Rip Van Winkle moments

Have you ever had a Rip Van Winkle moment? Where all of a sudden you are awakened from your sleep? Your slumber? Your daydreaming? Rip Van Winkle did after 20 years.

Sometimes we are like that spiritually. We find ourselves coasting. Not paying attention. On cruise control with God. In a deep slumber.

And all of a sudden we wake up as if from a coma.

Churches find themselves doing that as well.

In 1988, a failed effort at attaching two train cars left Polish railway worker Jan Grzebski with massive head injuries. The damage was so extensive that Grzebski slipped into a deep coma, and doctors told his wife, Gertruda, to expect the worst.

Gertruda, however, was undeterred by the doctors' opinions concerning her husband's fate. She dutifully cared for Jan each day he was comatose, carefully shifting his position in bed every hour and planning meaningful visits by assorted family members.

Nineteen years later, Jan finally woke up.

And what did he notice after having been "asleep" for 19 years? He first noticed a loving wife, a hero.

"I am sure that without the dedication of his wife, the patient would not have reached us in the good shape that he did," said a rehabilitation specialist. "He can now move his feet, feeling has returned to his limbs, and he can hold light objects. If he continues to make such progress, he will soon be able to walk."

Grzebski also noticed it was an entirely different world. Consider that just one year into his comatose state, Communism fell all throughout Europe. Gertruda says, "He was amazed to see the colorful streets, the goods. He says the world is prettier now."

Sometimes if we are not careful, we can wake up from a spiritual coma and realize that the church culture around us has changed and we are still operating in ways that were popular and effective decades ago.

Years ago, church culture changed every generation. When I first started pastoring, the culture of the church was changing every 15 to 20 years. Than every 10 years. Than every 5 years. Now, some church culture authorities tell us that church life is changing every 18 months. Reasons? Technology. Transient populations in our churches. An ever changing society.

My desire is not to be recent but relevant. I desire to be continually watchful and awake as to the culture of the area (country) I am ministering in.

At this stage of my life, my greatest fear is not of failure, but of succeeding at something that doesn't matter.

May we all awaken from our slumber! May we be relevant in the city and state that we are in!