Dunkin’ Drive Through

It’s been a while since I wrote anything in my blog, but it’s time to get back to it.

This morning I needed an iced coffee, so I pulled into the first of many Dunkin’ Donuts on my hour long commute to work. The place sure was busy (or so I thought) because the drive through lane was backed up by seven or eight cars. Before I drove off to the next DD on my way, I peered inside the actual donut shop. There was one person in line, and he was receiving his order.

Hmmm….

Eight car wait versus no wait. I thought about that for a moment. How lazy are we that we would wait that long in a drive through when we could just get served immediately inside? I can understand the mom in the minivan who does not want to unbuckle three kids, herd them into the shop, and listen to them beg for the sprinkle donuts and strawberry milk and cookies and those twisty things and why can’t they have coffee and they have to go potty now and Billy just kicked me and she pinched me first and where did little Jessica go?

There were no moms in minivans in the line of cars and trucks consisted on individuals riding alone.

I parked, bought my coffee, grabbed napkins, popped the straw into the cup, stirred up the delicious beverage, wiped down the cup, strolled to my car, and drove off. The truck that was the last in line when I arrived had just placed his order and was three cars away from the receiving window.

So why does everybody choose the long-wait drive through over going in to the shop? I first mention laziness, but looking at the people in line (many construction workers, roofers, landscapers – not a lazy or sedentary demographic) I changed my thoughts. I believe that they are in line because that’s what they always do. It’s a habit. It’s normally a faster way to get their morning java, so they assume it will always be. This morning, they got caught. They didn’t pay attention, and they paid for it with a few more minutes of wasted time.

So what’s the big deal? Why do I mention this? I’m glad you asked.

We Christians (and if you’re not one, let’s talk) do the same thing. We go about our life the same way everyday. The ho-hum of scheduled monotony (yeah, our lives are crazy and busy, and crazy busy, but they still tend to be monotonous because we’re doing the same crazy things every day – for example, look at how boring Robin Williams is now; we’ve seen his shtick for over 30 years already) sometimes zones us out – in our devotional life, in our families, and most glaringly in our churches.

We will do the same rituals, and miss out when something new and good comes along. Oh, that can’t be a right way of doing things, because it’s not the way it’s always been done. Well, here’s a concept that is going to rock your world, Mr. “It’s always been done that way.”

THERE IS NO ‘WAY IT’S ALWAYS BEEN DONE.’

Culture changes by region, by time, by technological advances, by all kinds of stuff. If we go back to the real beginning of the New Testament church and do things the way they were done then, we would pretty much be living together in a commune (see Acts 2). The same elements remain (Song, Prayer, God’s Word Preached), but some methods might change a little.

Change is good when change is good. That might sound redundant, but if you let it tumble around in your head for a while you’ll understand what I’m trying to say.

Here are just a few changes that have improved the way church is done:

The printing press, then the internet
The organ, then the piano, then the guitar, then the soundtrack
Sunday School, then the midweek prayer service
The pen and paper, then the word possessor
Indoor plumbing, then air freshener
The telephone, then the cell phone (that holds the Bible, concordances, lexicons, search tools, commentaries, any other book you could read as well as the ability to send portions of any one of those things to someone around the world in a second and a half)
The air conditioner, then central air
The tape recorder, then digital recording
The overhead projector (the ones that display transparencies that never really appear clear), then the overhead projector (the ones that display input from any number of sources such as computers, DVD players, satellite signals, etc)

There are others, but you get the point. Don’t get caught in the slow drive through lane. Change is good when change is good.