Monday, September 17, 2012

Remember the Past, But Move Forward

I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

-- Philippians 3:10-16

We’ve recently added a new worship service at our church. We now have two contemporary services to go along with the two traditional services. And, oh my, what a round of criticism we all have endured.

Those who attend traditional services are appalled that yet another contemporary service has joined the church. They are certain that it will cause believers to fall away from the traditional service. They are certain we are killing attendance at the service they enjoy. They are certain this is only being done to harm what they love so much.

None of it is true, of course. The new contemporary service likely won’t draw anyone away from the traditional service because those attending that service probably don’t like contemporary worship. Those who enjoy contemporary worship are already in the earlier service.

What we’re trying to do is draw those people who have fallen away from church attendance back in the fold. And we’re trying to draw those who don’t have a church toward Jesus. We’re also trying to spread out a little because many Sundays we had become a standing-room-only kind of place. Which is a wonderful challeng, just so you know.

None of that has silenced the naysayers, who want things to remain exactly like they’ve always been. Pastor Danny recently compared this to the championship football team we have in our state. The team can’t rest on what it did last year. The players are different and it’s a new season with new games to win. While it’s wonderful to celebrate past accomplishments, we have to look forward toward all that is left to accomplish.

That’s really what Paul was saying. We need to remember where we’ve been and what Jesus has done for us, even as we move forward toward eternity with Him. In the meantime, though, we must continue to work today on what is before us right now. We can’t rest on what was. And we can’t wait until the end to consider where we should have gone.

Instead, today, we press on toward the goal of telling everyone about Jesus. We celebrate the traditions of our church, embracing our heritage and continuing on that path, while renewing our joyous faith and opening wide the doors for new ways of worshipping and new believers to worship with. Change can be difficult. It also can be cause for celebration as we all gather to worship the Jesus whom we all love.