Opa

Now, my other grandfather...he's quite a character.

It's from him I get my last name, 50% of my German blood, and a certain boyish sparkle in my eye that can't help showing up from time to time.

He and my father are the two people in this world that I take after the most.

Which is sometimes a little scary.

Like me, my grandfather is a minister. Our faith has been a shared one for over a decade...but this new ministerial connection is unique in its own way. You see, as my faith has matured and grown and my theology become "more complex," I've found that he and I have ended up agreeing on a lot of things.

It's not the kind of connection I would have expected between a 72 year old retired pastor and a young seminarian...but nevertheless there it is.

Not too long ago I helped interview my grandfather for a project I was working on. In that conversation, he said something that I don't think I'll ever forget. Reflecting on the Church, he commented:

"I hear sometimes "a new thing, a new generation"..."in order to reach the young people we must do this, we must do that"....My answer to this is...though we as a Church have tried so many things we have not reached more or less. What we need is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon a congregation. If we have this, you will see what happens."

To me, that's a voice that echoes of experience with God. Experience in ministry. It accords with the best of theology and the truth of Scripture. It's something that a young man can say easily without thinking about it or feeling its depth...but that an old man who has spent a lifetime reflecting upon it realizes in all its power.

His words and words like them are things every Christian needs to hear. They're things I as a youth pastor need to hear. Because they remind us it is not about what we do. That our power is limited. That our schemes and efforts and plans alone often amount to so little and can often completely miss the mark.

But God's power? Well, that's a much different story. For just as no amount of scheming in utero could have changed the family I was supposed to be born into and the grandfathers I was meant to have, it is God alone who charts the Church's destiny and can truly change hearts and minds. As a Church we're meant to keep our eyes on Him. If we aren't doing that, what exactly are we?

Ya, the bells and whistles are sometimes there. But they're not necessary. They never were.

It's only God that makes a difference, and--as I ought constantly to remind myself--the Church needs to follow Him, not the latest trends or passions of this world.

Then, I think, we will see what happens.