A Continuing Restoration - John 17:20-21

Times are changing and so is the church.  One can either fight against the current, and probably be washed away, or to enjoy the ride.

Some of you may be thinking that if one "enjoys the ride" they are just taking the easy route and if they won't stand for something, they'll fall for anything.  However, that is not the direction for which I am coming.

I am not an experienced boat paddler, so I don't know what it is really like to go against a current.  What I do have some experience in is swimming.  I remember having to tread water, either for a class or for enjoyment (to stay afloat).  I wasn't able to do it forever, after a short time it is tiring.  I have experienced this feeling when it comes to trying to be "right" in my spiritual life.  Trying to make the "name" of the place I attend be "right", simply because I was told it was.  All the while, seeing other places be more passionate, free, expressive, which resulted in excitement and growth.

I often thought to myself, "Why can't we have that kind of passion?"  Then, I would realize, it tends to be because we are putting so much effort staking our "rightness" claim that all the passionate energy is sucked out of us.  It is kind of like when you have been "spring cleaning" or doing yard work all day, the last thing you want to do is to return to those activities again anytime soon.  

Yesterday, we continued our series of "Words of Wisdom from the Workshop" by looking at our "Continuing Restoration", a lesson I heard at the Tulsa Workshop by Patrick Mead.  And here are some applications to choose from to use this week...

1. Appreciate Your Heritage ~ We all come from different backgrounds which has shaped us to where we are today.  Appreciate the ones that have gone before, their victories, their blunders, their blazed trails, etc.  Then, think about how you will be a part of that which will help define the future for the next generations.
2. Humble Yourself ~ Were you a part of a group that "bought the corner" on being "right" when it comes to your total view of scripture?  I thought I was part owner of that "corner" for many years, but am realizing daily that the "corner" I thought I part ownership in was not the "right" one.
3. Research Your Heritage ~ After doing some research in the "names" of those who were founders of my heritage I realized some of the things they helped found were not anything like what I see today.  What a wake up call!
4. Why Get Together ~ "We don't get together so that God will like us...He already does".  Maybe you need to rethink why you attend a religious setting on Sunday morning, it shouldn't be so that you can check off things in order to have God like you.  He isn't some bully that you are trying to give your lunch money to in order to have safety in life.  God already does like you or he wouldn't have sent Jesus to die for a world of sinners, like you and I!

The churches will continue to change.  Hymns may fade out.  Pews may fade out.  Evangelistic methods will change.  As culture changes, so must the church.  Staying the same is not going to keep people's attention.  If the church digs its heels in to this "rightness" claim, it may be jerked forward into something it had no idea was coming.

Looking forward to the future changes...