Some people spend all their adult lives working for one company. I did not. Over the course of my career, I was with 9 different companies. Some changes were my choice; some were not. But being “the new guy” had the advantage of not upsetting someone when I would ask why things were done the way they were. And that opened doors to discussion about change.

These days there is a lot of pressure to change. To change the way business is done. To change society in general. Even to change how church is done. This creates potential for a struggle between the innovation and passion of youth, and what is considered a stale mindset and old way of doing things by elders. But they are not mutually exclusive.

Certainly, newer generations learn new concepts first. And it can be harder for older generations to accept change, in part because it means letting go of old knowledge that has worked for so long. But experience is the difference between knowledge and wisdom. This is why the Lord tells us neither to discount someone’s contribution just because he is young (1 Timothy 4:12) – like Goliath looked down on David (1 Samuel 17:42) – nor to ignore those elders charged with nurturing us (1 Peter 5:1-5).

Change is inevitable. That’s how improvements are made. Church today is not what church was 2,000 years ago. Change is necessary. Not with a new gospel, but with new methods of communicating the gospel. And for change to work, those coming behind must “buy in,” since they are the ones who will keep it going.

When I was analyzing commercial real estate deals, I was told there are two factors to consider – the viability of the project; and the viability of the developer or owner behind the project.  I was often told the project was primary, because the building would last beyond the initial developer/owner.  My response was that, yes, those were the two factors; but the most important one was both of them.  Because, if the project went south, you had to be able to rely on the backer to support it. Likewise, if a project was sound, you had to know the developer wouldn’t drain it because all his other projects were “dogs.”

Paul said, “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor 13:13). Maybe the corollary is “Now abide knowledge, passion, and experience; and the greatest of these is all of them.”