THAYNE A. THOMPSON, DMin | EFC-MAYM Lead Superintendent
Having pastored for 25 years in (3) different churches I am well aware of the challenges associated with leadership in a local church and how easy it is to get “stuck” in the past and lose sight of how the world around us is changing. Interestingly enough, scripture talks about the importance of remembering where we have been as we move into the future. The problem seems to occur when we get “stuck” in the past.
Often at pivotal times in the lives of the Israelites such as Deuteronomy 8 and Joshua 4 God reminds His people of the importance of remembering what He has done as they prepare to face the future. It seems to me, however, that “remembering” was often for a bigger purpose. That purpose was so they would trust God as they stepped into the challenges that the future would bring.
I particularly love Joshua 4 where God instructed the Israelites to take 12 stones from the Jordan river and stack them at the place where they camped that evening after crossing the Jordan on dry land. God instructed them to use that stack of stones as a reminder in the days ahead of how God had provided for them in the past. Whenever the passed by those stones in the future they were to remind the Israelites of God’s power and faithfulness on their behalf.
The same is true for us. It is important that we do not forget what God has done for us in previous days. Whether it be ways God has led and provided for us personally in the past or how God has blessed our churches during some special season. During times in the future when uncertainty rears it’s ugly ahead we will need the past to remind us that God is still able to meet our needs in the future.
Here is when we are faced with a challenge. When the world around us changes and we face uncertainty, we can either remember the “glory days”, and try to go back to the past or we can embrace the future while remembering the God of our past is sufficient for the future as well. I think that was the lesson God tried to teach the Israelites over and over as they faced new challenges and uncertainty. God’s past faithfulness was intended to be a reminded of His future presence.
Several year ago, I was introduced to a book by Ted Bolsinger entitled, “Canoeing the Mountains”. In this book Ted uses the example of Lewis and Clark to help us see the importance of “adaptability” to new seasons in church life. When Lewis and Clark reached the Rocky Mountains, they thought all they would have to do was climb to the top of the mountain range and then it would be smooth sailing to the Pacific Coast. What they found, however, was a brutal range of mountains that extended for hundreds of miles before they could once again find a water route to the west coast. Even though canoes had been their friend and primary mode of transportation as they approached the Rockies, crossing the Rockies would require a whole different mode of transportation during the next leg of their journey. They would have to trade their canoes for horses.
The parallel Ted uses in his book is that every church has a “canoe” it used during its “glory days” to navigate church life and ministry. However, today, the landscape is different and we must be willing to adapt by trading in our “canoes” for a different way of doing church if we are going to navigate the landscape ahead of us.
Even as I write this article, I am reminded that every one of our churches (every church around the world for that matter) had it’s “glory days” when life and ministry was good, and God was blessing. Otherwise, our church(s) would not have survived birth. That special season (the “glory days”) is to be a reminder to us that God was active then and provided for us in the past, so we can trust Him for the future. However, it will likely require giving up our “canoes” and trading them in for “horses” or some other mode of transportation if we are going to reach the destination God has in mind for us today. Walking with Him ALWAYS requires new steps of faith, considering his past faithfulness.
As we prepare to conclude 2026 in just two months and embark upon 2027, we are attempting to adapt to the new world we face without compromising the truth of God’s Word. During our Area Leadership Retreats in 2027 we will begin to ask what that might look like for your church to “adapt” to a new season of ministry while remembering what God has done in the past. What canoe must you lay down as you face a land without rivers? Come along for the ride. It should be a good one!
Thayne Thompson, DMin
Lead Superintenden
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