Letting Go of the Old

At Brighton First we have "let go" of our
nursery pager system.

Last week Missy Setty, the Director of Children's Ministries, carried a plastic box of electronic equipment into my office. She said, "We don't need these anymore. Do you know someone who could use them?"                                                                                                     I looked in the box and was surprised to see the pager system that we have used in our nursery for many years. When parents dropped off their children in the nursery, they picked up a pager so that they could be called back to the nursery. I said, "We do need these. It's how we contact parents!"                                                                                                                                                                          Missy brought me to present reality with three words, "We text parents."

I didn't notice when this change took place. And now an obsolete system was sitting on my desk. I could see the dust. It had not been used for some time.

Technological and cultural shifts spur change in the way we do things and even see our world. Sometimes the change comes swiftly and takes us off balance. And sometimes the change is so gradual that we don't notice it. At one time churches were "innovative" when they gave out pagers to parents. Today, parents expect that they will receive a text if they are needed.

Slow and gradual is often the way things happen in a church. There was a time in the history of long-established congregations when there was no electricity, sound systems or digital projectors in the sanctuary. There was a time when primary faith formation, classes and small groups for all ages, met on Sunday morning. There was a time when regular attendance meant attending worship every Sunday. This meandering way through change can happen, especially when the mission and vision of the church is not clear. 

Church members have passions for particular ministries and the ministry is strong for a time. Then interest and energy wanes and ministries decline. In the church, ministries in decline stay on longer than they have support and leave those involved mourning the "good old days". 

When the vision of who we are and where we are going is clear and owned by the congregation, change is like likely to wind its way slowly through the days, weeks, months and years. Change is deliberate, planned and for a purpose. We change for a reason, not simply to accommodate or to keep up.

I give thanks for Brighton First's strategic plan and the changes we've seen over the last two years that are informed by our church's vision. We have implemented new ways to raise up leaders and potential candidates for ministry. Our Adult faith formation efforts are intentionally designed to strengthen discipleship. We have remodeled our church so that there is a dedicated children's wing. Our outreach into the community is growing. We have shifted the role of our Administrative Board to a visioning body. We have aligned the role of staff members toward essential ministry that moves us forward. 

I was surprised that the pagers had become obsolete, but because we are a congregation that is willing to let go of the old and embrace the new in order to make disciples for Jesus Christ, I'm willing to let go. If you have a use for a perfectly good pager system, please let me know!