Ecclesiastes 7:10 reads, "Do not say, 'Why were the old days better than these?' For it is not wise to ask such questions." The week the Christian Motorcyclist Convention met in Louisville, we blocked off a section of our parking lot for the motorcycles of 400 visitors. The traffic policemen said, "Some of your older people got angry at having to park at a different spot." Sometimes we get so set in our ways we become a hindrance to the very cause that we love and have given a lifetime to advance.
But we have to accept change in order to contribute to progress. Abraham was 75 when God came to him and said, "I want you to move." Abraham agreed. From that point on his life was one incredible adventure. There was little certainty, but there was a lot of service and significance, because he was willing to be flexible.
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The Christians in the first century had to change. Paul's method of preaching in Athens was different than his method at Corinth because the cultures were different. The Christians at Jerusalem had to make a big adjustment in accepting Gentiles into the church.
We have to accept change too. The pipe organ isn't a part of our worship service any more. We'll seldom hear the King James Version of the Bible read. We probably won't ever sing, "Do Lord, O Do Lord, O do remember me?" again. You can sit back with your arms folded in disgust and pine for the good old days, or you can get on board with God's program for the future.
Jesus taught that you can't put new wine in old brittle wineskins because when the wine ferments, the wineskins will burst. You better put new wine in new wineskins that can expand and be flexible.
The Spirit of God is living and powerful. He is a God of the present. He keeps bursting out of the old forms and that means we've got to be flexible and rejoice that His mercies are new every morning!
Two weeks ago I went to the Vine, our Sunday evening service designed to reach the postmodern generation. Everything about it is the opposite of the tradition I knew growing up. We worship in the light; they worship with the lights off. We sit and sing; they stand and sing and sing and sing. We sing with organ and piano; they sing with guitar and drums. We pass communion; they go to a communion station. We have the sermon at the end; they have the sermon in the middle. We stand to preach; they sit to preach. We wear suits and ties; they wear blue jeans and t-shirts. We are fairly reserved; they are very expressive. We have an invitation; they ask those making a decision to go to an designated area after the service. All of those are changes in methodology. But the theology and the teaching remain the same.
Frankly, I'm not edified by the Vine as much as I am our other weekend worship services, but I endorse it 100% because I see 1,400 young people learning about Christ. I don't like the music much, but I like seeing them reached by it.