The Church and the New Broom

We hear a lot about the need to adapt to changing times, to make sure we're not beholden to the institutionalization of the church. But, this observation isn't necessarily a new one. Indeed, as you will see below, the founding pastor of the congregation I now pastor, a congregation that has a long lustrous history understood this to be true. So, consider this word from Dr. Edgar Dewitt Jones, late pastor of Central Woodward Christian Church and a president of the Federal Council of Churches.

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The Church and the new broom that sweeps clean

Can the average church appeal successfully to the average man? That depends. If the church has become institutionalized, bereft of spiritual charm, and in bondage to outworn and discredited methods, the average man will pass it by and find his inspirations and comradeships elsewhere. The old proverb that a new broom sweeps clean is fraught with wisdom. The first-century church met exigencies as they emerged and adopted methods suitable to the time and the need. Where there is spiritual vitality and intelligent leadership methods, policies, programs follow in due season.

Edgar Dewitt Jones, Blundering into Paradise, (Harper & Brothers, 1932), pp. 85-86