I have no desire to drink Jelly Bean brand blueberry soda. I don’t care if they 
call it “gourmet.” I don’t care if it’s a pretty color. It sounds like a fad. I sounds like something that can’t possibly be good for me or society in general.
So here are my choices when people suggest that we all try Jelly Bean brand blueberry soda:
- I can refuse to try it under any circumstance.
- I can try a “no thank you serving” (which is what we taught our children to do for the sake of giving something new a chance.)
- I can give it a go, recognizing that trying it doesn’t mean that I will have to keep it in my diet forever.
- I can try it and possibly realize that it’s better than expected.
These are exciting days for the institutional church.
When churches and denominations are in transition – and all of us are in transition – structures are deconstructed and rebuilt, processes shift, new ideas are brainstormed and tried out, sacred assumptions are tossed. We have several options as part of the Body of Christ:
- We can refuse to participate.
- We can give something new a chance.
- We can recognize that trying it doesn’t mean that we will have to do it forever.
- We can try out The New and realize that it’s better than we expected. Maybe The New turns out to be more than we could have possibly imagined.
A Church for Starving Artists 