A Case For
Being
TIMELESS
Part 3 – How To Stay Timeless
RYAN RENCH
Calvary Baptist Church
Temecula, CA
Pastor W. M. Rench
31087 Nicolas Rd. 92591
(951) 676-8700
cbctemecula.com
February, 2013
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1. But I’m Only 13! ......................................................................... 6
Glazed Donuts .................................................................................. 6
Glazed Eyes ....................................................................................... 6
Things That Matter ........................................................................ 7
Timeless Affects Everything ...................................................... 9
2. More is Never Enough ............................................................10
Imagination .................................................................................... 10
You’re Bored?! ............................................................................... 11
Overstimulation ............................................................................ 11
Not me! ............................................................................................. 12
Proverbs 30:15-16 ....................................................................... 13
So What? .......................................................................................... 15
3. Timeless in Media and Entertainment .............................16
Movies............................................................................................... 16
Video Games ................................................................................... 18
Music ................................................................................................. 21
Social Media.................................................................................... 24
News Junkie .................................................................................... 28
Conclusion....................................................................................... 29
4. Timeless in our Person..........................................................30
Introduction ................................................................................... 30
Timeless in Thoughts.................................................................. 30
Timeless in Dress?! ...................................................................... 32
Timeless in Relationships ......................................................... 36
Conclusion....................................................................................... 38
5. Timeless in Church .................................................................40
Introduction ................................................................................... 40
The Origin of Still Church .......................................................... 40
Still Church ..................................................................................... 42
Your Church.................................................................................... 43
Church Tract................................................................................... 44
Still Preaching ................................................................................ 45
Still Men ........................................................................................... 51
Still Hymns ...................................................................................... 55
Still Reverent.................................................................................. 62
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Still Family...................................................................................... 63
Still Exciting ................................................................................... 66
6. Conclusion ................................................................................. 68
Timeless Math?............................................................................. 68
Choose to Be Timeless ............................................................... 69
Men in Skirts.................................................................................. 70
Timeless or Trendy? ................................................................... 70
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1. BUT I’M ONLY 13!
Glazed Donuts
If you have read the first two booklets (and you should
before reading on), by this time your eyes might be a
little glazed over.
Have you ever see those shows that go into the factory
and film how things work? Have you ever seen anything
about how a donut is made? Or perhaps you have been
in a donut shop and have seen the glaze that goes over a
donut.
At first the glaze is poured on the hot donut and it is
fresh and still a little melted. Over time, the glaze cools a
little and hardens over the donut, giving it a nice shine.
Glazed Eyes
Has that ever happened to you?
You are reading along and doing fine, but then your
mind wanders and you’re off in la-la land. Your eyes get
this shiny glaze over them, and your brain is nowhere
near your head.
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Your teachers at school have seen it on your face (your
youth pastor has seen it, too)!
Glazed eyes.
Sometimes you just want to ask, “What in the world does
this have to do with anything?”
In math class, you don't care about how to find x. Why
are we trying to solve an equation for this dumb x
anyway?! Who cares? X can find its own way home!
In science class you don’t care about cells… you can’t
even see them!
In history class… why in the world do I have to
remember the date Gutenberg’s press was built?! Will I
hurt his feelings if I can’t remember the year? He’s dead!
He won’t care.
Sometimes you feel like it doesn’t even matter. Why
should I care? It makes no difference to me.
School stuff is boring and it doesn’t help me.
Things That Matter
Some of your teachers will hate me for saying this, but a
lot of your schoolwork won’t matter in the long run.
Don’t get me wrong—it is good stuff to know. You need
to be respectful to your teachers and you need to do all
to the glory of God—including schoolwork—but a lot of it
you will probably forget.
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A lot of it might not matter. In eternity, you will not be
rewarded based on your test scores or on what facts you
remember.
What will matter, however, is what is found in God’s
Word.
Certain things in your life DO matter a great deal, and
every Christian should obey God in everything. If God is
for it, you should be for it.
Being timeless is a Bible principle, and as we have been
discussing it in these booklets, you should give attention
to it.
“But I’m only 13!” you might say.
Right. And 13-year-olds need to know how they can be
timeless.
“What?! What in the world does this have to do with
anything in my life?!” you might think.
Careful… Don’t think about the Bible like you think
about your schoolwork. While certain subjects in school
might not be very interesting or important to you, the
Bible must be important to you.
In fact, it must be everything to you, because it is all that
will matter to you in eternity.
