And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. -Mark 6:22

In his book, Aquachurch, Leonard Sweet wrote, “If you’re doing church the same way you were a year ago, you’re falling behind and failing.”  Never has change come so quickly to a society and the Church is not exempt from the consequences.  Yet for many of us the Church is where we seek refuge from the dizzying pace of life.  It is where we look for stability and security, something familiar and comfortable.  And there is nothing wrong with that.  For God in Christ is our stability and security.

However, the containers in which we experience God in our life and share it with others have to change and adjust, flex and give or we lose him.  Jesus was talking about that when he said “you can’t new wine in old wineskins.”

Our problem is that we sometimes have trouble separating the wine (Jesus) from the container.  That is often why we have trouble keeping up with and accepting the changes necessary to be faithful.  It doesn’t matter where it’s in music, or forms of ministry or worship.

It can be scary.  But it’s also exciting to have an opportunity to share Jesus in new and different ways.  For be sure of one thing, Jesus is still the greatest need people have.

Filed under: character, Discipleship, Obstacles |