It can be tricky to explain what Renovaré is about. So previous president Chris Hall would sometimes tell a story:

“Imagine someone has been attending church for 20 years and one day they say to themselves: I come every Sunday year after year but I haven’t changed. I want to grow spiritually and be transformed on the inside but I don’t know how. Renovaré helps this person be more deeply shaped into the image of Jesus.”

People resonate with the story. Either they know someone that fits the description or they are that someone.

On Tuesday’s webinar, two pastors joined Carolyn Arends to discuss why this is the case — that many people are churched but unchanged — and how the local church can become a community of people transformed by the Holy Spirit.

It was a treasure of a conversation (watch the replay here). One of the gems I took away is that while inner transformation can’t be programmed, the conditions and rhythms that make room for God to transform us can be prioritized. Exactly how you do that will look a little different for each group of believers.

For those of us who want a three-step plan to follow, this may feel a little ambiguous. Thankfully, the conversation surfaced some practical ways to move toward being a transformational community. One that’s stuck with me, mentioned by Mandy Smith, is to ask ourselves a question:

“If Jesus literally lived at the address of your church, how would the neighborhood know about it?”

It’s one I’m pondering. Meanwhile, I’m reminded that the process of transformation is very slow, that everyone moves at a different pace, and that even when we grow weary of it—especially when we grow weary of it — meeting locally with other believers is worth the effort. Because, as we sometimes say around here, spiritual formation always has a local address. When we gather, Jesus is in our midst in a unique way. We are formed by Christ in others and others are formed by Christ in us.