Issue 822 – Old School – August 10, 2022
The compass in this morning’s photo has special meaning to me. It was my grandfather’s (he passed away when I was a toddler), and then it became my father’s. I am blessed to have the compass and several knives that both he and my father carried in the bush.
The brass case is tarnished, worn and dented from years of being carried in pockets. There is a small chip in the lens glass. It still functions reliably and likely will for a very long time yet.
In our day of satellite systems and GPS navigation, my little, battered compass is a quaint throwback to older times. My grandfather would have known no such luxuries in his days of working in the bush. My father lived long enough to see the GPS systems evolving rapidly and becoming far more affordable but spent most of his life with old-school navigation.
I like a map and compass to navigate by. We were taught navigation by map and compass while in the military, and I grew up watching dad use them.
I confess to being a little rustier than I should be on their use. Like most people, I typically use GPS because it is convenient. The apps on my phone (and elsewhere) give me quick, accurate directions based on GPS technology. The computer does the thinking part of the navigation for me.
That is handy until a battery dies, a satellite fails, or some catastrophic system failure disables the use of the app. I have been in the mountains where the apps were useless because they couldn’t access a signal. A compass would have come in handy then.
There is often nothing wrong with old school. It can usually be relied on when newer technologies are not accessible. We have a problem when we discount the old, simply because the newer is more recent.
Others have told me that they prefer the new technology. When I ask if they know how to use a compass, they typically reply, “no.” Of course, the old-school stuff doesn’t work if you don’t properly use it.
It’s the same with church. It seems that someone comes up with a new way of “doing church every few years. They tell us it is because the old ways don’t work. I have to wonder if it is really that the old ways don’t work. Or is it that we didn’t do church properly in the first place?
Is the Sunday gathering to be our primary place of evangelism? Is it to attract goats or feed sheep?
Is the service to revolve around programs and entertainment? Or is it to be a place for community and proclamation of the Word?
Do we hope the Sunday meeting will reach our neighbours (if we ever invite them)? Or do we rely on our Christlike witness and the power of the Holy Spirit to convict?
Does our local congregation exercise appropriate church discipline? Or do we let sin and heresy run rampant so we don’t offend anyone or cause them to leave?
Do we try and follow the biblical model of church or reinvent it rather than adjust what we do to what the scriptures teach?
That’s a tricky question because the Bible doesn’t give us a one size fits all model.
Some elements should be present. The Word must be proclaimed, and the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper practiced. Opportunities should exist for service and ministry. The members ought to practice love towards each other and forgiveness. There ought to be prayer, praise and music. The gospel in its fullness ought to be proclaimed, and church members encouraged. That isn’t an exhaustive list.
The Bible is clear that we ought to meet regularly.
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Hebrews 10:24-25
I haven’t given you the old-school model for the church. It would take far more space than I have. Instead, I offer the opportunity for you to consider the role of the church. Is your congregation fundamentally grounded in that? Or are you perhaps chasing after the wind?
There is nothing inherently wrong with new methods. Let’s be sure we have the basics down pat first.
Hallelu Yah (Praise God)
Be blessed
Kevin.
Gleanings From The Word.
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
Soli Deo Gloria (for the glory of God alone.)
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