In
1967 a scientist by the name of G. R. Stephenson conducted a study on some
rhesus monkeys that revealed a very human-like pattern of behaviour. What exactly the experiment was is lost to
time but the popularized version goes like this. He put five monkeys in a cage, suspended a
banana from the ceiling, and put some stairs under it. Every time one of the monkeys tried to climb
the stairs to get the banana all the monkeys were sprayed with very cold
water. The monkeys soon learned to leave
the banana alone. He then replaced one
of the monkeys with one that hadn’t been sprayed. It, of course, went for the banana and as
soon as it attempted to climb the stairs the other monkeys attacked it. It learned not to go for the banana but not
why. They then replaced a second
monkey. The same thing happened. Surprisingly, the first “new guy” joined in
on the attack not knowing why.
Stephenson did this until all five monkeys were replaced. They all repeated the attack behaviour without
knowing why. Then, they introduced more
new monkeys to the same result. Without
knowing why, the monkeys continued to prevent each other from taking the
banana.
A
young girl was helping her mother cook the Christmas ham. They unpackaged the ham and the mother cut
the ends off of it before putting it in the pan. The young girl asked why she did that. Her mother said, “That’s how my mother taught
me to do it.” When her grandmother
arrived, the young girl asked her why they needed to trim the ends off the ham. Her Grandmother said, “That’s the way my mother
showed me to do it.” Great-Grandmother arrives
for Christmas dinner and the young girl, wanting to get to the root of the matter,
asked her why she trimmed the ends off the ham.
Great-Grandmother says, “Oh, the pan I used was too small for a full
size ham so I had to trim it down a bit.
Well,
these two stories are popular among that group of people known as
congregational redevelopment experts.
They are examples of that dreaded pattern of behaviour that
congregations get into called, “The way we always done it.” The experts seem to believe that the reason
congregations haven’t been growing the last four decades is that they have
gotten out of step with the culture around them and need to change. So, they go to congregations and tell such
stories. Then, they predictably dish out
the timeless definition of insanity: Insanity is doing the same thing over and
over again and each time expecting a different result. Then they predictably make the threat that if
a congregation doesn’t change it will die.
Predictably, the congregations doesn’t change.
The
redevelopment experts seem to think that calling a congregation insane and
threatening them with death will spark a congregation to make some changes to
adapt the world around them and thrive. Oddly,
I have noticed that it’s the congregational redevelopment experts who might be
insane. They seem to keep expecting
different results as they continue to do and say the same things over and over
to congregations who in the end just continue to do the things they’ve always
done. The most disillusioning field of
ministry to be in today has to be congregational redevelopment.
Personally,
I have been toying around in the field of congregational redevelopment for over
15 years with a doctorate and a couple of pieces of paper that say “Certified
In” to back me up. But, I guess in an
effort to preserve my sanity, I have come to the conclusion that “doing things
the way we’ve always done them” isn’t really a bad thing just so long as no one
gets hurt. If like monkeys we pound on
people, especially new people, every time they want to try something new, then
there is a problem. But, if there are
things we do and ways of doing things that have become part of who we are, then
that’s who they are. They are part of
what makes us to be us.
What’s more, I think most new people coming
into a congregation come expecting to learn our traditions and ways of doing
things. I didn’t marry into my wife’s
family expecting them to do things the way I would do them. It’s best to learn the way they do
things. It’s part of who they are.
The
problem with people not coming to church isn’t that congregations keep doing
the same things the same way they’ve always done them not understanding
why. The problem is that an
institutional expression of faith is not something the culture we live in has a
desire for and there’s nothing we can really do about that. For the most part, congregations and the
individual Christians who make them up by doing the things they’ve always done actually
do a lot of good in their surrounding communities.
For
example, you folks…Three years ago when Williamsford flooded this congregation
put over $15,000 towards the cause of helping people rebuild and that’s not
even counting how you as individuals helped your neighbours. You pray for each other. You check in on each other. You’re there for each other through the good
and the bad. If there’s a death, you’re
there with arms wide open to comfort.
The dinners you put on give the community an opportunity to come
together that wouldn’t be available if you weren’t here. This congregation and each of you are assets
in this community in the name of Jesus.
If this is just doing what you’ve always done, then keep doing it. Indeed, well done!
Paul
wrote to Timothy here saying, “Continue in what you have learned and firmly
believed, knowing from whom you learned it.”
Timothy apparently had a pretty good knowledge of the Old Testament and
how it pointed to Jesus and his kingdom and particularly the way of
unconditional, sacrificial love that Jesus commanded of his disciples. Timothy had learned a lot in that
respect. Yet, book learning isn’t
exactly the type of learning Paul is talking about here. Rather, it’s the type of learning where
someone takes you under their wing so you can learn what you need to learn by
seeing it embodied in your mentor…and Scripture is helpful for that. If I were to offer a translation of what Paul
said here, it would say, “Continue on in the things that you learned through
discipleship and to which you are observantly loyal, keeping in mind the
character of person who discipled you.”
What Timothy learned is the Way of
Jesus. He didn’t learn this by studying
the Bible. He learned it from his mother
and some other Christian role models in the congregation he grew up in, and
from Paul. And so, Paul tells him to
keep those people in mind meaning that by reflecting on their character and the
Jesus way of life they modeled he would continue to grow in Christ himself and
be able to teach and lead others in the Jesus way, equipping them for
ministry…and of course Scripture (back then it was only the Old Testament) was
helpful in that task.
We
live in a day when people “have turned from the truth and wander away to myths”. This is a day in time when people more than
ever need us to continue being and doing the things you’ve always done. So, continue to be not just role models but
Jesus models to your families and neighbours, always ready to give an account
for the love that’s in you. Don’t be
afraid to say “My mother taught me to be like Jesus, so did my Sunday School
teacher sixty years ago, so that’s why I do what I do.” Moreover, don’t be afraid to invite people to
church assuming that they won’t want to come.
Churchgrowth.org
conducted a poll as to why people start attending a church. 2% said it was advertising. 6% said a minister invited them. Another 6% said it was because of an
organized visitation program (They must have been JW’s). The rest, a whopping 86%, said it was because
a friend invited them. A personal
invitation from a respected friend goes a long way.
So,
continue on in doing the things you’ve always done. Continue being disciples of Jesus in front of
your families and your friends. Keep
inviting them to come. We don’t know
when the Spirit of God is going to again begin to get people to hunger for
Jesus and Christian community. But the
day will come. So, keep the light
on. Amen.
