June Cleaver is dead. So is Ward. And Wally. And, the Beaver, too.
Actually, the Cleavers only existed on television from 1957 through 1963. But, they were the real American family.
In some ways, we still believe the Cleavers of Mayfield actually existed. We programmed church to cater to the Cleavers who were consistent, dedicated, followed Dr. Spock, and predictable.
But, that family doesn’t exist. Actually, it never did.
What does exist is a radically different family in the 21st Century. And, church needs to be different in order to have an impact.
I keep coming back to this question with haunting regularity – are we willing to change to meet the challenge of a new generation?
Meeting the challenge of a new generation requires us to be radically different. That may mean different programs. That may mean different schedules. That may mean church looks radically different than it did 40 years ago.
It means that we have to challenge the status quo. It means we must look at the objective. It means the way we always did things needs to be evaluated.
I’m perplexed by the mentality of protecting the program to the point of going down with the ship. The goal is not to save the ship. The goal is to get to a destination. The ship is only a means to get there. If the current ship is sinking, then find another ship.
If the Beaver did something like staying on a sinking ship, Wally would say, “Beav, that was pretty dumb.”
I’m ready to try out a new boat. Is anybody else interested in staying afloat?
