Is it Really Time for a Change?

A few years back the lead pastor (he was not my pastor, but that’s a story for another day) of the church I attended came to me and asked if I would lead worship during a revival we were hosting at a small church in North Carolina that another of our pastors was preaching at. Our worship leader was to go but could not as he was expecting his first grandchild and didn’t want to be 8 hours away in case the grandchild arrived during the week. I told them that I would go and went to lead worship. The church was located in the Outer Banks in North Carolina. The Outer Banks is steeped in history and beauty. I had been there before and it quickly moved up on my list of favorite places.

The church we were holding revival at was also steeped in history and was built in the 1830’s. The average age of the church was probably in the mid to late 60’s. We arrived late on a Friday evening and had a meeting with some of the members to plan where we wanted to go in the community and invite people to come to the meetings we were having. On Saturday, we went to the areas and invited people. While traveling back, I asked about a trailer park we were approaching and found out that we weren’t visiting it and I asked “why not?” I was told they never visited there because it was “too far” from the church. It was less than a mile away from the church, it was then I knew we were in for an adventurous week at the church.

The church had no musicians, a limited sound system, no video system and if you packed the building, you may be able to get 50 people in the church. We brought both a sound and a video system with us and hooked them up on Saturday afternoon. By Saturday night we were all ready to go. Several members of the church stopped by as we were setting up and heard the CD’s and DVD’s we were playing. It was contemporary music and I could tell from the looks we were getting that it was going to be a major change for them. They probably were dreading it, but I was excited.

The church in many ways was still stuck in the 1830’s. The newest music they sang on Sunday morning was a modern (to them) song from the 1970’s. They had an order of worship and stuck to it. They were very traditional and regimented in their structure and worship. They sang the doxology, welcomed everyone, recognized the visitors, took an offering, gave a Sunday School report, and sang a coupe more songs before turning it over to our outreach pastor to preach. He brought his message and told them that we would be handling the music and entire services for the remainder of the week and encouraged them to attend and invite others. He also wanted them to know that we were going to do things a little different than they were used to and for them to be prepared for the difference. We began services on Sunday night. I played guitar and piano some before the services but didn’t use them during the service, only soundtracks and DVD’s. Our entire week was devoted to a despised word in many churches today – CHANGE.

We had almost 20 people in attendance for the evening service. Unfortunately, we had brought about 9 of the people with us so we made up almost half of the crowd. There were two people we had invited from the neighborhood there. The pastor brought the message and did his best to motivate the members into trying to reach the people in the community. We kept this up every night of the week, saw more people attending every night and by the end of the week, we had a packed house. I had talked with many of the people and they mentioned that they could not keep the younger adults, teens, or children attending or interested in being a part of the church. They had lost touch and no longer was the church relevant to their lives. I did my best to politely let them know that even though times had changed, the methods of the church had not. What worked in the 1940’s and 1950’s to make the church relevant no longer works today. In order to make the church more vibrant and once again become a needed part of people’s lives is for the church to have a makeover.

Make no mistake in my statement. The message we deliver cannot be changed. The message of salvation and the holiness and deity of Jesus Christ has not and will not ever change. We cannot change our beliefs and principles just so we can attract people. The gospel message is still the same today as it was in the 1830’s. If you die without accepting Christ as your Lord and Savior, you will still die and go to hell just as they did in the old days. However, we have to make changes in the way we present it. As I stated, what worked years ago is not working today. Churches are dying and people are walking away from church because of tradition and the inability of church to make the changes needed to become relevant to peoples lives. The illustration I used with the church is the following;

There are two brand new cars in the lot. Both serve the same purpose, to reliably take you from point A to point B. Both are the exact same price, in mint condition, seat four people, have less than 10 miles on them, and get similar gas mileage. For $12,000, you can have either car. Here are the two choices

Choice 1
1972 AMC Pacer
Vinyl Seats
AM/FM Radio with an 8 Track
Manual Steering
Manual Brakes
Automatic Transmission
Manual Windows
Manual Door Locks

Choice 2
2009 Ford Mustang
Leather Seats
AM/FM Stereo with CD & MP3 Player
Power Steering
Power Brakes with Anti-Lock
Automatic Transmission
Power Windows
Power Door Locks
Cruise Control
Tilt Steering
Heated Seats
Air Conditioning
Power Seats
Cruise Control
Tilt Steering
Air Conditioning
Power Seats

Rarely will someone decide that they want the Pacer. Most will want the convenience, styling, and modernization of the Mustang. The Pacer may have been a good choice years ago but its styling is dated and its obsolescence makes it irrelevant and unattractive to younger people.

The same goes with our churches. The programs and worship styles we use must be modernized to be more attractive to younger generations. If you have your ticket and are on your way to heaven, then church is no longer about what attracts you or what you are comfortable with. Our primary goal as Christians is to reach out to others and bring them into a relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus told us to “go into the world and compel them to come to Him”. We have to provide something attractive to be able to bring them to Him. Just because it was good enough for Granny (or me) does not mean it is still effective in today’s environment.

This is not to say that we should abandon the old ways. There are still people who will be attracted to Jesus by the old methods. However, you can go to some towns with churches on almost every corner and see that churches that use the old ways are plentiful. It’s what many people are comfortable with and they seem to think that if you want to come to Christ, you’ll have to conform to their ways because they will not change for you. Traditional churches are a dime a dozen and unfortunately, most of them are dying or have already died, they just haven’t noticed yet.

No one drives a Model T everyday, Hollywood does not make silent movies, nor does anyone watch a black and white TV anymore. If the rest of the world can change and embraces modern technology and methods, then why not the church? To once again be relevant and reach the world today, we must change. Not our beliefs, but our methods.
It will be a struggle, you may be alienated by so-called Christians and even friends, but the rewards far outweigh the costs.

GLW