The rest of this booklet will show how you can be
timeless. Up to this point we have only been describing
it. You might understand the concept, but if it does
nothing to change how you live… who cares about the
concept.
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You might know by now that the Preaching Rally is titled
Timeless and is emphasizing the timeless over the
trendy.
What does that mean to you though?
How should it affect you?
Timeless Affects Everything
Really, timeless affects everything.
When you anchor yourself in being timeless rather than
being trendy, you are set for life. You are spared from all
kinds of problems down the road.
We have already discussed that trendy is always
changing to keep up with the times, and there is no
foundation to it.
Being timeless saves you from always having to be
creative or always needing a bigger “high.” The “bigger
and better” mentality of trendy creates an appetite that
can never be satisfied.
More is never enough.
Choosing to be timeless over trendy affects not only your
church life but also many of your media/entertainment
choices and your personal relationships.
Let’s look at what I mean. Read on.
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2. MORE IS NEVER ENOUGH
Imagination
Our imaginations are wonderful! God has created us in
His image, and just by looking around we know that God
is immeasurably creative and good.
You might think you have no imagination or that you are
not creative, but as a creature made in God’s image we
take on some of His characteristics. Sure, compared to
the insanely creative people you know, you might not be
as creative as them, but do not sell yourself short.
You are a creature of God with an imagination. Even
infants seem to create things in their minds and
sometimes smile to themselves, perhaps imagining
something humorous. My son, Abe, is only 6 months
old, but he seems to already be having dreams! What’s
he dreaming about?! Milk?
What a creative God we serve!
What an imagination he has blessed us with!
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You’re Bored?!
Do you ever find yourself bored, though?
I am rarely bored today, but when I was younger I would
sometimes get bored.
I was surrounded by video games, movies, the 3-acre
land I lived on, a computer, my busy school schedule
and more, but there were times that I would still get
bored.
How is that possible?
You might have heard your parents say, “I can find
something for you to do! Don’t even tell me you’re
bored!”
Today you are probably surrounded by some type of
media for a large portion of your free time and still find
yourself bored. Texts buzz in non-stop, Facebook alerts
interrupt your Temple Run on your phone and your
computer screen has three unread message waiting for
you.
“I’m bored.”
How?!
Overstimulation
You know how you get bored in a world like that?
You are probably over-stimulated.
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You have SO much going on that you have created an
appetite for more and more media. Every time you finish
reading one update you are immediately placed on hold
until the next one comes.
The thrill of new is gone.
You are bored.
It takes more new things to make you not bored again.
Even though you have been created in the image of the
Master Creator – the most creative person imaginable –
your creative imagination is not being used anymore.
Your imagination is being dampened by
overstimulation.
You are getting too much thrown at you without even
realizing that it is affecting you.
Not me!
You are probably reading this and saying, “That’s not
me. He’s talking to this one nerd I know. He always
needs the latest phone and he’s always talking about
computers.”
Nope. Actually, it might be you.
You might be as geeky as the geekiest geek you know.
No, you might not dress the same or you might not be a
programmer. No, you might not know your computer’s
processor or how much RAM it has.
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But your addiction is no different.
You are addicted to new. You have got to have more and
more entertainment.
It surrounds us—all of us! How can you walk through
the mall without every step you take yelling at you to get
something new?
Every time you give in you crave more.
There’s a craving for new things that will never be met,
because there will always be something newer that
comes out.
More is never enough.
Proverbs 30:15-16
15 The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There
are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not,
It is enough:
16 The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled
with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.
Horseleeches have 2 mouths – one on each end of their
nasty slug-bodies (“…hath two daughters”). They lurk in
dirty water until an unsuspecting animal like a horse
dips its nose in for a drink. With the two disc-shaped
mouths the horseleech burrows into the nose, uses one
mouth to hold on and one to inject an anti-coagulate so
the blood of the animal flows freely.
The horseleech gorges himself until his body stretches
into a solid mass, often stretched so tightly that the 2
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mouths can no longer hang on. As the weight of his
blood-filled body rips him from the animal’s nose, the
horseleech is often trampled to death—a miserable
ending to a greedy, unsatisfied existence.
The leech is never full.
He has never had enough.
He always cries, “Give! Give!” (v15) “I need more! I want
more!”
Not only is the horseleech never satisfied, but the
proverb lists four more examples. Death itself will never
stop taking more and more. It will never say, “Ok. I’ve
had enough.”
