Change By Rev. Rebekah Fetzer
From the Deacon’s Perspective Alvin Toffler (1928-2016) wrote Future Shock, published in 1970 to describe life in the future. The term “future shock” refers to what happens to a society when change happens too fast, which results in social confusion and normal decision-making processes breaking down. He continued the theme in his 1980 book, The Third Wave, which describes the current information, computer-based revolution. He claimed that one of the side effects of the digital age has been “information overload,” a term he actually coined. From The Third Wave: “A new civilization is emerging in our lives, and blind men everywhere are trying to suppress it. This new civilization brings with it new family styles; change ways of working, loving, and living; a new economy; new political conflicts; and beyond all this an altered consciousness as well…The dawn of this civilization is the single most explosive fact of our lifetimes.” Some people hate change. Some people, like me, are hard-wired to enjoy new places, ideas and circumstances. But, all over the world, the stresses of too much change too fast are causing an explosion of mental health crises and a sense of an ever-moving ground under our feet. Thousands of books have been written about the future of the church and the churches that have been flexible and forward thinking are thriving. Others, not so much. Change is hard. But there is no going back. As clergy, we know that the cure for shifting ground is the solid rock of Jesus Christ. Everything else may change, but the Incarnate Word is our secure foundation. “My faith has found a resting place, not in device or creed. I trust the Ever-living One, His wounds for me shall plead.” (Elizabeth Edmunds Hewitt) That is the word that we as Elders, Deacons and laity must take beyond the walls of the church. The role of Deacons in the United Methodist Church is to be the bridge between the church and the world and we are uniquely positioned in a time of upheaval to take the rock to the world – and stand.
