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The Evolution of Purpose

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Purpose has been a buzzword for a while now. Rick Warren made it a super-buzzword when he authored The Purpose Driven Church. Then it became the uber-buzzword after he published The Purpose Driven Life. However, amidst all the buzzing, I haven’t heard much about change. I haven’t heard or read anything discussing whether a purpose can morph over time.

Common understanding is that when God gives you [or your ministry, your church, your business, your blog, your family, etc] a purpose, you’re stuck with it. Tradition says you’re married to your purpose in the same way you’re married to your spouse; “’til death do you part”.

Honestly, it makes sense in a simple way. If your purpose is so guiding and directional for your life as a whole, why would it change? After all, you’ve bet everything on your purpose with the comforting thought that it’s not going to change, ever.

In real life, though, purposes are open to change. In fact, there’s a good chance that your purpose has changed or will change at some point in your life [or the life of your organization]. The big question is, can you handle it?

Why do I think purpose is open to change?

There are a few reasons:

1. Your lifetime is separated by seasons. If you don’t believe me, just ask Cindy Beall. The seasons of her life are easily recognizable. Seasons are simply times in your life when God moves differently, circumstances change, society evolves, people die, people are born, etc. As your life’s seasons change, your purpose may change as well. Check out Cindy’s story for an example.
2. The natural maturation process of life. Your purpose as a single person may change drastically once you get married and have kids. Empty-nesters tend to feel a change in purpose once their kids are gone. Maturation ought to bring change.
3. God doesn’t play by our rules. God’s plan doesn’t always lead you down the same path your entire life. Henry Zittrower was a pastor in Florida. As he approached retirement age, he and his wife felt led to start a mission in Roatan to bring fresh water to the natives. His purpose changed as God’s plan in his life changed.

How might this affect your blogging?

Since the purpose of this blog is to help you be a better church blogger [check the tagline above], let’s bring this concept home. First, your blog needs to have a purpose for its existence. If it doesn’t have a purpose, then your readers will detect its purposelessness and run for the hills.

Over time, your blog’s purpose might change; from devotional to informational or maybe from inspirational to networking, etc. Often, this change happens without you planning it or knowing that it’s happened. Purpose usually changes in an instant. It comes with a life-changing event, a self-realization, or maybe a subtle change in perspective.

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