The Lodi Sweet Corn Festival closed on Saturday night, and it didn't take long for some of the concession trailers to close up and move off to their next gigs. By Sunday morning there were some noticeable gaps on the field, and throughout the day and into the night they wandered off, one by one, to parts unknown to the rest of us. Today there are just some guys taking down the rental tents, and one or two trailers left to haul away. Everything else in Lodi is back to the way it used to be before the Corn Festival, the way it will doubtless be until next year's Corn Festival.
I think that for the most part that's the way it is with churches through the years, too. We go along pretty much the same way we've always gone along. Every so often something exciting happens for a few days - maybe an anniversary celebration, maybe a consultation from somebody who'll show us how to do things "better," maybe a Vacation Bible School. But after all is said and done, after the VBS is cleaned up or the consultant packs up his PowerPoints and leaves town, we're pretty much the same church we were before.
Now here's a thought that might be completely out of the box - maybe it's OK that we're the same church we used to be! Maybe it's OK that we don't change much for an extended period of time!
Maybe it's OK for us to look at ourselves and celebrate what the Holy Spirit has called together, what the Holy Spirit has birthed into existence, what the Holy Spirit has taught and nurtured and grown over the years.
Maybe our church, our congregation, our community is doing just fine under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and doesn't really need the help of a life coach, a personal trainer, a plastic surgeon, or whatever the latest informercial from the latest church consultant is trying to sell us.
Maybe there really is no improving on what the Holy Spirit has done. Maybe there's only celebrating what He's done, what He's always done, what He'll always do. Isn't that the way it used to be?
No comments:
Post a Comment