{"id":380,"date":"2012-06-26T19:00:55","date_gmt":"2012-06-26T23:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/smalltownamerica\/?p=380"},"modified":"2012-06-25T09:45:29","modified_gmt":"2012-06-25T13:45:29","slug":"new-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/smalltownamerica\/2012\/06\/new-growth.html","title":{"rendered":"New Growth"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>New growth isn’t always pretty.\u00a0 Look at this bush.\u00a0 All those fresh little leaves do not make the bush attractive.\u00a0 In fact it makes it look a little unruly.\u00a0 However, without the new growth each year, the bush would stagnate and eventually die.<\/p>\n

This can also be true in the church world.\u00a0 Sometimes when a church is going through a transition and growth period, it can get quite ugly.\u00a0 Change is good.\u00a0 In fact the only thing that never changes is God.\u00a0 Without change and growth a church will wither and die.\u00a0 They may keep holding services,\u00a0 but they will no longer be effective.\u00a0 They will be going through the motions of being a church, but there will be no anointing or power.<\/p>\n

When leadership changes,\u00a0 when new programs are started, when new families come in the church, when the focus of a church’s mission is adjusted;\u00a0 people get uncomfortable.\u00a0 There is always the fear of the unknown.\u00a0 We wonder where we will fit in the new flow of things.\u00a0 But growth and change are good things.<\/p>\n

In our personal lives the same is true.\u00a0 When God is stretching us or leading us into new areas of ministry, we get uncomfortable.\u00a0 We can be cranky.\u00a0 We can be short-tempered.\u00a0 Our leaves do not look very attractive.\u00a0 But growth still must come.\u00a0 When we stop learning and growing, we will become ineffective.\u00a0\u00a0 I have heard it said that Christians cannot just stand still.\u00a0 If you aren’t moving forward, you will soon move backwards.<\/p>\n

Of course, there are times when we must pause and wait for direction from the Lord.\u00a0 Situations where God says, “Having done all, stand.”\u00a0 I’m not referring to these kinds of brief interludes.\u00a0 Here we really aren’t stopped, we are just refocused to finding a solution to our current circumstances.<\/p>\n

So let’s learn to tolerate the off colored leaves, knowing that they will soon blend in with the whole bush.\u00a0 Let’s encourage one another through our seasons of growth, instead of grumbling.\u00a0 We all need to grow, so let’s help each other to that next level of maturity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New growth isn’t always pretty.\u00a0 Look at this bush.\u00a0 All those fresh little leaves do not make the bush attractive.\u00a0 In fact it makes it look a little unruly.\u00a0 However, without the new growth each year, the bush would stagnate and eventually die. This can also be true in the church world.\u00a0 Sometimes when a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":420,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[10,5,19],"class_list":["post-380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-encouragement","tag-being-judgemental","tag-compassion","tag-faith"],"yoast_head":"\nNew Growth - Small Town America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/smalltownamerica\/2012\/06\/new-growth.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Growth - Small Town America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"New growth isn’t always pretty.\u00a0 Look at this bush.\u00a0 All those fresh little leaves do not make the bush attractive.\u00a0 In fact it makes it look a little unruly.\u00a0 However, without the new growth each year, the bush would stagnate and eventually die. 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