"Bringing Back Bell Bottoms”

I. We live in a time of advancements and growth. Everything around us now is constantly moving forward and changing. Man has been on this earth some 6000 years but it has been the last 150 years that has seen the greatest advancements.

A. Electricity was once a mere curiosity but now is the source and fuel of the modern age.

1. For better or worse we live in a modern age of technology and progression. It now shapes us as a society. Even in the poorest regions in the world you can find people with smart phones.

a. When we went to Guatemala we would drive through some of the poorest villages and see women washing their clothes on rocks and checking their cell phones (probably updating their status on FB “Another day at the Laundry Mat”) these people still cooked on wood stoves and had no electricity, but knew how to surf the web on their phones.

2. Truly we live in a time when now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. I read several years ago before smart phones were main stream that one communication company advertised that they were now reversing the curse of Babel. Science Fiction is now science fact. We have surpassed Dick Tracy’s wrist watch and Captain Kirk’s communication device.

3. TV’s are HD and now anybody with a camcorder and a computer can make their own movies that rival that of Hollywood. You can even have a freshly made pizza made to order and cooked in 3 minutes out of a vending machine. We are rapidly progressing so much that today’s tech is tomorrow’s trash.

B. I am saying all this to prove that we have grown so accustom to change and things getting bigger and better that it would be difficult for us to go back to “the good ol days”, come on now I did not see any of you roll up in here with a horse and buggy, I can assume that at some point today you used a microwave/computer/cell phone/etc…

1. Even the way we speak is associated with this modern age; we now follow people on twitter, send friend requests through Facebook, we now publish our thoughts for all to see rather it be “tweets”, “whats on your mind” or updating a blog. Social media is everywhere and is embraced by people and corporations. We see the logos for these social sites splashed over everything from dog food to gourmet restaurants.

2. Some even now measure their social status by how many “friends” or “followers” they have. Being viral is a way of life now.

C. As much as we have come to terms with and embrace modern advancements in our daily lives. The church has now come to terms with these trends and now embrace them. It used to be back in the day the only ones that got the prestige were the Jim Bakers and Jimmy Swaggarts that helped make the church main stream, using technology and trends. These men and many others were pioneers in molding the church to what it is today.

1. Now the trend is to follow an aesthetics formula for we are now a sight and sound generation. In order to have the attention of the masses and to maintain relevance we now incorporate visual screens with the worship songs and sermons, our pulpits have a certain modern look using lightening and effects to enhance them.

2. There once was a time when the little white church was the place to be; outside it was not much to look at but everyone in town knew that inside that little white church building there was the Power of God. It did not matter that they did not have the aesthetics they had the anointing and that was what people came for.

3. Today folks drive by the little white church cause it no longer looks like a church. The church is judged by how it looks. If there is no flashing lights and an American idol stage, it’s considered outdated.

a. A church is no longer judged by the word or worship but rather how it is presented. Church is now critiqued like a restaurant it can have the best food in town but if it looks like a dump they will not come back. There are so many choices now, that the “community church” that once served as the house of worship for an entire town is no more.

II. But as much as I believe in following modern church trends there is still one trend no matter how many trend cycles they go through that will never go out of style.

A. The church through every changing trend still better be bringing back bell bottoms! Let me explain. My opening text described to you the outer ware of the Priest. The priestly garment was an elaborate display of rich symbolism but it is the pomegranates and bells that speak a prophetic message to the church today.