Barnabas File

We often take our grandchildren to a local trampoline/indoor activity center.     They charge by the hour, but we recently discovered that the all-day charge might be more economical.     My wife took two of the boys one day, planning to use the all-day charge.     She asked, “If we do the all-day charge, can we leave and come back? I thought we would stay for a while, go eat lunch, then return.”   The response: “No.”     The reason: “We can’t keep up with that.”     She chose not to go the all-day route. This raises a question for me.  First, children are issued an arm band when they enter. If they are going to be there an hour, they get one color.  There is a different color for two hours.  This rotates throughout the day.  I assume that there is a different color for all day admission.  If the children are color coded, why can’t the ones with the all-day color come and...

Several years ago I attended a conference in California made up of people who had an interest in what has come to be called “the emerging church.”   One session featured the pastor of a church that was known to be committed to reaching young adults.   One of the participants asked, “How long does it take to get a new ministry going in your church?”   The pastor, visibly uncomfortable and embarrassed, fumbled around without answering the question directly.   Evidently his congregation had a number of “hoops” one had to jump through in order to begin something innovative or unusual. In each church, there are systems that can either encourage innovation or smother it in the crib.  Very often these are formal systems—committees, deacons, elders, or the session—that are concerned about accountability, liability, and expense.  Sometimes they are more informal entities—staff members, entrenched leaders, or influential persons—who are concerned about prestig...