STUCK IN THE PAST

I recently heard a minister talk about how the older generation has difficulty adjusting to the changes to which the younger generation has adopted and considered normal. He also talked about how the older generation was probably criticized by the generation that was before them in the same manner that they are criticizing the younger generation. After listening to the minister I could attest to what he had said for my generation is looking at the generations below us and shaking our heads with concern, wonderment, and disbelief. Undoubtedly, many of us have become comfortable with our past and believe that is how the future should remain. However, I realize that as long as the younger generations are not violating the scriptures I must allow them the freedom to be themselves and craft their future.

In this world, I have lived to see the television industry move from having three traditional major networks to more than fifty national free-to-air networks, and most households having more than one television in their home. I have lived to see the old Bell rotary telephone no longer existing to where adults and children have their own cellphones. I have lived to see washing machines modernized from a scrub board and tub, and I have lived to see the move from cooking on a coal stove to gas or electric ranges and instant pots. I have lived to see the modernization of cars, planes, recording devices, typewriters, and building equipment. Furthermore, there are so many other changes that I have seen in my lifetime and will continue to see with age, things that I probably can’t even imagine and are yet to be invented.

What then do I say, change is inevitable and we have to pray and ask God to give us the spirit of the children of Issachar, who were men that understood the times and knew what Israel ought to do. We believers cannot get stuck in the past and bury our heads in the sand for God has allowed us to live at such a time as this. So, we must move forward with His guidance. Additionally, just as we have adjusted to changes in our world, and with the younger generations, we must also wisely adjust to changes in our churches.

The Covid-19 pandemic has catapulted the world into a new norm, and most of us would like to turn the clocks back to the old way of life but unfortunately, it appears, for now, that is impossible. The pandemic has caused places of worship to temporarily close down and this has led many to feel as if their religious rights are being violated; however, I like what many pastors and parishioners are saying, “The church has never been closed, our edifices have, but not the church for we are the church and we don’t need a building to function.

This pandemic has caused ministries to think of innovative ideas to get the good news of the gospel to the masses. In the past, many of us have been stuck behind the four walls of a building but this pandemic has caused us to make plans in a new way and to go outside. The internet which many were calling evil is now a major vehicle utilized to get the Word out without cost. Not only are we having services on-line, but outside, by drive-through and in parking lots. Plus, more food programs established by churches are serving the needy, and despite all that is happening God is helping ministries to grow and expand. We are becoming more like Jesus for if you search the scriptures the major part of His ministry was not in the temple but outside in the villages, towns, cities, mountains, and by the side of rivers and lakes.

I am seeing amid the pandemic which God has allowed, He is moving and His kingdom is advancing. It is up to you and me to get in the flow and ride the wave with Him. Thus, in viewing younger generations, in advancing with modern technology, in adapting to new methods of ministry, with His help, we must progress and not be stuck in the past.