Being Changed

by Terry Shanahan, Northeast Regional Minister

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

As I write this we have just returned from our Annual Conference in St. Paul, Minnesota with the theme, Being Changed. What a glorious moving of the Holy Spirit as we celebrated our 65th anniversary as a Conference. We were inspired by the speakers, we were moved by the fellowship and we came away transformed as the Lord placed upon our hearts how He is at work in our Conference. The change that has occurred and is occurring in the Conference is clearly a work of God.

In my annual report to the Conference I mentioned how our Northeast region is experiencing a season of change. This past year has been a year of stability and growth for the CCCC in the Northeast. Many churches and pastors have inquired about our fellowship. Some have made the decision to partner with us. Some churches have experienced significant revitalization, and a new church plant is under development with us. As I say that, I have to also mention that it has been a year of many transitions as well. At this writing eleven of our churches are between pastors and are working with Intentional Interims to cast a vision for the future which leads to the calling of their next settled pastor. Two of our churches are just beginning a search for an Intentional Interim. Six of our churches have recently called a new settled pastor.

Normally you wouldn’t associate stability and growth with times of change and transition. Those two are often not compatible. In the past, churches without pastors felt they were in for unsettling times until the next pastor was called. This is no longer the case for a number of our churches. The CCCC considers a church’s time of transition a most important time in the life of the church. It can be a period of positive growth and development. Since we first published our Transitioning Your Church manual, many churches have availed themselves of this great resource with positive results. The length of stay of a CCCC pastor far exceeds the national average. Many of our pastors have served in the same pulpit for 25, 35 and even 40 plus years. Although this speaks to the health of our churches, it also instructs that change is coming. In the next few years a number of our pastors will be retiring. The good news is that with the available CCCC resources and guidance, our churches can continue to experience stability and growth during these transitions.

As this year’s annual conference focused on change, relating to us all, “being transformed into His image with ever increasing glory” ( 2 Corinthians 3:18), we marvel at the change God is bringing to our Conference and how that change strengthens us and brings glory to Him.