church leaders to raise the hood and do a complete diagnostic on the workings and function of the local church.  If we don't how can we know if we are actually helping people to "move forward" in their faith journey.  

It's kinda odd to me that we go for annual physicals (at least we should), we have our teeth cleaned and examined regularly (again, we should), and most of us work to keep our cars in working order.  So why in the world would it seem odd that it's important to make sure that we are healthy in our churches.  Sadly enough, most of our churches are content to just keep doing things the way we've always done it.  Even churches that "live outside the box" can stuck in the rut of routine.

Of course, if we are not willing to do a personal spiritual examination, why in the world would we want to do a church "check-up?"  

Now, back to my question:  Are you any different in your spiritual walk today than you were 6 months ago?  1 year ago? 5 years ago?  If not, why?  If not, what is your plan?

I'm thankful for a church, like Ridgeview, that continues to push the envelop on some things, but I confess to you that we don't do a good enough job of asking tough questions of ourselves as leaders and of each other as church members/attenders.  Our world will change because our country experiences change.  Our country will experience change because our state has experienced change.  Our state will experience change when our city experiences change. And yes, our city will change when MY street is changed because of the love of Christ.  

Yep, the time is short and the challenges are huge.  It's time for a check up... I don't want to keep doing the same thing expecting different results.