This past week I was driving on I-85 between Charlotte and Atlanta and saw a billboard for a church that said:
ABC* Church and School…the way it used to be (* I will not reveal the name of the church…but if you Google “Church, the way it used to be” you may be shocked at how many churches use this slogan)
I saw this and just thought…HUH? Really? Are you serious?????
I know what they are trying to say…but REALLY? Do you really want things the way they used to be? Do you really want church and school to be the way it “used to be”….really? Let’s think about how church and school used to be:
1. Schools “used to” meet in a one room facility
2. Schools “used to” not have computers
3. Schools “used to” use corporal punishment in excess
4. Churches “used to” require that you wear a coat and tie (that is the piece of cloth that men sometimes wear around their neck…just in case you are less than 25 years old)
5. Churches “used to” use a Latin version of the Bible
6. Churches “used to” require their minister to wear a robe to preach in.
7. Churches “used to” do all of their music with a pipe organ only, if any instruments.
8. Churches “used to” print bulletins on a mimeograph machine.
9. Churches and schools “used to” not have air conditioning or heat
10. Churches and schools “used to” require men and women sit on opposite sides
OK….enough of my rant…but I for one do not want to do “church or school” the way it used to be done in the past. I believe that the cultural and social changes that we have been blessed with have allowed us to better grow disciples that love God and love people…and allow us to impact a culture that is far from God. While the message of the Gospel can never be compromised…and the truths of the Bible never forsaken, our means, methods and approaches must stay relevant and contextual to the society we are trying to serve…you know…in the world, not of it.
Let me share one more example. I have heard for many years the argument of traditional vs. contemporary music in church. This is an argument that does not ring true to me (no pun intended). What is contemporary? According to the dictionary, it means : of the present time; modern. Simply put, it is what is happening right now. And yet, so many churches have tried to make “contemporary” an ugly word. Let’s take an honest look at church music. Fanny Crosby is credited with writing dozens…maybe hundreds of hymns that were made popular in the late 1800′s to the early 1900′s. This era of church history was called the Sunday School Era as that is when Sunday School was first started. Now we 
talk about how we need to have music the way it “used to be”…which generally means we need more hymns. But the reality is, the hymns of that day were the contemporary music of the day and were considered trite and trivial compared to the great works of Bach, Beethoven, and other great composers of the Middle Ages. Sounds pretty familiar to today.
Now…I am not saying that the music of the Middle Ages is not relevant or that hymns have no meaning or place in our current culture…but I am asking if we really want our churches and schools to be “the way it used to be”.
Think about it.
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luann
love this tim..i am emailing it to my pastor
August 17th, 2010 at 7:16 pm
mike mcadory
my previous pastor had some folks talk about needing a good old fashioned campmeeting. his response was much the same as yours…”Really? Sawdust floors, open air tabernacles, gnats flying around your head. Is that really what we need?”
however, on the flip-side and in the attempt to be ‘cool’ or ‘relevant,’ some churches and leaders have gone far beyond contemporary into the profane to ‘get ‘em in the doors.’ see recent WSJ articles for more info on that:
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748704111704575355311122648100-lMyQjAxMTAwMDEwNDExNDQyWj.html
and a response:
http://www.heretolead.com/?p=4702
good work, tim.
August 18th, 2010 at 9:16 am
Dallas Peyton, Sr.
I am enjoying the various comments. I think that what some people are attempting to express may be exactly what you are saying about being culturally relevant. In “big city” America the music may or may not need to be as diverse as Gospel Rock or Christian Rap. In the “small town or rural south” Southern Gospel or Country gospel may or may not be more relevant. In “the coalfields” or “Appalachia” the music that inspires may or may not very well be the old hymns of Fanny Crosby or in lots of places Bluegrass Gospel Music brings the message of Good News. My point is, in order to be culturally relevant we must worship in a church by church, community by community frame and not be boxed in to having people who are not part of our communities tell us how to do culturally relevant worship.
Blessings,
Dallas Peyton, Sr.
Retired Elder UMC WVAC
August 18th, 2010 at 11:06 am
Brian
Except for the Latin, air conditioning, and segregated services, our church pretty much is as it was.
I’m thinking corporal punishment in the workplace might be something to explore.
August 19th, 2010 at 8:32 am
Rick Lawrenson
I’m with you all the way. But…you got some history learnin’ to do, son.
Sunday school started in the late 1700′s (in England as an attempt to give factory working children an opportunity on their only day off to learn to read by using the Bible. Robert Raikes was the big promoter/organizer.) No doubt, however, by the late 1800′s it had grown to be the norm in this country.
Bach, Beethoven, etc. were not “Middle Ages”, but composed in the 18th and 19th centuries.
January 11th, 2011 at 3:18 pm
admin
Great input…thanks Rick
January 11th, 2011 at 3:19 pm
Author CommentRev. Michael Duncan
Let me offer a different position. “Church the way it used to be.” Think about this: “There were no needy persons among them” (Acts 4:34); “The devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42); “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly” (Acts 4:31); “Love each other as I have loved you” (John 15:12). This is the way the church used to be. This is the way the church must become. All the debate over contemporary vs. traditional, new vs. old, is of little account when there is no reference to the real things of the church. When you own two houses and sell one to help that poor beggar in your midst, then I know you’re moving back to where the church used to be.
March 31st, 2011 at 8:21 pm