A Matter of Taste

My friend’s husband is a farmer-type person and a huge fan of auctions, antique farm machinery, and all things John Deere. His wife is part of the professional community, and her tastes happen to run along other lines. The man complained to his buddy, “I don’t know how to get my wife to like tractors.”

The short answer, my friend, is, “You can’t.” You may expose her to the countless green behemoths you love and she may admire them for your sake, but you cannot make her as fond of them as you are!

It’s that way with a lot of things. Personal tastes sometimes coexist uncomfortably—even in church. If you have been attending church for many years, and if your place of worship is anything like mine, you may have noticed some changes in the last few years. Maybe the music is different; it’s faster and louder. And you don’t even use the hymn books nowadays; the words are projected up on those big glaring screens. Perhaps some of the leaders are not the people (usually men) who held those positions earlier for ten, twenty, thirty years. There may not be a library any more, or a choir. The Sunday evening service may have disappeared, and the nursery has taken over what used to be classroom space. And let’s not talk about what people wear now! Where has my church gone anyway?

It has not gone far away. It is just wearing a different fashion. My church, and perhaps yours, has a younger congregation than it used to have or it would like to attract a younger crowd. That group probably doesn’t want to sing “Rock of Ages” with their noses in a book, and in many congregations those twenty- and thirty- and even forty-year-olds outnumber those who would be quite comfortable doing just that! They would rather hear guitars and drums than a choir and they don’t even own a Sunday suit.

And if you are one of that crowd, I personally am glad for younger and stronger folks to take on the responsibilities and sheer hard work of serving God through the church. What doesn’t make sense is for an older group to insist—even in their own minds—“but I want you to do it this way. Sing this music, emphasize these ministries, and use these leaders.”

Church people’s tastes are not the same, just like green tractors don’t hold appeal for everyone. That does not mean someone has to be wrong.

MaryMartha
 
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