There’s an old saying, “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got.” It’s true of most of life and it’s true of churches, at least to some degree. Now before I go any further, this is not a complaint. We have a love of great things going for us at Springfield. This is an amazing group of people who I love with all my heart. I am extremely pleased with this congregation and I’m proud (can I say that) to be their pastor. They are open and loving and there’s one more thing…
They’re open to trying new things. Now there’s nothing wrong with tradition and there are some traditions that are worth their weight in gold, but we are also tasked with taking the unchanging message of the Gospel to an ever changing world, and in order to do that, sometimes we have to try new things.
Last night we sponsored a comedy show by Brad Stine and people were blessed. We’re little short on children to do a vacation Bible school, so rather than just saying we don’t have enough children to do a traditional VBS, we looked at who we do have and rethought what VBS could be. Now we offer a one day Art Day VBS for our community. We make art, teach the Bible, and all the other great things people associate with VBS and it works.
We also started doing paint parties at our church as a way of welcoming the community, and in September we will be offering a unique art/storytelling program called Pictures of Jesus. In my heart, I know we’re just scratching the surface, but we’re trying to create an environment of empowerment where people can use their gifts to try new things to the glory of God. If you have a skill or a talent that you want to use for a greater purpose, this might be the right church for you. Come on in and check us out.
