Long ago, when the world was young, I went to work at a McDonald's Restaurant. I was 16 years old, it was the early 1970's, and it was a pretty good job. The menu consisted of hamburgers, cheeseburgers, Big Macs, Quarter Pounders, Fish Filets, Apple Pies, Small and Large Fries, Milkshakes, coffee, and Soda Fountain drinks. Pretty simple menu, pretty easy to make. We all learned the prices for everything and did all the math in our heads. We had no breakfast, no drive-thrus, and no playgrounds.
Today, McDonald's presents an immense menu. It has fancy coffee drinks made with crushed ice, smoothies, chicken sandwiches, ice cream cones, and multiple variations on everything. No one memorizes anything, everyone uses computerized cash registers, and almost all the business is via the drive-thru.
What happened? Well, time happened. People changed.
McDonald's, when I was a boy, was all we had and all we needed. It was simple, it was good, and it made a lot of money. The same restaurant today would fail (or be relegated to a "quaint" place, like Dick's Restaurants in Seattle or like the Varsity in Atlanta). It would have stopped growing and begun to lose business, clinging to its old faithful customers and their children.
Church, when I was young, also had a set way of doing things. It was simple, it was good, and lots of people came. Youth played youth games and everyone sang songs of the 1800's and early 1900's and were sure this was what God wanted.
Time happened. It happened to churches as it happened to McDonald's. People changed, just as they did with McDonald's. Churches had to change as well, or reduce themselves to serving their old faithful customers and their children. Some churches did not change and have become quiet stand-bys for those who like the old ways (meaning ways of the 1950's).
But, as I like to say, I am an "old-time Baptist." I believe scripture is my only standard and that neither the 1800's nor the early 1900's set the standard for worship and service. I believe there are limits to what we can do, but those limits arise from scripture, not from tradition or "what we like."
Put simply, I miss the McDonald's of my youth, but I prefer the menu I have today. I like the old church services, but I like much of the new things we have as well. I have learned that it is not scriptural to demand that everyone like what I liked or live with the limits I lived with. God has set the standard, and that is the only standard we have to meet.
Today, McDonald's presents an immense menu. It has fancy coffee drinks made with crushed ice, smoothies, chicken sandwiches, ice cream cones, and multiple variations on everything. No one memorizes anything, everyone uses computerized cash registers, and almost all the business is via the drive-thru.
What happened? Well, time happened. People changed.
McDonald's, when I was a boy, was all we had and all we needed. It was simple, it was good, and it made a lot of money. The same restaurant today would fail (or be relegated to a "quaint" place, like Dick's Restaurants in Seattle or like the Varsity in Atlanta). It would have stopped growing and begun to lose business, clinging to its old faithful customers and their children.
Church, when I was young, also had a set way of doing things. It was simple, it was good, and lots of people came. Youth played youth games and everyone sang songs of the 1800's and early 1900's and were sure this was what God wanted.
Time happened. It happened to churches as it happened to McDonald's. People changed, just as they did with McDonald's. Churches had to change as well, or reduce themselves to serving their old faithful customers and their children. Some churches did not change and have become quiet stand-bys for those who like the old ways (meaning ways of the 1950's).
But, as I like to say, I am an "old-time Baptist." I believe scripture is my only standard and that neither the 1800's nor the early 1900's set the standard for worship and service. I believe there are limits to what we can do, but those limits arise from scripture, not from tradition or "what we like."
Put simply, I miss the McDonald's of my youth, but I prefer the menu I have today. I like the old church services, but I like much of the new things we have as well. I have learned that it is not scriptural to demand that everyone like what I liked or live with the limits I lived with. God has set the standard, and that is the only standard we have to meet.