Newfangled (Post 3 in the Third Chapter Spiritual Disciplines Series)

How do you respond to newfangled ideas in the church?

Has the term newfangled sprung to mind recently? That’s a sure sign you’re ready to institute this spiritual discipline.

Our generation faced extreme resistance from the established generation when we advocated for change in the church. Can we be any different? Can we be gray-haired champions of change?

Not long ago, a young dad from our church hoisted himself onto the chair lift to make the ascent to our sanctuary.

I was the only one standing near, so I offered to carry his wheelchair to the top landing. Which I did.

He expressed shock that I just lifted and carried it. Apparently people usually bump up the stairs one at a time.

Plus, believe me, I don’t look like a weightlifter.

But I am. In the interest of remaining physically independent into the coming decades, I have begun my little home system of lifting weights.

I saw many upsides to this new endeavor but now I see another—defying expectations of younger people. That’s just fun.

In February, I wrote about my years of practicing the spiritual disciplines I first learned from Richard Foster in 1978 (prayer, Bible study, Scripture meditation, fasting, solitude, simplicity). I also proposed the need to modify them and add some new disciplines in the third chapter of life.

Third Chapter Spiritual Disciplines acknowledge that we have different needs as we age, and we have different gifts to offer the body of Christ. In March, I wrote about Intentional Community as one new discipline I propose.

This month, I want to talk about the discipline I call Embrace New Ways, People, and Experiences.

Seriously, if you grew up in the sixties and seventies, we have to look in the mirror and ask what happens when the revolutionaries of the “change” generation are faced with too much change?

Our generation instituted contemporary worship music, casual dress, and friendship evangelism among other things. How will we react when we encounter a wave of young people insisting it’s time for even more change?

Sounds like a card from that fight game that poses questions like who would win in a fight between George Washington with invisibility and nuclear capability or a child beauty pageant star who could use the force? (Clearly, the child pageant star. Feel free to disagree in the comments.)

I remember all too well the bumpy ride of our generation trying to “sing a new song” to the Lord. We were met with accusations of bringing “the devil’s music” into the church and “lowering the bar” of Sunday clothes. I wasn’t a rebellious teen by any means, but I did stake my own territory by sneaking in torn jeans to wear on Easter Sunday while singing in the front of the church (didn’t go over well with my dad in his suit).

We may now have an all-too clear understanding of the challenge unbidden change can bring. It’s one thing to initiate change. It’s entirely another story when change is thrust upon us. Surviving it, though, happens first in the way we think.

Change and growth are evidence of life. Jesus is alive. His Body is alive. Our bodies are always growing and changing. If the church isn’t growing and changing, that’s evidence of decline that leads to death.

Jesus is the living vine, and we are the branches. Branches that bear no fruit are cut off. Don’t be that branch!

If we consciously commit to the spiritual discipline of Embrace New Ways, People, and Experiences, we will resist the temptation to live in fear of others proposing change.

Not all change is wise or good but if we battle against every change, we lose our voice in the conversation. When we are known as initiators of change and supporters of growth, then we are better heard in those times when we take a stand against foolishness, heresy, and change for passing fashions’ sake.

I’ve had amazing role models for this. My dad remained an active fire chief until he was 79, learning new equipment and methods until his last day. My former agent is in his nineties and still engaged with writing ministry, always needing to embrace new things. Our new pastor tried to retire but it just didn’t take and we’re grateful he’s ready to embrace a new congregation. My friend, Maggie Rowe, published her first book in her late sixties. My dear friend Lucinda’s final book will release after her death. That’s the way for a Christian writer to go home, with fresh ink on the page.

I’m learning to be edited by people more than 30 years younger than I am, to work with apps and other technology that sometimes overwhelm, to roll with words changing meaning, and to tolerate my teenage grandsons’ music streaming nonstop from the room beside my office. I’m also learning Spanish and screenwriting to keep learning muscles from atrophy. In the church, I’m learning to listen to the next generation and not immediately dismiss their experience or their input. I’m learning to seek out a chair at the table with people who don’t look like me.

But how do we do it? How do we continue to embrace change when everything is changing? Practice the spiritual discipline to Embrace New Ways, People, and Experiences. 

We can do this if we choose to  R.E.M.A.I.N. C.A.L.M.

Resist cantankerous, ornery, or crotchety thinking. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

Embrace wise change. (Ecclesiastes 7:10, Philippians 2:14)

Maintain sound theology. (1 Timothy 4:16)

Advocate for the heart needs of others and for yourself. (Proverbs 4:23) (It’s okay to say that hymns feed your heart or that hearing the Bible read in your language is important, too. Just make room for others.)

Inspire the next generation. (Psalm 71:18) (It never hurts to surprise them either!)

Never take your eyes of Jesus. Never focus more on the to-do’s than on the to-be’s. (Luke 10:41-42)

Communicate love and truth, just as Jesus did. Remember to grow up or to mature, is to change. (Ephesians 4:15)

Align your life with God’s Word. (Luke 11:28)

Laugh often. Love without hypocrisy. Let go of what doesn’t matter. (Philippians 4:4-7)

Make no mistake. He’s making all things new. Get ready for new. (Isaiah 43:19, Revelation 21:5)

What are your best strategies for managing your response to change?

I respond to every comment and answer every email. Let me know what you’re thinking!

Newfangled. Get ready for new! This Third Chapter Spiritual Discipline can help you keep up with change. https://t.co/SsZyppyyuf #aging #Jesus

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) April 24, 2023