A current Minnesota Public Radio promotional clip includes short phrases from several politicians’ recent speeches. One of them is Mitt Romney saying, “If we don’t step up, our country is going to turn into something we can’t recognize anymore” (approximate quote from memory). On MPR the quote plays without any context re the larger speech, but even so, it has great resonance with me (resonance, in a “sure folks think that” sort of way, not an “I agree” way). In fact, it’s a handy quick lens to explore perspectives on change in church, society, and politics.

Society is changing; it does look very different than it used to. The now famous picture from yesterday’s congregational hearing of all men testifying at a congressional panel on women’s reproductive health is ridiculous to most folks today, but common procedure not too long ago. The US Military today has many female troops, openly gay soldiers, and is incredibly racially diverse. We have a black President. Entire books can be downloaded wirelessly to handheld electronic devices in seconds. The US will enjoy no racial majority by 2040. Doctors rarely diagnose without fancy machines laypeople can’t understand. And, by golly, even PBS is cool these days.

The church, of course, is changing too. It is also becoming a place some folks don’t recognize, and for complicated reasons:

• on Sundays many young families are opting for soccer practice, or chill time, rather than worship
• neighborhood demographics have changed around many of our churches
• Biblical literacy is way down
• young pastors carry thousands of dollars worth of school debt
• the church’s moral authority has waned
• a lot of folks actually like music composed in the last 25 years, and many of these pieces don’t have traditional rhyme schemes, meters, or predictable western tunes
• denomination budgets and membership stats have declined for years

I don’t want to draw too much of a false dichotomy between those who welcome our country turning into something “we don’t recognize anymore” and those who fear it. After all, I’m not exactly a fan of change (I’m Presbyterian). But even though change sometimes makes me uncomfortable, I do really like to grow, to be pushed to new understandings, to be made to admit that the status quo is not as fair, faithful, or good as I thought it was.

I’m happy to admit that a common result following a change I don’t immediately support is pretty fantastic results. (I think of my friends who have just had a child, or are expecting. Their worlds are changing in ways totally unrecognizable, and it’s welcome!)

The church has been around for 2000 years. We’ll manage. The US has been around for 250 years. We’ll manage. Rather than change I won’t recognize, I’m more afraid of getting stuck in a deep unjust rut that we all recognize, but which we ultimately despise.