Climb high, Sleep low

I had a revelation the other day.  It is ground breaking, humbling, awe inspiring, or at the least mildly interesting.  The Church in no way is “like riding a bike”.  Obvious at first reality check, but with deeper investigation I think we would find many in the Church to be taken completely surprised by this revelation.  So let me take a moment to explain from which this epiphany came.  I spent nine months attending and volunteering at a congregation in Fayetteville, NC, the Helen Street Church of Christ.  Up to this point in my life it has been the healthiest congregation that I have had the privilege to associate with.  In response to my most recent dealings with the Church I posed a question to myself, “What made Helen Street so healthy”?  I came to the conclusion that it was due to their constant flexing of the muscle groups of love, cooperation, humility and self-sacrifice.  Now this congregation is in a military town and comprised of a majority of military families, and as a product is way more diversified culturally and racial than any other Church I have been to.  I think it is this constant influx of different ideas that make Helen Street what it is.  There is no chance for a tradition to remain unquestioned for twenty plus years in this environment.  I think that this is a good thing, and if you are wondering they have many long standing traditions, but they can tell you exactly what purpose they serve and are always ready to try a new method and see if it works better.  Another thought on this subject led me to a simpler solution, that being that most Churches have nothing better to affix their concern to than the strength of their defenses against the “over-whelming” power of the progressive and liberal theology in the brotherhood.  That was never a concern at Helen Street, mostly because there were bigger happenings vying for their attention, namely deployments to truly hostile environments.  Now back to my first point, and it is simply this, the longer we go with out testing our reasons for particular traditions, the more time we go between hearing new ideas or new perspectives, the harder it is for us to consider them.  Our discernment muscle group atrophies to a point that even if we wanted to we could not move, or use it.  Once you learn to ride a bike you never forget or as the saying states, “It’s like riding a bike.”  The church is NOT like riding a Bike.