What is ‘normal’ anyhow?

I grew up as a seventh-born with a couple younger siblings. That was my normal, but I don’t imagine most would see that as ‘normal’ these days. I milked cows by hand, had an eight-track in my first car, and can remember the gun racks in rear windows of the farm trucks. Times have changed.

Today we see a ‘normal’ where people have cell phones, fly for holiday destinations, have ‘low fat’ food additives in everything, have high-efficiency appliances, and have instantaneous video access to news and events around the world as they happen.

In times past, a pastor was often the most educated person in his or her community, possessing what seemed like secret knowledge locked into his/her mind or books that congregants could only dream to possess. It was not that long ago. Today the average person sitting through a Sunday sermon can soon check online (if not right from their Smartphone from the pew) on most serious questions about the topic being presented.

Pastors are no longer the local holder of a hidden knowledge and truth. Well, in terms of facts and data this may be true, but there is an aspect of a pastor’s ministry that cannot be replaced by technology … genuine love and concern for individuals sparked by the heart of God.

Personal computers are not ‘personal’ enough to love you back. Facebook may help bring pictures and expression of a real relationship, but the relationship itself is not actually held within the electrons making the screen flash before your eyes.

Genuine relationships are where the rest of what is really important is birthed. Pastors need a genuine relationship with God, a genuine experience of the Spirit bringing life to them as they encounter the Word of God, and a genuine love for individuals, lost or redeemed, coming out of God’s personal work within them. This will never become outdated or be managed by technology. It is from a different dimension altogether.

Ministers and laypeople alike need to engage again with God beyond the modern trappings and conveniences. He alone is what gives us meaningful purpose and direction … no matter what era we find ourselves living in. He needs to set the new ‘normal’.

Your co-worker,

Dennis