No. As long as there are humans, there will always be
death (“the grave” in v16).
Further, the barren womb will never be happy without a
child. It will always cry “More! More!”
The parched, dry ground that has been plagued by
famine yearns for water. All it needs for life is water, and
it always cries for more. When the rain finally comes it
soaks into the ground and brings its life, but it never
lasts long.
One day of rain doesn’t satisfy. The ground will always
take more. More. MORE! It is amazing that even after
torrential rains and even floods, once the rain is gone
and the ground dries out, it always needs more.
Finally (the pyromaniac’s favorite), fire! We all know
that as long as there is the right balance of fuel and
oxygen, a fire will never stop. It will never say, “I know
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I’ve got all this great gasoline and wood, but I’m done
burning now.” It will never say, “It is enough” until there
is nothing left to burn.
The horseleech, death, the barren womb, dry ground
and fire—all these tell us that more never satisfies.
More is never enough.
So What?
Here’s what:
More trendy is never enough.
Getting more new won’t satisfy your craving for new. If
something is designed to be trendy it is not designed to
be satisfying. It will pass when the newer trend comes
along. You have to know how to avoid being trendy, and
learn to love the timeless.
More excitement is not enough.
More volume is not enough.
More media is not enough.
More entertainment is not enough.
More adventure is not enough.
You need something satisfying. You need something
real. You need something timeless.
You need God’s Word. Is it possible to be timeless
today? Yes. By obeying God’s Word in every area of life.
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3. TIMELESS IN MEDIA AND
ENTERTAINMENT
Movies
What makes zombies and vampires so popular?
Why do fairy tales feel so… magical?
How does Disney build an empire on the imagination?
Zombies, vampires and fairy tales are ideas from the
imagination. While our imagination can be an
immeasurably beautiful part of our lives, it can also be
dulled by all the input.
Have you ever watched an old black and white movie?
Or a silent film?
Sometimes they are really boring.
They weren’t at all boring when they first came out. They
were exciting! Think of a silent film being exciting today.
Our expectations have changed. Our “imagination”
tolerance has changed.
It takes more “imaginary” concepts in order to sell
movies. Stories have to have more of a twist. They can
definitely NOT be like real life—we LIVE real life. Why
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would we want to be entertained by a movie that just
followed some guy around his house?
In order for it to be an entertaining movie it always has
to stimulate us. Entertainment becomes dirtier, more
exciting, more emotional, more unreal, more surreal,
more adventurous or more… whatever… in order for it to
sell.
It has to! The last movie that just came out was hyped up
as super-adventurous, super-other-worldly, super-edgy,
super-lovey or super-funny, so now the bar has to be
raised in order to surpass expectations.
What used to be entertaining isn’t entertaining anymore.
We need something that is not in our normal everyday
lives… how about vampires? How about zombies? They
are different enough from our world to be entertaining!
The recent rise in popularity of vampires and zombies
simply shows us that there’s a trendiness to what we
view as entertainment. Because entertainment always
has to be new, it always has to reinvent new ideas and
come up with bigger and better plots.
When does it stop?
When is it enough?
More other-worldly plots are not going to be enough to
satisfy our craving for entertainment. We are the ones
who have dug ourselves into this pit of craving more,
more! More! But more is never enough.
Learning to be passionate about being timeless will keep
you from sinking deeper and deeper into the bottomless
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pit of trendy. Even in your entertainment you have the
choice to emphasize timelessness or trendiness.
While entertainment in itself is not sinful, it can easily
lead to sin when you cross certain biblical lines. Being
trendy will always push that line and often launch you
into sin.
Being timeless in your thinking will keep your
entertainment choices focused on the timeless principles
of God’s Word. Is it true? Honest? Just? Pure? Lovely?
Of good report?
Think on these things.
Video Games
School shootings like the recent Connecticut murders
outraged and grieved the entire country. When I was
younger it was the Columbine school shooting.
Massacres.
The murderers had sickening, twisted minds.
What makes someone do that?
No one really knows the answer to that question. Part of
it is that their world is not satisfying to them. These
killers who shoot innocent people are not happy with
real life, and they lash out violently.
Following some of these high-profile shootings,
investigators have found some shocking connections
with video games. A report of a shooting several years
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ago revealed that a boy who had never fired a gun before
learned how to do so by watching his video games.
I am not on a tangent against video games.
I am on a tangent against trendy.
The good ol’ days. Remember the good ol’ days of video
games? You probably don’t, if you weren’t alive then.
