A man wanted to get his bicycle fixed. There was something wrong with the gears - they wouldn't switch properly and they kept catching so that his foot kept slipping and he was tipping over. Years ago (it had been many years since the bike had a tune-up) the man took the bike to a repair shop in the city. The repairman had done such a good job: not only were the gears lubed and rusty parts exchanged, but the brakes worked without screaming and tire tubes were replaced and inflated.
"I'll go back there," the man said and loaded up his bike in the car.
When he reached the address, the man pulled the bicycle from the car and wheeled it up to the front door where he noticed a large sign written in block letters on the door:
Moved to 371 1st Street - great new location!
Sorry for the inconvenience, but thank you in advance for your business!
The man was very frustrated. He'd stuffed his bicycle into the back end of the car, he'd driven all the way into the city and then wheeled it up to the front door. This is where bicycle repairs took place - not somewhere else.
The man had options at his disposal, though:
1. In his frustration, he could pack the bike back up and take it home. To heck with getting it fixed. He didn't need it anyway.
2. Even though he thought the shop owner did a really good job, he could disparage him online for inconveniencing him. Then, when he really needed the bicycle, he could take it to the new location.
3. Or, he could just wait at the old repair shop hoping for his bicycle to be miraculously changed simply by staying where the old shop was.
4. He could pack the bike back up and take it to the new location and get his bike fixed. It was even closer to home than the city!
This scenario, allegorically speaking, works really well for the 21st century Church. For a long time it feels as if the Church hasn't been moving as smoothly as it used to. Switching gears is hard, our feet slip and, maybe, the tires feel a little flat. Making disciples has always been hard, but in the contemporary world of digital communication and information gathering, we struggle to find ways to stimulate the imagination of a world that is overstimulated by everything else.
The Church does have a choice for the future and they can come from the analogies above:
1. The Church can just pack it in now. Worship used to be the main draw card for people to encounter Jesus - invite people to a Sunday morning 'experience,' let them (hopefully) hear a good, uplifting sermon that helps them to feel good about themselves, sing with the band (or organ, for that fact) some popular Christian songs, have a cup of coffee with your friends and then go home for a roast dinner that you put in the oven before you left for church.
I hear some saying, 'Those were the good days of Christianity, when it was easier.' We can't do that now, so let's just wait until the church doors close and then pray for Jesus' return.
2. God was so good when he was blessing us with all the new families, and the new programs, and a budget in the black, but now that things have turned - 2020 hit us, COVID blasted away at all the things that were good - maybe God is struggling with this omniscience and omnipotence. We know what humans are like in the 21st century. We know that they need a quick worship service, some online social media memes and a gentle encouragement to live better lives. But if things get really bad... he promised he'd never leave us, right?
3. Many churches choose this option because it seems to be the easiest. Twenty, thirty or forty years ago, God fixed all our problems by showing us contemporary worship, youth bowling nights and Sunday School. But it's too hard to do that now - everyone's so busy, and there is soccer on Sundays, and, oh, football games tend to get in the way. Maybe if we just change the service times, people will start coming back.
If we just stay where we are, the Spirit will eventually find us again.
4. Or, we could move to the address where God has called us to be and it might not even look like the traditional Church. More thoughts on that next week...
So, I'm leaving you with this fill in the blank statement: When I came to know Jesus it was because of ________.
1 comment:
I agree. The church has not been moving smoothly and needs some fine tuning. It is very different than 20 years ago.
I have to say that worship is still the main draw! Christians have and always will need each other – in-person- in community.
The good old days are “easier” because they are familiar. Change means something new. We have to adjust, learn, modify. That all takes energy and creativity.
Time to put our thinking caps on!
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