I saw this clever meme the other day that said this: Most new pastors come out of Seminary thinking they are going to change the world but almost get fired for changing the bulletin. Sounds pretty ridiculous, right? Wrong! When I was preparing to lead worship and preach my trial sermon for my current congregation (yes – they vote on you in the UCC), I sent the parts of the bulletin in ahead of time and got ready for the big show. When I got there, I was asked by more than one person why I had changed the bulletin. I didn’t know that I had, so they informed me that they didn’t use three Scripture readings – they use one. I had always, with a few tweaks here and there, used the Common Lectionary, which has been pretty standard for decades. The CL provides two Hebrew Scriptures, which include a Psalm, an Epistle, and a Gospel reading; I used 3 of the 4. Uh oh – I had changed the bulletin before I even got voted on, and some people were upset.
Soon after that, I decided to do some different sung responses, including the Kyrie, which literally made a couple of people apoplectic! I was told that they had sung that same response for at least 65 years, and how dare I use a new one (the one I chose was from the 1800s). Ch- ch – ch -ch -changes… Why is it so hard for us to change? Add into the mix the Pennsylvania Dutch culture, which, in my experience, is the most averse to change of any culture I have encountered, and we have trouble! The greatest barrier to growth, in business, life, and religion, is the inability or unwillingness to change. Like the old jokes about how many _____ it takes to change a light bulb; my great-grandmother bought that light bulb, so if it was good enough for her, it’s good enough for me!
We shouldn’t change things for the sake of change, but our obstinate clinging to the past is killing us! Imagine how ridiculous men would look if they still wore the lamb chop sideburns of the 1970s (okay, they looked dumb then too)? Imagine if we never improved anything? We have seen miraculous changes in medicine, law, the arts, and music; you name it, it has changed. And if you like music from the Baroque period, party on! Just don’t demand that I listen to it all the time too; diversity is part of what makes life amazing. When I talk to congregations about why churches are struggling, I often say that most are stuck in 1850 or 1950, and while the way we did church in those eras was often great, most of it doesn’t work now. We are dealing with a world that is constantly changing, and if we don’t realistically discern our path forward, we will join the trash heap of history.
We all like things the way we like things because we like things that way (huh?). That doesn’t mean we are right or wrong; it means we have opinions, just like everyone else. When the United Methodist Hymnal was being produced in the 1980s, a survey was produced that asked people to vote for their favorite and least favorite hymns. The favorite? The Old Rugged Cross. The least favorite? The Old Rugged Cross. Religious institutions should embrace all traditions from all times because we are supposed to be beyond a particular time and place. Inclusion and Diversity are about listening and respecting people’s viewpoints and then incorporating as many as you can into your congregational life. God has always and will always be about change. Change is good. Fighting against it for no reason other than we don’t like change will put us on the losing side. Give it a try – shave those mutton chop sideburns. You might like it.
Prayer – Guide us, God, through the inevitable changes we will face together as we move forward, never backward. Amen