Consider the following: the mindset of this Fall’s
incoming college freshmen. They were born around
1998. They have no meaningful recollection of the
9-11 attack on America. Their whole life has been
lived in the current war on terror. They do not
understand the Cold War, nor have they ever feared a
nuclear war. They have lived all their lives with
computers and the World Wide Web. The expression,
“You sound like a broken record,” means nothing to
them. They have never owned a record player. They
have only known the Compact Disc and cassettes are
as nostalgic as it gets for them.
These incoming freshmen have always had cellular
phones. Most have never seen a TV set with only 13
channels, let alone a black-and-white TV. They have
always had cable. There have always been DVD’s, and
they have no idea what BETA is. They cannot fathom
life without having a remote control. They do not
know what a Sony
Walkman is. Roller-skating has always meant inline
for them. And can you believe they do not know who
Johnny Carson was?
For these freshmen, popcorn has always been cooked
in the microwave; in fact, most
microwaves now have a button for “popcorn”! Most of
them do not know who Larry Bird is. They never
heard, “Where's the beef?” or “de plane, de plane.”
As far as they understand, we have always known
where the Titanic is located on the seafloor. And
finally, they cannot fathom using an outhouse for
their primary, let alone only, restroom.
Everyone has had changes that were forced on them,
whether comfortable or not; whether welcomed or not.
In the same way, our modern age often forces us to
do things differently because of all the recent
advancements.
Some changes are good—even welcomed. Not all change
is hard to accept. (Thank you indoor plumbing. Good
bye outhouse!)
Another welcomed change will be when we walk into
heaven. Paul tells us that on that day, we will all
be changed; essentially meaning, we will all have a
new body (I Corinthians 12:51). Who does not look
forward to that kind of change!
Many have pointed out the obvious: “Change is
inevitable.” True! Now brace yourself . . there are
most likely some major changes just around the
corner for you precisely as you are reading
this—health, career, family, church, you name it.
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Someone will always say, “If it’s not broke . . .
don’t fix it!” But do you practice that with your
car? Of course not, we change the oil and change the
tires and change the fluids. Why? To assure the car
continues rolling down the road.
Maybe there is a question to consider: How well do
you accept the inevitability of change? Do you
consider yourself flexible? If you have ever watched
an airplane’s wing bounce up and down in flight, it
can be a little unnerving. It looks like its about
to fall off. Truth is, if a plane’s wing was not a
little flexible—if it were too rigged—it would be
torn off by the speed of the wind currents. It is
precisely the flexibility of the wing that keeps it
from being ripped off the fuselage. If change is
inevitable, and oftentimes a good thing,
then our flexibility in accepting change would be
wise.
Church is often under change. From generation to
generation the message is still the
same, but the methods of sharing that message
differ. After all, it is impossible to reach an MP3
generation with 8 Track methods. (Some are asking,
“What’s an 8 track?” and others are asking, “What’s
an MP3?”).
Yes, the church will continue to make changes to
better reach the unchurched. Yes, we
will continue to modify our technology and our
facility and our methods. The way church is done
will most-likely change often. But do not confuse
these changes with a changing message. The message
is still the same, we are all fallen sinners in need
of a savior, and His name is Jesus!
[Ron Otto, preaching minister at Lincoln
Christian Church]
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