From the Pastor's Study
From the Pastor’s Study Innovation June 29, 2022
“Innovative new design.” “New and improved.” “Thinking outside of the box.” These slogans are used to present ideas and products that, we are told, will make our lives better. Upon further examination of these products and ideas, however, we may discover that the new design might be only a slight modification of the previous one and that the product which is supposed to be new and improved hasn’t changed at all. Helen worked at a place which manufactured mouth wash, and she discovered that the new and improved mouth wash was identical to the old stuff. The only difference was that they had “discovered” that their product did something that they had not been able to prove it did before. Yet, unless we are thinking outside the box and coming up with something new and exciting, we are seen as being stagnant and outmoded.
Our state-sponsored radio broadcaster, CBC, seems to have taken the idea of innovation to the extreme. When interviewing someone about a rather normal topic (the effect of a drought, for example), the reporters seem to work hard to find someone who is living an alternative lifestyle in a rather odd way. It seems as if those who think outside the box in one area of life or another will have a more valid opinion for all other areas. It used to be that movie stars and hockey players were asked to give their “expert” opinions regarding world events, but now it is those who think innovatively that are fronted as having the most reliable perspective.
The desire for something new and improved has impacted the church as well. In that last decade or so Christians leaders have offered alternative experiences of “church” that will appeal to people who don’t like “church.” And, more worrisome, are the innovations in theology in which centuries-old and well proven teachings are being replaced by new ways of thinking. We must recognize, of course, that there are times when we must challenge old ways of thinking for sometimes the old ways are based on tradition and not on Scripture. Nonetheless, it seems far more popular to think about Jesus Christ and our salvation in new and innovative ways than to keep holding onto the old understandings. It’s almost as if we don’t find new ways to do church and to express the truths of Scripture, we will become stagnant and outmoded. The church seems to be under tremendous pressure to think outside the box and discover new and improved and innovative ways of thinking and doing things.
But not all are in agreement that new and improved is the way to go. A decade or so ago a study was done in which it was revealed that many younger people (then in their early 20s) were abandoning their generically evangelical churches to join the very traditional Greek and Russian orthodox churches. When asked why, they responded by saying that their lives were changing so rapidly that they felt destabilized. The traditional churches with their centuries-old liturgies provided a sense of connection to the past and a deeper understanding of the faithfulness and immutability (unchangeable nature) of God. The unchanging nature of the church portrayed God’s reliability.
There is a song which we sing from time to time: I love to tell the story, for those who know it best seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest. And when in scenes of glory, I sing the new, new song ‘twill be the old, old story that I have loved so long. Earlier in the same song, we sing the words, I love to tell the story because I know ‘tis true; it satisfies my longings as nothing else can do.
There is no doubt that the church needs to speak in a language which people today understand. There must always be room for new songs in the contemporary style, and we it might be necessary to shift the emphasis of our preaching so that it challenges and encourages us in our unique situation today. There is room for some innovation and improvement, without a doubt. At the same time, we cannot abandon the heart of the gospel, namely that we are sinners in need of God’s grace which can be found only in Jesus Christ. We cannot abandon that truth just because it is an old, old story that we have heard so many times. The message of the gospel will always remain the same, and it must, or else we will have no gospel at all.
Perhaps the church’s true relevance to the world today is that it is a beacon of stability and faithfulness (reflecting God) while everything around it is in flux. There is always room for growth and improvement, but the church should never be “innovative” because that is what is expected by the world around us. We seek to make Jesus Christ known to the world, and even though his story is centuries old, it is the story that cannot be changed. We cannot abandon the central truths of the gospel because it is more popular to come up with ideas that are from “outside the box.” Rather, we seek to remain faithful, and how faithfulness looks does not change much over the centuries either.
Pastor Gary
