FIRST GENERAL BAPTIST CHURCH IN CAPE GIRARDEAU; ANALYZING THE FOSSILS OF THE CHURCH

The Rev. David Griesemer is pastor of First General Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau. He was ordained in 1981. He previously was a crusade coordinator with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and had served as pastor at New Hope General Baptist Church in Flint, Mich. He is a member of the Executive Council of the General Baptist Denomination, headquartered in Poplar Bluff.

Have you ever seen a fossil? Do you know what a fossil looks like? What does the word fossil mean? Fossils come in all shapes and sizes. Fossil's are evidence of creatures and plant life that was unable to adapt to the change of their surrounding. When they ceased to adapt or change, not from what they were but to the surroundings, they became extinct, but preserved forever as a fossil for us to look at and say WOW! Look at what was alive a long time ago.

Every day seemingly there are those things in our lives that we seem to fear, which at most are exaggerated to the extent that the fear itself is rather minor in nature. One of the greatest fears of the Christian people and the church is that word that all do not like to hear -- CHANGE! Change is a natural occurrence in the world that God has designed for us to live in and enjoy His great handiwork. The church is in a very crucial time as far as moving into the next century. Although change is needed in order for our churches to continue to meet the pressing needs of the general population, it is still one of the most difficult things for a body of believers to accept. As in any changes there comes some adversity, but I am reminded of what Lief Anderson said one time at a conference: "Adversity is often the window of opportunity for change. Few people or organizations want change when there is prosperity and peace." He then went on to explain that the meaning of his statement was that churches often fall into the pattern of tradition and that tradition becomes a comfortable position for most churches. Change is all around us if we just open our eyes.

Change is something for our society to adjust to because we have become "conditioned" to the mind-set that change is not good! Traditions are good and proper if they are first of all biblical, and secondly if they are still effective in reaching people with the great message of God's love.

In Matthew 15:2-3 "Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 'Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!' Jesus replied, 'And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?"

Jesus questioned the Pharisees concerning why they held in such high esteem the traditions of man which conflicted with the very commands of the God they said they were serving. Traditions in a church are wonderful because they are reminders of what the church has done in the past. Let us remember that every tradition in the church had to be a new and fresh idea at some point in time. The church today is challenged with meeting the needs of people's lives in a variety of ways. Let us always remember that the message must never change, but the methods of conveying the message are ever changing. The church must not be so tied to tradition that it misses a real opportunity to minister to the hurts of the people who need to hear the message of how much God loves them. Will the church become a fossil for the next generation to look at and say, "WOW! Look at what used to be alive along time ago?"