Change is a constant occurrence, both in the church and in our personal life, but our usual response is to make small adjustments, minor course corrections. Only when our backs are up against the wall and circumstances feel out of control, do we make dramatic alterations to our own sense of identity and begin to initiate changes of our own. Both in the church and in our personal lives, dramatic shifts in direction are usually made in response to some type of trauma. It is only years later, after the dust has settled, that we reflect back and notice that the seeds for change were already there long before certain events forced us to become a different person or church.

There are certain traumatic events which force the local church to change. Each crisis can be met with reluctance, bitterness, and self pity. Or, it can be seen as an invitation to a period of transition, in which as we seek for healing, we discover new things about God and his call upon the church. The transitional process is an intentional response to traumatic events, but its goal is to engage the church in a transformation which meets the challenges of the future. What the church shall become is never obvious, however, until the church finds healing for the pain it is currently experiencing.