I’m talking about the original Nintendo!
People older than me are saying, “No, what about
Atari?”
Well, Nintendo was about all I got. You remember those
giant plastic boxes with the giant rectangle games you
had to force in? If it got a glitch or it wouldn’t start, you
took it out and blew on it. That’s what I’m talking about!
Little 13-pixel Mario went jumping around (left and
right only!) hitting mushrooms on the head. He was on a
quest to save his 13-pixel princess. That’s it.
Progress. Time went on and newer games had to be
invented in order for the game makers to make more
money. Eventually my younger brother got a Nintendo
64. Now we’re talking! Mario Kart! Woo Hoo! We’re not
going left to right only any more. We’re going forward
and backward too!
With this progress came newer and newer games and
game systems. They had to make new versions or they
would not make money.
Now we have every type of game imaginable.
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You can be whatever you want. Conquer whatever you
want. Kill whoever you want. Shoot whatever you want.
You can be a good guy or a bad guy.
It all depends on what game you buy and what character
you play with.
Dying doesn’t matter because you just get another life.
Killing doesn’t matter because they just come back.
Nothing is real. It is all virtual.
Without being anchored to something timeless, your
virtual life will always be asking for more and more.
Virtual reality will take over reality and cause your brain
to be thinking in the screen-world you spend so much
time in.
Video games can become so addicting that they not only
suck hours out of your day but they create an intense
craving for more thrills, more levels, more excitement,
more conquering, more lands and more… whatever.
But more is never enough.
If you are not filling yourself with something that is truly
satisfying, you will never be full.
I heard someone put it this way: “The gap between more
and enough never closes.”
More video games are not the answer to your craving for
video games. You need to connect yourself to something
that is actually satisfying.
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Something timeless.
Reflect on Part 2 of this booklet series: Why Be
Timeless? The answer given in that booklet was that
God’s Word is timeless, and by relying on its satisfying
power in this shifting-sand world we can anchor every
aspect of our lives to something that will last forever—
something timeless.
Video games will always drive you to take more and
more. In extreme cases it resulted in actual violence and
even murder. Don’t let virtual take over real. Don’t let
your obsession over the trendy cloud out your passion
for the timeless. Don’t stoop to the violence and extreme
levels of fantasy that trendiness in video games
demands.
Stay timeless by following God’s Word.
Music
Remember the first time you heard heavy metal?
I do. I remember thinking, “Who in their right mind
would ever listen to that?!” I was a little kid and it
literally hurt my poor little brains!
Over the years, all kinds of music has come through the
American culture. Within just the last few decades the
choices have exploded, and any type of music you can
think of is now available on a computer near you.
Music, too, can become an addiction. More. More!
MORE!
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Your flesh can always take more of whatever style of
music you prefer, but if it is sinful it will never satisfy.
More of the same music will never satisfy you, because
more is never enough.
I chose heavy metal as an example because you don’t get
much worse than that. It is just… screaming! It means
nothing and it says nothing but rage and hate.
It is possibly the furthest digression from true, pure
music.
So how do you go from masterpieces of the most
intricate classical music to a beat-driven 3-chord jumble
of nonsensical shouting?
Here’s how: no anchor.
Just drift away and you end up pushing the line as much
as possible. If no one is there to tell you that there IS a
line, then the only reasonable thing to do is sell albums.
Make money.
How do I make money? I need something different. I
need a niche. No one has ever done ____ before, so let's
make it a form of music and sell it.
You fill in the blank with whatever you think fits. If it is
not righteous, spiritual music, it will not satisfy.
You might say, “Well, I don’t listen to heavy metal, so
I’m fine.”
This isn’t about style.
It’s about being satisfying or not.
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It’s about being timeless or trendy.
Timeless music is that which satisfies. It conforms to the
Bible. It fits into God’s holiness and is more at home
with God than the world. Godly music is sometimes
Psalms, sometimes hymns, sometimes spiritual songs.
If you take only the times God mentions music in the
Bible you will not find many references to what timeless
music sounds like.
But… if you take the whole previous booklet (Part 2 –
Why Be Timeless?) you will see that your music is
timeless by being anchored to that which is timeless—
God’s Word. If your music is in line with the nature of
God and His Word, it cannot help but be
overwhelmingly satisfying.
Too many people want the trendy over the timeless, but
trendy always leads to wanting more and more. If you
are into the slower, sensual soft rock style of music you
will always want more sensuality, more songs, more
artists, more gods, more stars, etc.
