What Goes Around Comes Back Around
I find it interesting how styles and fads of the past come back. Fashion is notorious for this, although I do hope garish colored plaid leisure suits never return. Usually when old things are revived, be it fashion, music, whatever, they come with a new twist or spark to make them attractive to the current culture. The church is no exception. A recent post on the Collide Magazine Blog addresses this in the midst of discussing the return of Indiana Jones to the movie theaters.
“I think it comes down to the fact that we like familiarity as much as, or more than, newness,” writes Daniel Darnell. “And this trend transcends more than just television and the movies. The modern church has recently seen a return to the ancient and sacred, and this is just a trend that is just beginning to gain popularity. Many churches are reintroducing or revisiting classic hymns and sacred liturgy and are returning to the early church traditions, but with a modern twist. Hymns are rewritten and played with a full band, no longer an organ, and liturgy is reformatted to visual liturgy. I find it beautiful and refreshing and so do many others. So I’m OK with the fact that Hollywood is recycling its classic shows and I know it’s a trend that will continue to prevail. Let us as the church embrace this idea of returning to the classic while continuing to seek stay relevant to our culture.”
Most everyone likes new things, but we also enjoy the old things of the past. It isn’t a matter of getting rid of hymns or even hymnals altogether. It is more about keeping the presentation of God’s marvelous work fresh and relevant. While He is never dull or boring, we sure can be sometimes. God deserves our best and that includes sharing His Truth in the most relevant, profound ways possible.
from my notebook 