Music can change, traditions may change, the world may change but the word will never change.
Are they talking about sustaining a modern approach?
The word is enough and the bible is full of information where all sermons are based on, its living water and food for our souls. You can concord anything in this life to the word, it never runs dry.
Its silly to think that the word needs a modern update, a new translation? Additions? I dont understand.
IMO,
most churches and parishes can get LOCKED into customs - that CAN be an unnecessary hinderance to evangelism.....
A Case Study: The denomination of my parish (
The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod) was begun by a group of a few hundred people from Germany in the 1830. The Government set up one Protestant state church and it was extremely liberal. These very conservative Lutherans couldn't live with that, and so they decided to move - en messe - to the USA and participate in what then was called "homestead colonies" where hundreds would homestead next to each other in one large area. Three boats left Germany and landed in Perry County Missouri (thus the "Missouri" part of the name). They were GERMANS and they spoke GERMAN and the whole area of Perry County was GERMAN in culture, language, education - and religion. But now they were in the USA and with a keen sense of the Great Commission. Problem was: they couldn't separate their Christianity from their being German. They only reached out to German immigrants (which, fortunately there were LOTS) because all their books, all their hymnals, etc were in German - and they worshipped in German; sometimes the pastors couldn't even speak English! The name of the denomination was Der Deusche Evangelishe Kirsche von Missouri, Ohio und Anderan Staten. Yes, the denomination grew rapidly - as long as there were GERMANS to reach. But by the late 1800's, German immigration declined.... and second generation Germans now spoke English and thought of themselves primarily as Americans. Oddly, the denomination had full districts in Canada, Brazil, Argentina because there were GERMANS there, but the English speaking members in the USA were technically in Mission Churches (called "The English Synod") And the denomination stopped growing.... A horrible tragedy AWOKE the denomination. It was World War I - and a profound HATED of Germans in the USA. LCMS parishes were fire bomed. So, parishes QUICKLY started worshiping in English! Placed American flags in the church. Changed the name to "The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod" and translated the hymnal into English!!!! All to evade the persecution of Germans. Funny thing..... the theology didn't change AT ALL but the cultural aspect was largely abandoned..... and evangelism and outreach soared, and the denomination grew rapidly. NO CHANGE in the theology, the message..... just in the language used, and in seeing itself as in America rather than of Germany. Soon, they even began to reach out to African Americans (by far the most are LCMS rather than ELCA), etc. The Brazilian, Canadian, Argentinian churches were spun off as their own denomination, and the "English Synod" fully embraced.
A Case Study: When I was probably 20 or 21, I met a fellow student who is very GREEK - and of course Greek Orthodox. Because of my uber-obsession with theology, and because I knew NOTHING about the Orthodox churches, we chatted. The early chats were over coffee, but this continued for years via email. Of course, she invited me to her church. And frankly, I wish now I had taken her up on that, but I did not. I had ONE (and only one) reason: Greek. Everything is in Greek. How could I contribute or pariticpate in the worship? I know like 5 words in Greek. And she made it clear, the GREEK Orthodox Church is for GREEKS. The largest class in the parish is GREEK class. She told me there were like 5 non Greeks in the church but they were married to Greeks. Well..... I'm Danish. So, I didn't accept her invite. Now, I'm a Christian so no loss to the Kingdom in my case - but what if I was not a Christian? Ah, the same thing as in my denomination prior to WW I .... A Dane would be just as lost in the German Lutheran Chruch.
In neither case did this WALL have anything to do with theology or the message.... I think we ALL tend to create walls, many of which we like but don't realize they are walls to the lost.... The challenge is to not throw the baby out with the bathwater... I think the ministry of Paul in the Book of Acts is largely that story....
