Pastor Mike’s Garage September 16th, 2021

*Pastor Mike’s Garage/Sept 16, 2021*

As I sit down to write this PG a couple titles come to mind. Maybe to
quote a Bob Dylan song “The times they are a changing” or “Don’t be a
dinosaur” might be appropriate titles. Earlier this summer we took a drive
out to Creston BC to visit family and I was reminded of a vehicle I saw
many years ago that is in the Creston museum. It’s a 1921 Model T ford that
was converted to a truck. It was the first known vehicle to cross over the
pass into the Creston valley. Two brothers from Sask bought it new in North
Dakota and decided to move to BC. They loaded all their worldly possessions
on it and headed out. When they got to the pass, which at the time would
have been nothing like the highways we are used to today, but rather a
narrow, rut-filled, zig-zagging goat trail over the mountain, they
discovered a problem. On many of those older vehicles the gas tank was
situated behind and slightly higher than the engine and they relied on
gravity to feed gas to the engine. There was no fuel pump. When the
brothers started their ascent up the mountain the truck died as on a steep
incline the tank became lower than the engine and it ran out of fuel. They
tried several times with no success. Finally, they did the only available
option, they backed over the hill. Imagine backing a fully loaded truck,
over those roads, with limited power and brakes, horrible tires and
steering, likely no mirrors, over a mountain! This is why that vehicle is
in a museum today!

We definitely live in different times than those! I’ve read stories of
what people thought of the first motorized vehicles as they were being
invented and first seen on roads. A horse drawn carriage can achieve speeds
up to 10 to 15 mph for a short distance at a trot but most horses at a
walking pace can maintain a speed of 2-3 mph for a longer distance. The
first horseless carriages could achieve a blistering pace of 4-5mph for an
extended period of time. The first cars could go up to 20mph. There were
many articles written at the time how man was not meant to travel that fast
and these were a menace to society, would likely never catch on, and should
be banned. The first mass produced vehicle that was relatively affordable
for the masses was the model T ford. It could achieve a deathly top speed
of 40-45 mph. Would any of us in this age of air conditioning, cruise
control, power steering and power brakes want to go back to those days for
a long trip? Calgary seems like a long drive when it takes 8.5 hours at
120kmh, let alone if it were to take probably 16-18 hours with gas stops at
40mph!

As we are looking ahead at the future of both our church and the
church at large there is an undeniable fact that things are changing. Now
most of us are resistant to change, but it’s not actually the change that
bothers us! It’s the cost and unknown that always accompanies it! Anybody
out there want to go back to driving a horse drawn carriage? How about no
running water, or electricity? Want to go back to travelling doctors and
mid-wives? How about sleeping on a straw mattress? Nope, not this cat! As
we as a church look to the future, we are making some changes to try and
stay relevant to the world and culture we live in. I agree that some of
that seems scary at times. There are no guarantees that what we are trying
is perfect but we have to try. To just stay the same as always will
guarantee that we will become irrelevant! I heard a guy preach once about
the dangers of becoming a dinosaur. As I’m sure you are aware they are
extinct. Now there is much speculation what factors led to their
extinction, whether it be cataclysmic events, weather change, etc. but the
reality is that the rest of the life forms on earth did survive even though
they went through the same events. The difference was the dinosaurs were
unable change or adjust to the change surrounding them.

I don’t think this concept is new! I will leave you with some verses
written by Paul in which he also addresses some backlash they were facing
because they were preaching to the gentiles at the time. This was a very
new concept to the Jews, was considered blasphemous, yet it was because of
this that we are in relationship with Jesus today! “When I am with those
who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to
Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I
can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share its
blessings.” 1 Corinthians 9:22-23

Pastor Mike