Tradition and Change

In the movie Dead Poets Society Robin Williams is an unorthodox literature teacher committed to creatively inspiring his students in the atmosphere of a stuffy Vermont boarding school. It all goes wrong when his students actually listen (when does that ever happen?) and begin to actually “seize the day” by pursuing their passions and resisting the status quo. Many young leaders can identify with Williams’ character, Mr. Keating, who feels stonewalled by the system though in his heart he knows he is really doing the right thing for those under his charge. How can pastors help churches make needed, healthy changes when maybe innovation isn’t the norm?

Don’t move the ancient boundary stone (Proverbs 22:8)
There are traditions I am totally on board with, but when I reflect on them, most are still a reflection of my own bias. But others go deeper than that. A Trinitarian baptismal liturgy, because I can see definite scriptural foundations, is an ancient boundary stone. The regular observance of Communion as an act of corporate worship is an ancient boundary stone—that is, a non-negotiable, always and forever practice. Churches should be careful to thoughtfully consider what constitutes a “hill to die on” when adjusting the habits that people have grown accustomed to, or in rewriting policies that govern church life. However, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to gain, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak”( Ecclesiastes 3:6-7).

Polarization in culture and church culture
The 800 pound gorilla in the room: there are generational issues in many churches with respect to negotiable musical forms and other non-essentials. The biggest generational question for many churches in another 15-20 years will be “Why didn’t we exhibit more flexibility and concern for the assimilation of the 74.5 million Millennials who have absented our churches?” In his seminal book The Present Future, Reggie McNeal wrote, “The current church culture in North America is on life support. It is living off the work, money, and energy of previous generations from a previous world order. The plug will be pulled either when the money runs out (80 percent of money given to congregations comes from people aged fifty-five and older) or when the remaining three-fourths of a generation who are institutional loyalists die off or both.” McNeal wrote this in 2003, thirteen years ago. Let that sink in.

Evaluation
A reasonable starting place for many congregations would be to commit to some honest introspection. Is evaluation encouraged in your ministry surroundings? Is it practiced? If so what does it usually look like? Are many ministry leaders involved? In the excellent linked article Micah Fries suggests examining the following areas:
·         Missionary mentality
·         Vibrant leadership
·         Relational intentionallity
·         Prayerful dependence
·         Community
·         Mission
Using the TCAT assessment tool linked in the article would be a good start for many churches. I would add to this list that learning about church systems as expressed by Hal Seed of New Song Community Church is extremely helpful as well.

The importance of “Why?”
It is critical for leaders to help the people they serve in the local church understand why changes are happening. Don’t believe it? Google the phrase in this heading. There are Ted Talks on it for crying out loud! People need to understand the importance of change and it needs to be embedded in the language of mission. It is important to anticipate the unsettled feeling that accompanies change and to be prepared to address the vital reasons that it is being introduced. And you’ll need to say it like, a million times, in every medium possible and then sky write it. For more, see: https://www.fastcompany.com/3039677/the-importance-of-creating-a-culture-of-why
Or watch this Simon Sinek clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPYeCltXpxw

Is comfort a Biblical value?
It’s the most common (I would guess) underlying power behind change resistance in local churches. The problem is I think the answer to this one is pretty easy. People in scripture never saw comfort as a primary motivation for following Christ. In fact He frequently challenged people who sought to follow Him on that very point. How can we have translated what Jesus taught to mean that local church participation has our comfort as its primary concern? A worse distortion of the Gospel is difficult to imagine. I’m afraid the use of this as a reason to resist change is a symptom of a far worse problem.

Whose preferences take precedence?
When you read the Bible there is a passage where the Apostle Paul discusses a now directly irrelevant question of whether or not a person could eat meat in the marketplace after its primary function of being sacrificed to a pagan idol had been carried out (1 Corinthians 8). Clearly, Paul says, an idol is nothing, and a person could do so in good conscience, UNLESS, the faith of a weaker brother might be injured by this incidental practice. Here is why this passage is still relevant. We bump into non-essential questions in church life all the time. There are many occasions where the conscience of a weaker brother is injured because those of us who are supposed to be mature insist on staking claim to a right that we might vacate for their benefit or the benefit of the as yet uninitiated.

How can churches work through generational/preferential tension with missionary clarity?
·         Pray, pray, pray. Seriously. “Every great movement of God can be traced to some kneeling figure”—D.L. Moody.
·         Data/Rinse/Repeat – 74.5 million mostly unreached Millennials. The USA is the 4th largest mission field in the world. It’s hammer time! Get out your hammer and hammer on this over and over again.
·         Appeal to the urgency of the situation. John Maxwell once introduced a square divided into four quadrants to teach leaders how to respond to everyday issues. The first quadrant was marked “urgent.” These were the high priority issues that needed immediate attention. Reaching this generation is urgent.
·         Preach deliberately to real life issues.  It’s possible to do this and still preach expositionally.
·         Personalize the issue. Bring in the grandkids. Everybody swears this works.
·         Make change with excellence. Carefully plan and execute. The devil is in the details—or he will be if change is poorly managed. Ready-fire-aim won’t cut it.

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