Kickin' it Old School

Before you read further, check out this commercial from the 2011 Super Bowl.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttfq5ZWGJdU

Think of all of the technological advances that you have seen in your life time.  Depending on your age you may have seen quite a bit of change and perhaps you've even seen things that you never dreamed would really be possible.  In my short 43 years I have not only seen change, but rapid change.  A new technology comes out and before I can get used to it, a better technology takes its place.  I buy some type of cool gadget and before I can get it home there is a much cooler gadget that is a "must have."  My wife and I talk about how our children will never know a world that isn't instant.  They don't know what it is like to send a letter in the mail and wait seemingly forever for a response.  They think waiting on a 3 minute bag of microwave popcorn is torture.  They say, "Dad, you really had to cook popcorn in a pot on the stove?"  "What is a type writer and where is the spell check?"  "8-track tapes, cassette tapes, vinyl albums, 45 records....How did you take that music with you when you traveled?"

Imagine if we still used all of the past technology that is shown in that commercial.  We would still be walking around with cell phones that are as big as a loaf of bread.  We would still be driving cars that require us to stand in front and wind up the engine or maybe we wouldn't have cars at all.  Imagine if we had not made advancements in medical treatment.    Fortunately, there have always been people who strive for more.  We may call  them visionaries, inventors, or just people who are curious but they are definitely people who are never satisfied.  They see something that is good and believe that it can be even better.  They recognize the good in particular technologies and they seek to improve upon them.  They take what has been learned and add to it, hopefully in order to make it even more valuable.   

I think that is one of the roles of a Worship Pastor.  He is to be a visionary who is never satisfied.  Among the things that he is charged to do is to lead people into a deeper understanding and practice of worship.  He has to encourage and challenge the people he leads to move forward  in their understanding of worship while being careful to not devalue their experiences of the past.  Their past experiences are certainly valuable.  They are the foundation on which the Father will build their future experiences. 

Most of us have come to a place of understanding and appreciating the value of new technology even though it may have taken some effort to learn how to use it.  We may have experienced some level of frustration as we learned which buttons to push or knobs to turn but because we knew there was value in it, we chose to move forward and are glad we did.  Now some tasks are easier and faster.  Communication with loved ones is at our finger tips.  Travel time has been greatly reduced.  The reward was worth the effort and the sacrifice.

How much more valuable is the reward of moving forward in worship?  Please understand that I am not referring to any particular age group or preference of music style.  Being stuck in the past is not relegated to only people of a particular generation or musical preference. People who consider themselves modern worshipers find that they are just easily stuck in the past when they are challenged as well.  What I am concerned with is the attitude of our heart.  We should ALWAYS be examining ourselves.  I confess that I have been stuck in the past.  I have been satisfied or at the very least complacent in my own worship experiences.  I have been comfortable because I did not want to make the effort to do something different.  I know how to do what we do at our church.  We have a system in place.  That system works well.  But is that all that God expects from us....just maintain the system? 

Also, I think that we sometimes get stuck not out of a negative motivation but because we remember that God did something really meaningful in our lives at that time and we don't want to lose that amazing feeling.  The truth is that none of us have yet to experience the fullness of all that God wants to do in us and through us.  Sadly, if we stay in the past we will miss out on the new experiences that He wants to give us and the new ways that He wants to use us. 

Lately I sense that God wants to do something new.  I don't know exactly what it is, but just like I have taken the time to learn a new technology because of it's value in my life, I commit to step into something new in my worship because I know that the value will be worth the effort and the sacrifice.  Scripture says that God is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than anything I have hoped or dreamed.  I don't want to miss out on that promise because I have chosen to find safety in what God has already done.  I want to move forward and receive all that He wants to give.  I hope that you will come along for the ride.  Think of it this way.........at least we won't be in old wind up cars.