How does change and transformation happen?

I have had very little down time this week during my class, but I wanted to get in a quick post. Keith Matthews, our teacher, asked us to share what the circumstances surrounding a transformative experience in our lives.

Here are the answers:

• Cross-cultural experience
• Lack of purpose to purpose
• Crisis/loss of job,/loss of call/disorientation
• Spiritually dry
• Uncertainty/searching
• Holy Spirit work
• New opportunity/vision
• Lack of family relationship
• Loss
• Victimization
• State of exhaustion
• Someone has challenged

These can be boiled down to two things that cause change:

1. Level of dissatisfaction/discomfort/or pain in current situation propels them to seek change.

2. A new compelling vision for a different reality

Matthews made the great point that so much of the time, we do everything in the church to help people avoid these states. Thus, lack of transformation.

Think of a transformative experience in your own life. What were the circumstances behind this experience?