A Night at a Museum

[Charnock]

Yesterday was President’s Day, so my boys were out of school. I wanted to spend some time with them, so I asked them where they wanted to go, and what they wanted to do. Without hesitation they each said that they wanted to go to Cabela’s (an outdoor store that has just about any gear an angler or hunter could want or need).

If you’ve ever been there you know that the walls are lined with record fish and all manner of trophy wildlife. It’s rustic, and a great environment in which to shop. The store has worked hard to create a woodsy look that appeals to the clientele’s culture.

I finished looking around before the boys did, and stood waiting at a beautiful recreation of an outdoor scene, complete with whitetail deer, raccoons and squirrels. At the feet of the stuffed animals a babbling brook flowed quietly by.

I waited and waited for the boys. And the longer I stood next to the display, the more I noticed the foul odor of dead things. The smell was faint, but recognizable.

As beautiful as the replication was, there was no escaping the reality that it was built with dead things. The life was gone out of the creatures. The best efforts of the taxidermist could not bring them back.

Made me think of a church I visited recently. Great care had been taken to create just the right environment. Everyone dressed the part, said the right things, and gave proper reverence to Apostolic history. The décor, order of service and all of the songs were from the seventies.

In spite of all of their sincerity and hard work, the church felt like a museum full of dead things. As if there was more love for the past than excitement for the future. They worked hard to preserve dead methods, archaic language and a stale message. The end result was stifling.

Our Pentecostal pioneers were not about preservation. They were interested in the flow of the Spirit, and were willing to forsake their traditions, denominations and families in order to "find" truth. They left it all for the Spirit-filled life.

We have a life to live, and a world to win.

Tradition is a poor substitute for Pentecostal power. Moves of God will only come from a real live relationship with Him, not by placing faith in the methods of the past.