‘Transformation’ is a
spiritual reality check

It was 10 o’clock at night, and after coming home from seeing a movie, I thought I could tackle the last bit of painting left. Our older daughter is getting married Aug. 19, and between work and wedding preparations, we’ve been squeezing in some interior painting in the house in which the newlyweds will live.
A few minutes after making the decision to finish the painting, I found myself flat on the floor with a seriously deformed ankle and broken bone in my leg. The first thing I thought of was the term coined by David Letterman: “stupid human trick.”
That stupid human trick of some wrong move on a stepladder has caused considerable inconvenience for my family and friends. They’ve had to serve my needs after surgery and take up the slack for my lack of mobility. I am very grateful for their loving care during my recovery.
Thank you also to people all across the district and conference who have phoned or sent cards, notes and e-mails letting me know they are praying for me. I deeply appreciate that loving care, too, as well as the gifts of flowers and food intended to brighten my days.
Through all of you, God is redeeming my stupid human trick of falling off a stepladder at an inappropriate time in my family’s life into a powerful experience of love and grace.
I don’t yet know all the details of what the next steps in my recovery will be, but I have no intention of canceling any plans we’ve already made.
In that context, let me remind the district that the Congregational Transformation Surveys are due Aug. 8 and that all churches are required to participate in this first step. All churches have the option of participating in the coaching process that will follow for a $500 fee for this fall.
We can no longer afford to be complacent and self-satisfied. We can no longer afford merely to take up space in familiar corners of the towns, countryside and cities that make up our district. Complacency is diametrically opposed to the passion that the biblical witness of faith requires of us. We are called to personal transformation in Christ that leads us to be passionately engaged in the transformation of the world for his sake.
The CTS is a small step on a much longer pathway. Just as I must face the reality of the damage I have done to myself, so our churches will face the reality of their spiritual situations. Just as I will learn to rebuild my ankle and leg over the next few weeks, so the churches of our district will learn to rebuild the passion necessary for transformation.
Neither pathway will be simple or easy or painless. So what? That should not be surprising. Taking up a cross—taking the difficult pathway rather than the easy one—is a choice consistently placed before us by a Savior who showed us that Way.