how do churches and religion change?

[BobHunt]

In my freshman year of college, another fellow and I went to a dept store and I felt as if I bought the best item ever! It was a small 8 track tape player. I can still remember listening to the Gaithers and Henry and Hazel Slaughter and others. It didnt even seem 2 years and that was outdated and you couldnt even buy them anymore. Then, remember how you could develop your own home movies on a small reel and play them on the screen? I havent seen them around now for years either. Who purchases cassette tapes any more? Its getting so that car manufacturers arent even making cassette decks in the cars. Now we still have CDs left, but maybe soon they will be gone and it will be DVDs and MP3.
Change is everywhere. There is always a better way of doing things. Sometimes it hurts to put away something we've done for years. Its like the child who hesitates along the river bank, testing the water with toes before walking in a little deeper. Sometimes its like a person walking on ice, thinking, "should I be doing this or is it yet untested?"
The point I am trying to make is this: Can we change as a church, as a Christian, develop more effective ways, and still keep the same Message? Can we always keep the real and pure Message of God's redeeming love to a lost world? The ways of conveying it may change, but the Message will always remain the same and will always have the power to transform those who will believe it!

[Wilson L. Deaton]

...
The point I am trying to make is this: Can we change as a church, as a Christian, develop more effective ways, and still keep the same Message? Can we always keep the real and pure Message of God's redeeming love to a lost world? The ways of conveying it may change, but the Message will always remain the same and will always have the power to transform those who will believe it!

You've answered your own question, Bob, and I believe correctly! Yes we can change and still maintain the true message.

On the topic, however, I read this statement just yesterday, "The terms and teaching our tradition uses are vehicles to express the experience... It is this actual holiness that will, in all likelihood, convict and convince our multicultural contemporary world of its need for divine grace. The imperative for us, then, is not only to be faithful in teaching the doctrine of entire sancitification, but it is the challenge of actually reflecting the splendor of God's glory--God's own holiness--in our world." (Campbell & Burns, Wesleyan Essentials in a Multicultural Society, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2004, p 87.)

In other words, our being holy is way more important that how we teach holiness.

Wilson

[BobHunt]

Thats quite a statement!
I have often used an illustration about a mirror. A mirror reflects one image of ourself. But if you take the same mirror and break it into several pieces, then there are several reflections.
In the same way, if we allow the Lord to break us, and direct us, we can become several reflections of the Lord!
Thanks for your reply!

[Barb Bouldrey]

I believe the church IS changing...more and more all the time. It is our effort to reach the lost for Christ by using new methods that they will relate to without losing our holiness message.

Part of the changing is discovering what is Biblical and what is just traditional. Biblical does not change. Traditional can be changed.

Not all tradtional needs to be changed...just what no longer works in a particular location.

In 36 years of pastoral ministry, John and I have seen gradual changes most of those years and more rapid changes in the last 10 years. We have seen the church change at many General Assemblies. But the message of the need of holiness of heart and holy living has not changed.

Barb

[Ian Gentles]

Maybe we have changed the methods without loosing the massage, but have we lost our fervancy, and old fashioned christian love? In this I'm not thinking to judge anyone, I just feels the times have changed us, even in message is the same!