Scary Ideas

Have you seen this new commercial from GE?

As I watched it, I couldn't help but wonder, 'what if that guy who took in the new idea was part of God's church? What if he took that idea into a church instead of a business?'

Unfortunatley, new ideas are not always loved when they enter a church. They usually are too scary for us. Too messy. So we treat them with contempt, just like the rest of the world. We stick with what used to work, even if it hasn't worked very successfully for the last 40-50 years. We remember the feathers it had in it's youth, and keep imagining it in all its beauty in its prime. Meanwhile the scary young ideas stay scary. I won't lie, some of my ideas have gotten the same stares that the one did in the video.

Too bad.

Too bad, because we never get to experience the formation of this ugly, scary idea into a beautiful new thing.

In the last 6 months I have been surprised by La Fontaine UMC because every messy idea I have brought forth, you have cared for. That's not a normal church thing. It is a brave thing. But when we are willing to try new things for the sake of God's kingdom, we find beautiful things happen. Scary ideas become exciting, beautiful ideas.

There are many more new scary ideas out there that we will run into through the next year. I pray that we will open the doors for those ideas. I hope we will think them through and take some risks. It would be a shame if corporations like GE care for all the new ideas. 

So as we begin a new year, let us resolve to welcome in new ideas, no matter how scary they look.