New Ideas

New Ideas

The one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!”

Revelation 21:5

The elderly priest, speaking to the younger priest, said, “It was a good idea to replace the first four pews with plush theater seats. It worked. The front of the church fills first.”

The young priest nodded, and the old one continued, “And you told me a little more beat to the music would bring young people back to church, so I supported you when you brought in that rock ’n’ roll gospel choir. We are packed to the balcony.”

“Thank you, Father,” answered the young priest, “I am pleased you are open to the new ideas of youth.”

“However,” said the elderly priest, “I’m afraid you’ve gone too far with the drive-through confessional.”

“But, Father,” protested the young priest, “my confessions have nearly doubled since I began that!”

“I know, son,” replied the old man, “but that flashing neon sign, ‘Toot ’n’ Tell or Go to Hell,’ is just not staying on the church roof.”

It is fascinating that God did not define certain things in the Bible. By leaving more general terms and commands in his Word, he has allowed his church to stay “new every morning” (see Lamentations 3:23) and ever fresh, connecting with each new generation.

The rest of us? Not so much. For the most part, younger people like newness and change, and older people like sameness, familiarity, and comfort. And yet, God is not the God of comfort. He is the God of action, challenge, and tackling difficulties. So, before we complain about all the changes happening in the church, perhaps it would be good to seek his wisdom, his mission for the church, and his love of the lost.

“Now,” as my dad would say, “you’ve quit preaching and gone to meddlin’.”

—J. John and Mark Stibbe

O Lord, thank you for making your church ever new and able to touch the hearts and lives of people in every age. Please help me to be part of the solutions needed and not part of the problems. Amen.