If you prefer country music, you will always be wanting
more of the ungodly message that country music
promotes. If you are into rap or similar genres you will
have an appetite for the sexual and angry message that
rap promotes.
Don’t be fooled into thinking any of these styles of music
can somehow be “Christianized.” Calling it Christian
Rap doesn’t change the mood and style of the music.
Rap has effects on the brain that go beyond the lyrics.
Scientists have tested various styles of music on rats and
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found that rap (among other genres) causes confusion
and aggression in rats.
Rats do not understand English. They just listen to the
driving beat and the feel of the song and they are
affected.
Same with you. Whether you admit it or not, each style
of music affects you in some way.
Is your music timeless, or have you built up an appetite
for the trendy? Do you always need the world’s music to
get a good feeling? It won’t last. It will take more and
more to get that same feeling, and always craving more
will put you on a dangerous path.
Develop an appetite for timeless music. It takes work to
change what you love—especially in music—but the
satisfaction of being timeless is worth it. It’s real. It lasts.
It is truly satisfying.
Who wouldn’t want that?
Social Media
I wonder if Facebook can be considered an addiction yet.
You know what people I’m talking about.
It’s like you posted a picture of you and your friends,
totally unrelated to… that guy… and all of a sudden he
shows up and likes it. How did he even see it? Stalker.
Creepy.
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How can Facebook be timeless?
The same way as everything else—by being anchored to
God’s Word. I don’t mean Facebook itself is timeless… I
mean you can be timeless by using Facebook (and other
social media) in the proper way.
Trendy in the Facebook world means that you have to
have more and more new. Lots of new things show up
on Facebook—ads, layout updates, posts, friends, etc.
Do you always have to have more to feel satisfied?
Do you find yourself checking your phone and being
bummed when there are no updates from your friends?
Do you ever find yourself wanting new friends, just
because? You already have tons, but they’re not new any
more. You get the same things from all of them. You
want more.
Do you get all excited when that special someone
messages you?
Virtual reality affects more than just video games. A lot
of social media is simply virtual reality. It is not real.
They are called your friends on Facebook, but they are
not really your friends. You just feel bad unfriending
them or ignoring their invites so you add them as
“friends.”
You have to keep up. You have to stay with the times.
I am afraid that most people reading this never
considered where Facebook would take them.
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Some of you right now are thinking of some trouble you
got in because of Facebook and other social media.
Some of you right now are thinking of your secret
account.
Some of you right now are thinking of things that you
posted that you’ve hidden from your parents.
Some of you right now are friends with people you know
are a bad influence on you.
Some of you know of or are involved with homosexuality
that is uncovered on Facebook. You see what goes on.
You know who’s who. You know what’s up.
When will that stop? Who’s going to draw the line, and
how are you going to know where to draw the line?
Being anchored by God’s Word will help you to be
timeless in your social media choices. Social media did
not exist in Jesus’ day, so how can you be timeless in
your involvement in social media?
By being true to God’s Word.
If anything associated with your social media accounts
goes against God’s Word, cut it out completely.
Immodesty in dress is flaunted on Facebook.
Homosexuality, promiscuity, worldliness, bad music, Rrated movies, filthy language, sexual innuendos,
disrespect of authority and gossip are just a small
portion of the sins that go on with Facebook.
Drop them all.
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Even if it is not totally sinful, perhaps it is not very
helpful to your spiritual life. The Bible instructs us to use
our tongues to edify and sometimes correct or rebuke,
but in most cases Facebook is not the place to do so.
Spiritual things kind of come across… weird…
sometimes on Facebook. Know what I mean?
Everyone’s being silly and the conversation is light and
fun, and then someone drops a verse of Scripture on the
conversation.
Sometimes it is totally appropriate, but sometimes it’s
just… weird.
I don’t want to be involved in something that makes
spiritual things seem weird.
Further, worldliness is promoted on Facebook. Every
time you click on a new page there is another update,
another ad, another picture that promotes worldliness.
Maybe they are not all sinful—they are just not godly.
Even the pictures on the ads can cause a person’s mind
to drift from righteousness.
You can’t control what other people post or say, but you
can control what you are involved in. If it is anything
that is against the Bible, drop it.
Being timeless in your social media choices means that
you are biblical in your thinking and actions. Your heart
shows on Facebook. What do people think? Timeless or
trendy?
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News Junkie
This may not be you yet, but perhaps you are prone to
enjoy reading certain types of news feeds.
