Paradigm Shifts

Often times we believe something because we don’t know any better. People once thought the world to be flat and the center of the universe. Then scientists discovered the truth. When we learn, we change and so does our world.

• One man decided that if electronic signals could be sent from one place to another, so could the human voice. Today, telephones span the globe.
• Another man thought songs should be archived, so he recorded them. And music filled our homes.
• That same man believed he could harness electricity, and light bulbs became commonplace.
• Two brothers dreamed of a faster way to bridge the continents. Now, airplanes are a way of life.
• A college dropout believed everyone would want a personal computer.

Sometimes we need to question what we know so we can learn what we don’t so we can do what hasn’t been done. But we won’t if we remain igNORant.

Likewise, entrenched tradition becomes religious ritual. Stale. Dry. Bland. But when we do what Jesus taught about wineskins, when we keep our hearts soft and supple, we can hold the precious new wine God pours out for all of us to enjoy.

We should be open to new ideas, new ways. Every generation needs its own experience and expression of faith. "Amazing Grace" was once a new song. Because it is timeless, today we sing the verses that John Newton penned as his personal creed to new arrangements. The old can be blended with the new. But we need to be open.

We need to adapt. The methods may change; the message remains constant. Some things endure time, but most change—and so should we. Chuck Swindoll put it this way. “Blessed are the flexible for they shall not be broken.”

God’s character and nature remain steadfast, unchanged, unchangeable. But his actions—how he reaches out to us—vary from one generation, one group, and one person to another. Likewise, we are to adapt our methods, but not change God’s message of his love and grace and mercy. Those are eternal.


Want to learn more? Visit http://praisechapelkingman.podblaze.com to hear a sermon by Senior Pastor Howard Pennington or any of our pastors or guest speakers.