Biblical Wisdom for Congregational Change

Our church will go through some major changes this year. I'm not going to sugarcoat it or pretend it's going to be easy - especially as the church I pastor pushes hard against the denomination. Change is hard, even when it's necessary and good.

So I'm preaching through wisdom this year. Not just Proverbs, though we'll spend time there. The whole biblical arc—what wisdom actually is, where it comes from, and how it equips God's people to navigate uncertainty without losing their minds or their faith.

Wisdom Isn't What You Think It Is

Most people hear "biblical wisdom" and think of pithy sayings or good advice. Be kind to your neighbor. Work hard. Save money. That's part of it, but it barely scratches the surface.

Biblical wisdom is the God-given capacity to perceive, order, and enact life in accordance with the Creator's purposes. It's not just knowing things. It's knowing how to live rightly in the world God made, under the covenant God established, through the changes and challenges that come with being finite creatures in a fallen world.

Wisdom in Scripture is skill for living. It's artistry, judgment, discernment, and obedience all wrapped together. When God filled Bezalel with wisdom to build the tabernacle in Exodus 31, that wasn't abstract philosophy. It was Spirit-empowered competence to do sacred work with gold and bronze and acacia wood.

That's what we need. Not theories about change management, but Spirit-empowered competence to navigate what's ahead as God's people.

Wisdom Starts with Fear of the LORD

Every wisdom text in Scripture circles back to the same foundation: the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. Not terror, but reverent awe. Not cowering, but trembling recognition that we're standing before the holy God who made heaven and earth.

Proverbs 1 opens with it. Psalm 111 repeats it. Job 28 concludes with it. Ecclesiastes, for all its skepticism about human striving, ends by saying the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep his commandments.

Why? Because wisdom isn't primarily intellectual. It's covenantal. You can't live rightly in God's world if you don't acknowledge God's authority over it. You can't navigate change well if you're not oriented toward the One who orders all things according to his purposes.

This means that when we face uncertainty, our first move isn't to gather data or poll opinions. It's to pray. To worship. To remember who we are and whose we are. That's not pietistic nonsense. That's the epistemological foundation for everything else.

Wisdom Is Learned in Community

One thing that struck me while studying this topic is how communal wisdom is in Scripture. It's not individualistic self-improvement. It's formation within a people.

Deuteronomy commands parents to teach the law to their children at home, on the road, when lying down and rising up. The Psalms are sung together. Proverbs are passed from father to son, from teacher to student. The prophets confront Israel as a community. Jesus teaches disciples in a group. Paul writes to churches.

You don't become wise by yourself. You become wise by submitting to instruction, listening to elders, teaching younger believers, bearing burdens together, correcting and being corrected, and practicing obedience in the body of Christ.

This is especially important when congregations face change. The temptation is to retreat, to protect your preferences, to dig in and resist. But wisdom grows when we lean into community, when we listen to voices different from our own, when we prioritize unity and peace over being right.

I generated a topical report on wisdom recently to prep for this series, and one pattern kept showing up: wise people listen. Fools speak quickly and resist correction. Wise people slow down, ask questions, consider multiple perspectives, and weigh their words carefully.

That's going to be our posture this year.

Wisdom Literature Teaches Us How to Live Under the Sun

The wisdom books—Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes—don't give us systematic theology. They give us something better: honest reflection on what it means to live faithfully in a world that doesn't always make sense.

Proverbs gives us general principles. Usually the righteous prosper and the wicked suffer. Usually hard work pays off and laziness leads to ruin. Usually. But Job reminds us that sometimes the righteous suffer inexplicably, and our only recourse is to trust God's sovereignty even when we can't trace his hand.

Ecclesiastes adds another layer: everything under the sun is vapor, fleeting and enigmatic. You can do everything right and still face setbacks. You can work hard your whole life and die before enjoying the fruit. So what's the point? The point is to fear God, keep his commandments, and receive whatever good gifts come as grace rather than entitlement.

These books aren't contradicting each other. They're teaching us to hold multiple truths in tension. Wisdom isn't simplistic. It's nuanced, attentive, flexible, and mature.

When your church faces change, you need all three voices. You need Proverbs to tell you that generally speaking, certain paths lead to flourishing. You need Job to remind you that suffering isn't always punishment and that clinging to God matters more than understanding why. And you need Ecclesiastes to keep you humble, realistic, and grateful for whatever good comes.

Christ Is the Wisdom of God

Here's where it all comes together. The New Testament doesn't just repeat Old Testament wisdom—it reframes everything around Jesus Christ.

Paul tells the Corinthians that Christ is the wisdom of God. Not just wise, but wisdom itself. All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in him, Colossians says. In Christ are found the ordering of creation, the revelation of God's character, the path to reconciliation, and the power to live rightly.

This means that when we talk about wisdom, we're ultimately talking about knowing Christ. When we pursue wisdom, we're pursuing him. When we grow in wisdom, we're being conformed to his image.

The cross is the ultimate display of divine wisdom. It looks like foolishness to the world—a crucified Messiah, defeated and shameful. But it's actually the power and wisdom of God, accomplishing what human wisdom never could: the forgiveness of sins, the defeat of death, and the reconciliation of all things.

So when we face change and uncertainty, we don't just ask, "What's the smart move?" We ask, "What does faithfulness to Christ look like here? How do we embody his self-giving love? How do we trust his promises even when the path forward is unclear?"

That reframes everything.

Wisdom for the Year Ahead

I don't know exactly what changes our congregation will face this year. Some are already on the calendar. Others will surprise us. But I know this: we'll need wisdom.

We'll need wisdom to discern what's essential and what's negotiable. We'll need wisdom to speak truth in love when we disagree. We'll need wisdom to steward our resources, to care for the vulnerable, to make decisions that honor God even when they cost us something.

And here's the good news: God gives wisdom liberally to those who ask. James 1 promises that. If any of you lacks wisdom, ask God, who gives generously without finding fault. That's not a blank check for getting what we want. It's a promise that when we genuinely seek to live rightly before him, he'll provide the discernment we need.

So that's what we're doing this year. We're studying wisdom. We're praying for wisdom. We're practicing wisdom together as a church family. We're reading Scripture, listening to each other, submitting to godly leadership, and trusting that the same God who ordered creation and redeemed his people will guide us through whatever changes lie ahead.

If you want to dive deeper into the biblical theology of wisdom, I've been using the Anselm Project to prep for this series. The topical report engine pulls together every major text on wisdom across the canon and synthesizes it into something you can actually use for study. It's been incredibly helpful for seeing the big picture and tracing themes across Testament boundaries.

God bless, everyone. Let's pursue wisdom together this year.

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