Time to Let Old Things Die?

"It's time to let old things die." -Kylo Ren

Kylo Ren may be evil, but he has a point. I mean, honestly, let's consider the idea he set forth. There are times in history where something old has to fall by the wayside in order for something new to emerge. Sometimes it's something entirely new, and sometimes it is a refreshing of something old. In any case, something old has to step aside for the new thing to arise. Of course I am speaking about that which is spiritual, though the point applies elsewhere too. Just because something is new does not make it better. This is often the case. However, if we do not try to do new things, we cannot move forward and I am convinced that God wants us always moving forward. The Gospel must advance. The church must flex and grow all while holding steadily to our ancient truth we received from God through Christ and his Apostles.

Churches tend to struggle at changing and taking new roads. It is true that we humans tend to be creatures of habit, so this is no surprise. We get attached to that which worked, ways we saw God move and form us in the past. Our tendency is to think it was the form rather than the Spirit who provided the growth. It has never been about the forms. The gospel was designed to perfectly meld itself to any time and culture, appropriating what is true and jettisoning what is false. As cultures change, so must the way we express ourselves as the church. Our content is unchanging but our form must always be.

Kylo Ren saw Jedi and Sith orders which had lost the ability to change with the times. As a result, they both failed to accomplish the will of the Force and they both fell apart. Even though Star Wars isn't real, it echoes something which is. We Christians can get so focused on what we think is the right format, that we forget to seek out the God who has called us to follow him. Thus we may find ourselves giving lip service to Jesus but failing to serve him and becoming obsolete with regards to his mission in the world. We must be quick to reform ourselves however Jesus leads us to. We must hold loosely to forms and firmly to Word and Spirit. Some things never change, particularly the gospel, our need for community, and spiritual discipline. Other things must change. Jesus told us that new wine is meant for new wineskins unless we want our efforts to be disastrous (Mark 2:22). Jesus' words were a commentary on the spirituality of his day, but they are an important word for us too. We are just as prone to stagnation and unwillingness to follow God as they were back then. God does not want his church to be lazy or stagnant. He is calling us out. Will we depend on what we know and what we can do? Or will we depend on Christ and where he is leading us? Will we be willing to get out of the way so Christ can shine through us?

This is an important question for anyone who desires to follow Jesus well, but especially for leaders. I pray that God will give you wisdom to see where he is leading, and willingness to go where he has called you to go.