"The last seven words from a dying church: We've never done it that way before."
Nope, it didn't come from Andy Stanley, or Perry Noble, or any other "new-fangled" pastor. It came from Rev. Ray Talley.
He's not famous, but to look at him you'd think "typical Southern Baptist preacher." And in a lot of ways, he is (I am not saying that's a negative thing - but it's very distinctive). But when he shared that a few months back, it stuck in my head.
God's word is relevant, and showing people that it's relevant to their everyday lives today and not just to people 2000 years ago... it's pretty important. So when we get the idea that "we've never done it that way before" that means we're not willing to change.
And the core of the message? The truth of the message? That doesn't change.
But it's important to keep up with other things that are changing. Disney comes out with something new and awesome all the time. It captures our children's attention. They want everything related to their favorite Disney movie and they want to go to Disney World.
Do they crave to go to church in the same way? Or is it a struggle to get them out the door because it's the last place they want to be? Do we want our children to be excited to learn about Jesus? To want to learn? What are we doing to capture their attention?
This became very real to me when I saw a picture of a kid's Halloween costume this year. There are a million different costume ideas, but this kid chose to dress up as his pastor. How cool is that? You think that kid just might enjoy going to church every Sunday? Perhaps he looks up to his pastor... so much that he chose to be him for Halloween?
Just my thoughts for today... yours?
2 comments:
You are so right, Susan. But it also applies to adults. We are not content with the "entertainment" of our childhood (but I do admit to loving the Andy Griffith Marathons!). What do we do to make church relevant to the +50 crowd?
Bless you and Josh as you begin your ministry in Virginia. (And I love Ray Talley, too!!) Kathy Dills
Kathy, you are so right! I was trying to keep the post short, but this principle very much applies to teens, single adults, young couples, middle ages, and seniors as well. Admittedly, no one church can cover all of those bases - but it's something extremely important to think about. :)
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