ROUND AND ROUND WE GO by Randy Lawrence Jr.

Will they repeat the chorus or go back to verse 2? Or maybe they’ll go to the bridge? My thoughts raced as I listened closely to the worship team, focused intently on their every move. I clutched the next two transparency sheets firmly in my right hand (trying not to smear the handwritten ink), and with my left hand positioned 3 inches from the projector, I was ready for the big switch. I was the fastest transparency switcher east of the Mississippi, or at least I thought I was, and I wasn’t about to screw this up. It was the early ’90s, and the worship “transition” was in full effect. Our church was somewhere in between page 121 of red backs and “He Has Made Me Glad.” I laugh as I think back about all the times I sorted through the songs, wrote out new choruses, and even put the transparencies up backwards (complete accident, honestly, Dad, I promise).

To me, these are some great memories. However, years later, my parents (the senior pastors) shared some of the difficulties they experienced during this transition. What? Seriously? People did what? Said that? Left, why? My young mind was blown as my parents shared how they graciously transitioned from one style to another, and some of the struggles they faced. 

The Church has faced many transitions over the years. Why the change? Why the transitions? Why? Because at the end of the day, we live in a changing world in which we have the most relevant answer for society. Today, we, the Church, have access to the greatest tools and resources the world has ever known, and for that we must hold ourselves accountable. Are we doing the absolute best job we possibly can to communicate the message of the gospel to our communities? Regardless of whether we’re in the Burbs, the Bronx, or the Barns, this is the question! 

This is what we must ask ourselves when we look at change and transition. Why add a website? Why open up a Facebook account? Why add a coffee shop? Why add another service? Why paint the foyer and update the kid’s area? The answer: the change is not for us, for our preference or style, but for the unbeliever in your community who has yet to enter your doors. They deserve a relevant message, presented with a spirit of excellence that communicates to them that God is in our midst!

I love the words that God spoke to Moses in Deuteronomy 2, “You have skirted this mountain long enough; turn northward” (verse 3, NKJV). OUCH! That hurts. Talk about getting straight to the point! What is it that we have argued over long enough? How many trips around the mountain does it take for us to realize we’ve missed the goal here? God has plans for us and we must move on!

It’s quite humorous, how everything for me in life has now done a 180. Now I’m the one in the worship service trying to keep up. What are the words to that song? How many verses do we really need? Can we sing any faster? I smile as my mind thinks and refers back to my (now outdated) worship preferences. It’s in these moments I realize, WOW, this really wasn’t about me in the first place was it, God? I really didn’t have it figured out! And to be quite honest, I’m beginning to think that God doesn’t have a worship, church, or style preference, but rather a HEART preference!

The changes, additions, and transitions we make as a Church family, must be centered on one thing: Jesus. The goal is not to be “hip” or “trendy,” but to communicate the message with a spirit of excellence that is relevant to our community. In the words of Pastor Tullian Tchividjian, “Jesus plus nothing equals everything.” Whether you preach in skinny jeans with an i-pad or in a 3-piece suit with leather bound KJV, if Jesus remains the focal point of your heart, you will be able to make the changes necessary to effectively reach your community. At the end of it all, nothing else matters. To me, that is relevant.