I subscribe to several different website updates. Some of
them are pure entertainment (i.e. daily top-25 lists,
comics, etc.), others are informational (i.e. tech news,
new products, how-to’s, etc.) and still others are
spiritual (ministry updates, blogs, etc.). I have all my
subscriptions on one tab of my browser (through Google
Reader) and throughout the day these updates buzz in.
I enjoy that.
There are times, especially recently (as I have been
writing this booklet!), that I have noticed a habit of
refreshing the tab, checking for updates.
Uh-oh!
News junkie!
Are you addicted to those types of updates? Some of it
might not be bad, and I would assume that most (if not
all) of what you are reading is helpful to you in some
way. However, consider overall how important the
updates themselves are to you.
Have you created in yourself an appetite for more. More.
More!
More news feeds will not satisfy you. God’s Word will
satisfy you.
Be as passionate about God’s Word as you are about
your daily news intake.
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Conclusion
We live in a media-saturated age. Is it even possible to
be timeless in our media and entertainment today?
Yes it is possible.
Just obey God’s Word. In everything—obey God’s Word.
God’s Word is timeless, so apply God’s Word to your
Facebook page, your movie choices, your music
appetites, and all other areas of media, technology and
entertainment.
You want something that will satisfy? More of the same
media won’t do it.
Latch on to the anchor of God’s Word and let Him
satisfy better than all else combined.
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4. TIMELESS IN OUR PERSON
Introduction
Okay so I couldn’t come up with a better title.
The idea of this chapter is that you can (in fact you
must!) choose to be timeless in your personal life and
interpersonal relationships.
Timeless versus trendy shows up everywhere, including
your thoughts, your dress and your relationships.
Timeless in Thoughts
Did you know a bad thought life can be an addiction, just
like any other type of addiction.
In your church you might have the RU program—
Reformers Unanimous. RU is a program to help addicts
find satisfaction in the only person that will satisfy all
needs—Jesus Christ.
Whether the addiction is drugs, alcohol, cigarettes,
pornography or even pain medications, Jesus Christ is
the answer that will satisfy all needs.
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You have to realize that the addict’s brain has been
rewired over time. In a sense, the addict builds up an
immunity, or a tolerance, to whatever stimulation he has
been exposed to.
Drug addicts require larger and larger doses of drugs in
order to experience the same high.
The same idea takes place in your brain when you are
exposed to stimulating images or when you allow your
thoughts to be uncensored. Over time, it takes more and
more to give the same “high.”
Do you see how this relates to timeless or trendy?
Timeless biblical principles will always satisfy.
Trendy means you always need more. More. More!
Trendy always needs newer and more exciting
stimulations. It always takes bigger and better thoughts
just to be as exciting as the last thought was.
Your brain rewires itself in order to adjust to the high
levels of excitement produced by impure thoughts.
Because your brain becomes tolerant, it takes more and
more to reach the same level.
How can you be timeless in your thoughts?
Do not even start down that path. If you have, stop!
If you are always seeking for newer and better
stimulation, you have to realize now that more will never
be enough. More images won’t satisfy. More excitement
will never fulfill you.
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Only Christ can satisfy. You can gorge yourself on the
world and never be full. You can get a taste of Christ and
see that He is good.
It’s your choice. Choose to be timeless in your thoughts
by obeying God’s Word. Take captive every evil thought.
Guard your eyes. Guard your heart. Guard your purity.
Timeless in Dress?!
“Stop staring at me.” Says the guy with the blue
mohawk, piercings and tattoos all over his face and
body.
Well why else would you dress and look like that? If you
don’t want me to stare, why be different?
Those characteristics are not the norm. Although fads
change and some of those “different” styles eventually
become mainstream, most of the time they stand out
because they are different from the mainstream.
People who are different get noticed. Isn’t that the
point?
Trendy in the way you dress is always changing. Just
look at the styles 20 years ago and you know this is true.
It’s a joke! We wear old clothes as Halloween costumes
now because they are so ugly.
At least… they’re ugly until they come back in style. Then
they’re mainstream again.
Know what I mean?
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Styles constantly change. What was once ugly is now
fashionable, but wait a few years and it will be ugly
again.
Because styles are always changing, it takes more and
more to really stand out. People want to be noticed. They
want to be recognized. It is hard to be noticed when you
are just like everyone else, so you need to be more
extreme.
Sadly, just like the other areas of life, more extreme is
never enough, because more is never enough.
