We're Wired to Change in Community

Here's a pattern I see lived out much too often in Christians:

1. My life's a mess -- I need to CHANGE!
2. I work hard at changing, but I come to realize I can't change ME by changing my checkbook, calendar, mission statement, etc.
3. Somebody shares with me that if I try Jesus, He'll REALLY change me!
4. I decide to give Jesus a try and become a Christian (I think).
5. Other Christians tell me now that I'm a Christian the key to REALLY changing is to go to church a lot and read the Bible a lot and hang with other Christians a lot.
6. I try all of that and even enjoy some of it, but I'm frustrated because I don't CHANGE like I think I should.
7. After awhile, I get mad and try hanging with some OTHER Christians because the ones I'm hanging with aren't doing a good job changing me.
8. My next group of Christians try but THEY don't get the job done either so I try somewhere else!
9. After changing scenery, changing friends, changing Bible study methods, etc., I'm still leaving a "trail" behind me filled with disappointment and broken relationships and the same STUFF I've been dragging around for years.
10. Now what?

Sound familiar to you? I'm tired of seeing this lived out all around me in His church. I believe the key to real, lasting change is RELATIONSHIP: 1) Marriage (Covenant) relationship with Christ, and 2) transparent relationship with other Christ followers.

Here's the rub: I'm a work in process, others around me are works in process, and because we're in the process of BEING changed, we don't handle everything right. We get mad at each other and take off and in the process, run away from the horizontal relationships He (our vertical relationship) wants to use to CHANGE us.

So, we end up frustrated because we don't CHANGE like we think we should!

How 'bout we try hanging in with the people He's surrounded us with and surrender to His plan to change us? Sound like a plan?