Risking in the name of love

/in /by

Oct. 2, 2025

By Rev. Rick King

In worship all during the month of September, our theme was change. We explored how we are made for change, but also the reasons why our brains tend to resist change. We talked about neuroplasticity—the brain’s capacity to rewire itself in response to new stimuli within and outside of ourselves.

We saw how change is inevitable, because it’s necessary to maintain our inner equilibrium no matter how much change is happening around us. And we recalled how important it is to be embraced by “courage buddies,” those who encourage us in taking the first steps of change
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The reason we explored what the Bible and our tradition says about change is simple: You and I are going through a LOT of change right now and can expect more in the coming year. I say “you and I” because we’re all going through change together: the Interim Joint Board, Merger Steering Committee, Riz and I are also challenged by the need for change.

But what if the motivator for innovation, experimentation and risk-taking was LOVE, and not just our own survival?

Canadian pastor Carey Nieuwhof writes, “Churches that thrive will take risks and have an experimentation mindset.” But thriving is more than just having our attendance and volunteer numbers increase. God is calling our churches to merge because together we can do more for longer than we can separately.

But a more compelling case for merger is LOVE—as in, “O Love, that will not let me go.” The love that powered Jesus was a love present before creation (Genesis 1:1-3, John 1:1-5), the source of all that was, and is, and is yet to come.

Father Richard Rohr, a Franciscan friar and one of the world’s most influential spiritual thinkers, says this love is what we call the “Christ” in Jesus Christ. And it’s also the reason why we are merging: for the sake not only of our welfare but that of the people in our wider community who NEED a church like this—open, affirming, loving, serving—and haven’t found or become part of it yet.

What are YOU willing to risk in the name of that Love?