If it takes more and more and more and more and
MORE to satisfy… where does it end? Where’s the line?
One of the reasons people have blue mohawks,
piercings, exotic and different-from-mainstream clothes
is to stand out—to be trendy.
Trendy demands that we always do more, but more is
never enough.
Timeless is just the opposite. Being timeless in dress
doesn’t mean that you are old-fashioned and only dress
in outdated clothes.
Timeless simply means that you are dressing according
to the timeless Word of God’s standards: modestly,
appropriately and distinctly.
Modesty. Modesty is one way that you as a teen can be
timeless. We often approach this subject with only the
ladies, but men need the reminder, too. Modesty means
that you are covered up and do not reveal your body. It
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is difficult to put rules on modesty because everyone is
“built” differently, but we put certain principles and
rules in place to help define modesty.
If you go to a Christian school there is probably a dress
code. When you attend a Christian college there will be a
dress code. Even public school has a dress code! It is
much looser than a Christian school’s dress code, but it
is a dress code nonetheless. Sometimes the dress code is:
be dressed. That’s still a dress code! A dress code is
usually a given set of rules about how high or low a piece
of clothing can or can’t be, or how tight or loose it needs
to be.
Do you dress modestly by God’s standards? Are you a
modest person in your dress? Would God say, “Yes” to
that question about you?
Trendy demands newer and more shocking clothes all
the time, which in turn produces more and more
immodesty. More immodesty is not the answer—it is not
satisfying. Be timeless instead.
Appropriateness. Not only should we dress modestly as
men and ladies, but we should also dress appropriately.
You wouldn’t go to a funeral in shorts and a t-shirt. That
would be inappropriate. You wouldn’t go swimming in a
3-piece suit—that wouldn’t be appropriate.
Different occasions mean different ways to dress. Dress
up for church. Dress down for parties or ball games.
Dress up for respect. Dress down for casual.
Appropriateness can also refer to cleanliness. It is
appropriate to have clean, well-kept clothing. Don’t be a
slob.
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If you want to be a timeless teen you should learn right
now to respect your body as God’s temple—God’s
house—and always remember that we as Christians are
ambassadors for Christ. How do you think God would
want you to look? Appropriate?
Distinction. We can be timeless by being modest and
appropriate, but we can also be timeless by being
distinct. Genesis 1:27 says:
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God
created he him; male and female created he them.”
As humans, we are made in God’s image.
You have probably known that your whole life. We are
made in God’s image.
Why would God add the final part, though? “…male and
female…” Apparently, God’s image is expressed not only
in our being human but in our being distinctly male or
being distinctly female.
Distinction between the genders is important to God
because in our distinction we express His image. So, in
order to be timeless in our dress, we should try to
uphold timeless principles in God’s timeless Word.
Even in the way we dress we can express not only
modesty and appropriateness but also distinction.
Men, dress distinctively different from a woman. Don’t
be metro. Don’t be more concerned about how you look
than your girl friends are. Don’t manicure your nails—let
the girls worry about their nails. Be distinctly masculine.
Dress like a man—no skinny jeans (do I hear an
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“Amen?”). Okay I can’t rant on each article of clothing so
I will stay broad—dress like a man.
Ladies, dress distinctively different from a man. Don’t
try to be manly in your dress. God has made you FAR
more beautiful than a stinky guy! Be feminine. Be
distinctly girly in your appearance. That is beautiful.
That is precious. Remember how pretty you felt when
you twirled around in your frilly dress and said “Daddy,
look at me!” There wasn’t anything manly or masculine
about you on that day. Represent God’s image through
being distinctly feminine at all times.
You can choose to be timeless even in your appearance.
It may take some work and perhaps a wardrobe change,
but don’t you think it is worth it?
I am sure God thinks so. He came up with the idea, after
all.
Timeless in Relationships
The different between timeless and trendy shows up in
relationships, too.
Trendy in relationships means that you are always on
the prowl for the next guy or girl. More pleasure, more
fun, more excitement, more… But more is never enough.
None of the world’s ideas for pleasure in a relationship
will satisfy. It will always take more to thrill, but more is
never enough.
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Do you ever wonder why so many marriages break up in
divorce?
Let’s take it closer to home… do you ever wonder why
you see so many breakups at school?
It is because most high school relationships are based on
a completely unstable basis. When God’s Word is absent
and teens do whatever they want in a relationship,
dating isn’t about God’s view of marriage… dating is
about MY view of pleasure.
