[re]boot the church

Cliche with all of the post-modern chatter of the last few years?....maybe, but what if you viewed it like a real computer reboot. (Yes mac users it happens to you too, just less often.....I work on mac and PC, I know).

 

Think about rebooting your computer, it is stuck, or lagging, what have you, so you do the dreaded hard reboot. What happens? It completely shuts down, powers off momentarily, and then restarts fresh and new. The code or process that had stalled or slowed production rectified. The programs are still there, the files (except perhaps the recent unsaved ones) and operating system again operating. It is different than refreshing an Internet browser, which sounds more pleasant, because you actually power off. It is different than a force quit as well, which is more like a refresh - only completely powering off will do. But the fact remains, what is not there is the problem, and what is there is what you were looking for in the first place, a working computer.

 

A reboot is only useful, however, if there was nothing inherently wrong with your peripherals, or your machines code. If there is and you don't change anything, you will crash again.

 

So how do you reboot a church. Well, I dare say carefully, with alot of humility, and with the full knowledge that if you are a part of the church, whether you lead the charge or follow the leader, the only person who does not shut down during the reboot is the person pressing the button. And no offense to any of us, if we can't complete the analogy with that person being God (meaning we all "power down"), then it isn't a reboot.