Sermons Motivate, but Systems Dictate

I didn’t want that statement to be true, but it is. It’s why a person watches a testimony about someone who lost weight on a diet and decides to lose weight too, but 3 weeks later is slamming down a box of Twinkies.

It’s why teenagers become who they used to be a month after youth camp.

It’s why couples say they are going to change but go back to old behavior patterns.

It’s not the intention they have. It’s the system they are living in.

I didn’t learn until this year the power of systems. People have systems. Couples have systems. Churches have systems. They may not be good. They may not even be intentional. But they are there.

In 2007, we decided that we were going to examine our church systems and work on them. It’s still a work in progress, but we are getting a hold of them and we believe we’re making headway.

Because the last thing we want is for people to remain the same. God works in us and transforms us as we take steps in His direction. It works best when we know what the next step is. That’s called a system. A progression of next steps. And it’s what we have realized is so powerful in our lives and in our church.