A conservative view of frogs and change

This is my first proper blog since the word “blog” was invented. It’s time to come out of my 20 year blog-free zone as I stand at a “life crossroads” (the less charitable may use the words “mid life crisis” but with longevity increasing I’m expecting never to attain mid life).

You probably have heard the story of the frog that gets slowly boiled by sitting in a pot as the temperature is slowly raised. The incremental changes are unfelt. In the end, you’re left with a dead bloated frog that didn’t adjust and engage with change.

The benefit of growing older is that you’re able to talk about the olden days. Sometimes they are the good old days and, if you’re honest, sometimes they are the bad old days. Over the last 20 years, most would recognise that there has been a significant shift in the size and shape of our pot. There has been worldwide people movement and connectedness. There have been political changes. The tempo has increased. There have been business, employment, banking and wider economic changes. Media has shifted and continues to do so – and expect further significant shifts. Markets have moved with the rise of access to under-utilised resources and the “sharing economy” such as through Uber and Air BnB.

And then there’s the Church. Probably it’s fair to say that there has been a greying of many traditional congregations, whilst other “types” of Church have innovated and been grasped by the young (and the young at heart). Whatever is occurring, Church has become a choice for many. Church is uncoupling from culture. The grey may gnash their false teeth – as numbers in some congregations dwindle, become less committed, more mobile – but there is great opportunity to reinvent and engage.

In my own (conservative) experience, I see individuals stepping out in many ways but within a structure and leadership that holds to more traditional approaches. We sit in rows focussed forward. Activity is front-driven. The way we meet is compartmentalised into a standard structure that is followed week-on-week. Welcome – songs – second welcome for the half of the congregation since arrived – prayer – song – kids’ talk – song – sermon – song – morning tea – rest of week.

Sideways interaction in church often waits until morning tea. That interaction is relegated to random, unstructured, but well-trod conversations. Within the service, there is planning. Prayers, words are all prepared. There is little room left for in-the-moment inspiration, innovation, imagination, invention. The structure protects people from bad theology, but a focus on preservation strips engagement and development. Where is the call to stretch out, achieve and excel? Instead, we protect people from harm and maintain traditional ways. It leads to a question of whether there is a way to respect tradition and yet still stretch out to embrace the new?

There is strength in a maintenance of tradition. It is something that we can use as a platform for engagement and have a sureness of footing. But, there is also distance from what is happening more broadly in society. There is a need for the Church to examine its held views and discern what is truth to be preserved and just ways of yore. Truth must be maintained, but tradition should only be held where it is helpful. Christians are called to exhibit a real difference from society and “the now” but unnecessary separation produces a divide that needs to be crossed before real communion can occur.

Jesus told a story about coins that were entrusted to some servants. One buried them so that they could be handed back in full. Others engaged with risk and handed back double the number of coins. The owner of the coins was angry at the servant who just sat on the coins but praised the servants who engaged with risk to return a dividend. If we apply this to the Church, it’s insufficient to simply preserve and earn just a respectful return on investment. We’re called to step out and produce a rich harvest – not just give back a bit. This is a real challenge and call. The Church is not about sitting still – it’s about recognising its foundations but then boldly stepping out in collaboration, growth and engagement.

The world has undergone tremendous change – spurred by technology and the Internet – but finding its breath and life in the culture. The opportunities are many. The way we work and communicate has changed. Conversation remains important and central but the way that we go about that conversation has fundamentally shifted and will continue to do so. Access to people and ideas has never been greater. Don’t know something? Google it. The answers you get might vary but use your nous and the ability to arrive at new thinking is unparalleled in human history.

So, why do we sit in rows facing the front and listen to someone who is similar to you protect you from challenging thinking? There are key matters of faith that are crucial to Christianity and need to be maintained. “Jesus died for me” pretty much sums it up the theology. Jesus made it even simpler – “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and love your neighbour as yourself”. Accept these and there is scope to grapple with many ideas and yet still safely remain within the Christian Church.

And it’s far more than just accepting doctrinal positions. Christianity is about action. It is active. You don’t love God and others by just good doctrine. Love is through action

So, it’s never enough to sit and just think good thoughts. Once you say this, it means that you need to be active in and be open to change in the Church and ourselves. We need to engage individually and collectively.

In a busy life with responsibilities, we can look to the example that Jesus gave of how he worked and fellowshipped with family and friends. He spent time in prayer, he shared meals with his workmates, he spoke out, he acted, he engaged broadly and in surprising ways with prostitutes, tax collectors and society’s outer edge. In a pre-Internet age, Jesus was open to interruption and engagement. If you touched him in the crowd, if you climbed a tree, if you met him at a well. Jesus had an open door policy and his engagement in these ways were some of his most important interactions. Jesus blogged. He told stories that were designed to engage and be active with to discern deeper levels.

This all means that when I contemplate my crossroad, I can’t be faithful and avoid change. Handing back the coins that I’ve been given is not an option. Engagement with risk, engagement with people. There’s no time like the present to be a healthy engaging frog.