Someone who doesn’t either believe right or practice right should change. When something isn’t right, it’s because it differs from what God says in HIs Word. Change should then proceed from the Bible too. However, much change actually defies scripture. Someone changes to adapt to his lust or his own feelings, worldly pressure, pragmatism, conventional wisdom, psychology, monetary allure, popularity, or false teachers, who are themselves guided by any or all of the former.
Scripture does not precede the wrong change, so there is no announcement either that something from the Bible caused this. Usually nothing is announced. The change just happens. The change occurred without explanation, because there was no good reason. Then most often no one questions why there was no explanation. An organization or person has personal reasons.
Counsel Should Precede Right Change
Before any announcement of change, someone should look for counsel. Ask someone or several who could challenge the change with scripture. You think it is right, but you are willing to ask someone else or others and then present your evidence to these counsellors. Counsel is not someone you know agrees with you. It is someone who could or would challenge as to whether the change is scriptural.
Preaching in the church or the agreement of the church precipitated the change. A person in his own church ensures that he is getting this right from scripture by asking others about it, discussing it. He’s also praying for wisdom from God about it (James 1:5). After serious study of scripture, a pastor looks to other seasoned men in the church and fellowshipping pastors before he leads the whole church to change. Proverbs 11:14, among other places, says: “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.”
A family left our church about three months ago and disappeared. The family gave no reason. The mid-twenties husband and father has since said he wants to talk about it, but he didn’t and he hasn’t. The family just dropped out. No counsel in the church preceded the change. Neither was there any offer of explanation before it happened.
Explaining the Change in a Forum of Challenge
When a right change occurs, the person changing needs to explain it. He should defend it and give his reasons to people who would challenge it with witnesses in a biblical manner. Someone may say that he got the position from scripture. If he did, then he should let others give it a hearing to see if that is true. If it is a change for an entire church, this is even more important. However, even if it is one person or family in a church, this is a concern for the entire church, that one or a few of its members are changing.
Change needs to occur to grow as a Christian. I would contend that most changes are bad. When it is good, it will start with scripture. The next step is counsel. A person who is changing should solicit feedback from those willing and able to give a scriptural challenge to the change. If the change is scriptural, they will gladly approve.