Submitted by the Rev. Pete Hyde …
Good morning;
Saturday night we “sprang forward” and set our clocks ahead one hour to enter into the season of daylight savings time. I hope all of you remembered to change so you were not late for church. I have to admit that of the two time changes of the year, I dislike this one the most. It usually takes me a week to two to get my body clock adjusted to this change.
I awoke Sunday morning in cabin overlooking Lake Tenkiller on northeast Oklahoma. Four generations of our family gathered to celebrate the 93rd birthday of the patriarch. The air was cool under a clear sky. Those who stayed the night were stirring. The day would be full of visiting and more travel to see more family. After fixing a cup of coffee, I stepped out on the second story porch to look across the valley. The lake lay clear and silent.
Bradford pear tress looked like white cake pops dotting the landscape. A single mockingbird was beginning to greet the morning in a far-off tree. A group of crows disrupted the silent with their annoying “caw, caw.” There was a peaceful stillness to the morning. Had the time not changed I might have missed this moment of quiet blessing.
That’s the way it is with “change” isn’t it. I think all of us have at least some desire to have things remain the same and remain in some kind of routine. Even though I like routines and schedules, I know that change is necessary. It is necessary for emotional, physical and most of all, spiritual growth. Without change there is no growth.
Without change, the rut in which we find our scheduled and routine lives becomes a grave of our own digging. Without change and being intentional about growing and making progress on our spiritual journey, our relationship with God can become old, dusty and stagnate.
You might be saying to yourself or out loud to me this morning, “But I like the old ways, the traditions, the way we’ve always done things.” That is the cry of all generations, the pleading of young and old alike. We like our old ways even if they are not old. We like our traditions even if they have not been traditions for very long. The reality, whether or not we choose to recognize or accept it, is that our traditions (our ways of doing things) are going to change when the next generation comes along. What is contemporary for us is seen as traditional by the generation behind us. What is contemporary for them will be traditional for their children. Each generation will have to deal with change.
Nowhere is this more evident and more important than in the church. The traditional vs. contemporary battle is being waged in all churches who are seeking to remain relevant in a rapidly changing society. The challenge is to find ways to reach the most people with the message of the Gospel. The traditional ways are touching one segment of the community, while contemporary ways are reaching another. The challenge will never end, for what is contemporary today will be traditional tomorrow. The contemporary folks will become the traditional folks and a new generation will become the contemporary folks and time, no matter how many times we change the clocks, time will march on and the cycle will repeat until Jesus come and establishes his kingdom. I believe there is need for the church to become inter-generational asking each of the generations to show preference to the others and come together in all aspects of the church, especially worship. It is an act of humility and servanthood. No, it is not easy of the quickest way for numerical growth. I believe it is pleasing to God. I’m not sure He would agree with the church dividing the church along generational lines. Instead of trying to give everyone what they want, how about asking everyone to give up something for the sake of the others in the church family.
There is an old adage: “The only constant in life is change.” For the body of Christ, this means we need to understand that God wants to reach all people, not just people who are like us. Since everyone is not the same, nor are they at the same point on their spiritual journey to God, it requires many methods to reach and touch and offer opportunities for spiritual growth. To attain this goal, we need to get ourselves, our agendas, our egos, out of the way and realize that not everyone sees things the way we do and nor should they. For if we were all the same and had the same spiritual needs the same methods would work for everyone, there would only be one church in each community and everyone in the community would be in attendance and active in the body of Christ – the Church.
But alas, we are not all the same and thank God for that. Therefore we will all need to deal with change from the level of changing our clocks to changes within the body of Christ that allow us to carry out the great commission given to us by Jesus’ last words in Matthew 28: 18 -20: “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Have a great week.
Rev. J. Pete Hyde, Senior Pastor
Santa Rosa Beach Community Church
850-267-2599; srbcc.com