New Wine

I'm back after a time of recovering from having surgery on my jaw, and it is good to be back. God is good and faithful!

I've been thinking a lot lately how Jesus admonished his followers not to place anything new into anything old. He communicated these words to His followers; "Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved." (Matt. 9:17). His words were interesting because they came after He was asked a question about why His own disciples were not practicing a religious ritual. As I pondered His response to the religious zealots of His day, I was quickly reminded how much church planters and pastors face this same type of question each and every day (well, some church planters and pastors, especially those who are committed to changing and transforming lives with the gospel). Jesus in this encounter heralded a biblical principle that still stands today; you cannot put something new from God into a vessel that is unable and unwilling to be used by God. He further explained that when you violate this biblical principle, the results will be waste and devastation. In my journey in ministry I've seen this happen more than I can count. So many times we as Christians are constantly trying to place some new thing into something that is unwilling and unable to absorb it. And, when we attempt to do this I'm afraid we stand in the midst of being disobedient to the very principle Jesus shared for us to be careful of doing. In the midst of our disobedience the results are wasteful and many times devastating. So, what is a church planter to do with this principle, and why am I bringing this up today?

Church plants and church planters are "new wine." God's call to a church planter is to provide something fresh and new to a community that is disconnected from Him. He calls you because He was wanting you to do something fresh and new that hasn't been done before. He isn't calling you to clone and practice what you already know and are comfortable with, He's calling you to be fresh, new, and alive with His ideas and tools to engage people who have and will not be engaged by a religious community. Many times a church planter loses heart quickly because they do not see immediately and tangible results for trying to engage people in a fresh and new way. I've learned over the years that you need to be very careful and cautious when someone or something is persuading you to move to a place that is comfortable and ideal for them. God's work is fresh and alive! When His principles and methods are used according to His design, the result will always be His preservation. His preservation means that He is in control of the circumstances, using it for His benefit and glory.

So. the reason I felt compelled to write this today is because God has shown me what is the greatest challenge and temptation in church planting. Failing to be new wine in a new wine skin is the biggest reason church plants do not transform communities and fail. Today, in America we see this happening by the thousands. Many church plants are framing their ministry into something that is old, antiquated, and dying. What we've basically done is tell people were new while we "tweak" the methods of old, the methods that the culture has rejected as something they do not want or need. Church planters have sold themselves short of having all of God's best for the sake of preaching behind a "pulpit", in a "church building", to a bunch of dysfunctional and disenfranchised Christians. Shame on us! Shame on us from hiding behind this religious cloak when are Lord told us to be "new wine" in "new wineskins." I pray that if you're a church planter or pastor that you will fully embrace the fact that God has called you to be "new wine" in "new wineskins." If you found this to be offensive and uncomfortable to read today, that's good. I'm sure God is more offended by our compromising than I ever will be. May God help us to be "new wine" in "new wineskins" so that through Him we might be used as a preservative in the world today.