Individuals have to make the decision. Companies have to
make the decision. Governments have to make the decision. Churches have to
decide if they will take that crucial step and put the new in the new year.
Governments have to look at past actions, results, and the
costs that brought about those results.
Companies set goals and decide what must happen to reach
those goals. They explore the new to reach their targets.
Individuals who are not happy with the status quo look for
something new to try or create.
Churches are no different. Unless they are satisfied with
the status quo and are convinced that God is also happy with the status quo,
they will try something new.
Trying something new means moving into the different, the
strange, the unfamiliar, and out of the common and comfortable. How ready are
we for that?
Trying something new means adding something to your skill
set or your memory bank. Brain cells are connected in new ways. Muscles are
stretched and strengthened. New experiences broaden the ability to deal with
new situations. Our lives are enriched as we experience the “new”.
This all sounds so exciting! Why don’t we seek out and try
the new more often? A goal means moving beyond the status quo into something
different, unless your goal is to make sure nothing new happens to you.
Bilbo Baggins, the main character in J. R. R. Tolkien’s
wonderful work The Hobbit, says quite
clearly in the beginning of the story that he has no use for adventures. A cozy
home with lots of food and a pipe filled with good tobacco are all he ever
wants out of life. Yet he soon finds himself swept up in a journey that will
change his life forever. That is what can happen if you ever first put your
foot on a path and open yourself to something new.
As individuals we can face the future as a wonderful
adventure that will enrich our lives by seeking out the new. Companies must do
that if they are to survive in an ever changing world. And churches, we
Christians who as the Body of Christ are supposed to be carrying on his work,
what are we seeking that is new?
Jesus could have sat in Jerusalem or even somewhere on the
beach at the Sea of Galilee and waited for all the people to come to him. Some
would, but a lot wouldn’t. Other rabbis did that. He didn’t. He went to the people.
He traveled the roads of Judea, Samaria, and Galilee and a couple of side trips
beyond. He went into new areas to meet new people to offer them an unbelievable
adventure.
Churches should follow suit. The world doesn’t know about
the great adventure that Jesus is offering. It sees no reason to come into our
church facilities in search of something new. We need to go out to them. We
need to try something new in order to offer something radical to the world.
"To create a new standard it takes something
that's not just a little bit different. It takes something that's really new
and really captures people's imaginations. And the Macintosh, of all the
machines I've ever seen, is the only one that meets that standard." (Bill
Gates) Gates was talking about a computer, but Jesus was talking about a way of
life and its new standards and perspectives (John 10:10). The old isn’t good enough. The status quo
cannot stay the same in an ever changing world. The new has to come!
Of course it may not seem like something new to us, but
maybe that is because we have never allowed the eternal newness of the Gospel
to lead us on that path into the future God has waiting for us. We need to
experience that new adventure so we can share it with someone else. Just like
Bilbo Baggins the Hobbit, we need to get out of the front doors of our church
buildings and throw ourselves into the new adventure of introducing the world
to Jesus Christ and the greatest adventure of all.
