Old Wine

A few years ago a young,energetic pastor told me I was Old Wine and should get out of the way so he and his youthful colleagues could take over. Old, I am, and agreeable to allow the younger generation to flex their muscles and use all that excess energy to change the world. I have no qualms about encouraging the young to get changed, get organized and get going for Jesus.

It also struck me that this young man was a bit ignorant of scripture and of wine. Wine that is properly aged is the good wine offered to the first guests wine is fermented for just the right amount of time before it is sold or offered to a guest you wish to impress. New wine is a metaphor for untried, cheap and raw.

The single most important resource in Christianity is older wine. Not people like me who already gave up a professional career as a college dean to serve in Christian work. We have already taken all we have and are into a vocation for Jesus. No, the resources I am speaking about are those men and women who had careers as engineers, doctors, plumbers, salespeople, technicians, and painters to now volunteer to give the remaining years of their lives to ministry.

There are, however, some problems. It is not that the people are not willing or not gifted, energetic, wise and able. The problem is this: most pastors and churches don't know how to organize them into a meaningful volunteer force. There are no Wineskins for the OLD Wine. (The real problem lies in the fact that there are few wineskins for the new wine either and that the church has no idea how to "Equip the saints to do the work of the ministry."

If the church leaders are deluded into thinking that lay members have nothing to offer except their money they will not build the organization necessary to recruit, train, organize and mobilize the volunteers into a powerful volunteer army.

Then the church will have to build a structure that can supervise and keep the volunteer army prepared and edified.

Are you interested?