When relationships are about finding pleasure and
having someone to hang out with, the relationship starts
on sand. It is unstable. There is no rock. It will sink.
When a relationship is real and timeless it is built on
God’s Word. Timeless relationships are formed by God
when a man is totally subjected to the authority of his
parents and is growing in the Lord. Timeless
relationships are formed by God when a lady is totally
submitted to the authority of her parents and is growing
closer to the Lord.
Think of a triangle pointing upwards. The bottom right
is the man and the bottom left is the lady. At the top is
God. As the man and the lady are growing toward God in
His will, at the right time God brings them together in
marriage. Neither the man nor the woman (the sides of
the triangle) were directly moving toward each other—
they were moving toward God. However, as they grew
closer to God they grew closer to each other.
Being trendy in your relationships will cause all kinds of
problems. If relationships are about pleasing you, then
when you are not pleased you will end up hating the
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person you once thought you loved. Relationships where
self is the goal always end up bouncing from one to the
next.
Where does it stop? If you have no anchor in your
relationship—nothing timeless to rely on—where do you
draw the line?
Sexual promiscuity is rampant because people have a
desire for more and more. More is never enough.
Living together and physical relationships before
marriage are so common on TV and in real life because
our society has lost its roots in the timeless Word of
God.
Teen, choose to be timeless in your relationships by
always following God’s Word.
Conclusion
God’s Word has SO much to say about your thoughts,
your dress, and your relationships. Not only can you be
timeless in each of these areas… you must!
For the future’s sake, choose to be timeless.
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Still Church.
“Timeless or trendy?... Calvary
Baptist Church. a place that
still feels like church.”
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5. TIMELESS IN CHURCH
Introduction
You might read that title and think, “Yeah, my church is
timeless. When my pastor preaches long, the sermon
feels timeless… like never-ending!”
That’s not what we’re talking about in this chapter.
Timeless does not mean that the preacher loses track of
time. It is much deeper than that.
Being timeless in church life means connecting yourself
to the same path that has worked for generation after
generation.
How do you stay timeless in your church today?
The following chapter will give you several examples of
what timeless should look like in our churches today,
and it will contrast timeless with trendy in several areas
of church life.
The Origin of Still Church
The details of how it all started are a little foggy to me.
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I vaguely remember the first time I heard about Pastor
Hardy’s newest idea that had been brewing in his mind
for a while.
Pastor Hardy has always been passionate about the Old
Paths, but too many people who claimed to be
passionate about the Old Paths just came across as old
fashioned and out-of-date.
I came on staff at Bible Baptist Church as an intern right
after graduating from Heartland Baptist Bible College in
Oklahoma City, OK. My wife and I were just married and
freshly on staff together, and we were learning SO much
about church and ministry.
All of Pastor Hardy’s passion about the church came
through in everything he did, but it was never outdated.
A fresh and professional video presentation wall
presented the church’s vision for future land purchases.
The bulletin was graphically appealing. There was no
clip art. With Pastor Hardy’s history of computer
programing, the church offices’ computer system was
up-to-date and running well. It was powerful enough to
meet everyone’s growing needs as data and graphics
became more and more important in society.
Pastor Hardy never saw the need to try to stay ahead of
society or have cutting edge technology, but it was very
important to him to portray the concept that “Old Paths”
does not have to mean “outdated.”
As this concept brewed in his mind he worked to
formulate it into a concept that all of our like-minded
Baptist churches could grasp. Without compromising
our standards, “Old Paths” churches like Bible Baptist
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Church needed a way to say, “We are passionately
committed to living God’s Word in today’s society.”
While so much of today’s churches are bending to
society and bringing in the world’s music in order to stay
relevant and up-to-date, Pastor Hardy wanted to convey
that we can be up-to-date but still be on the same Old
Path on which we have always been.
As Pastor Hardy shared this concept for the first time
with me, I wanted to do whatever I could to help portray
it graphically.
An early idea was to use the words “Simply Church” in
order to convey this thought in a phrase, but eventually
he came up with an entire campaign aimed at presenting
our church (and like churches) in a relevant and
uncompromising way.
Still Church
The phrase he used was Still Church, and the idea for
Bible Baptist Church was that we wanted to let
Stillwater, OK know that there was still a place that felt
like church.
It was not going to be a rock concert or an
entertainment-focused event. It was a place that was still
passionate about singing hymns. Sundays were not
going to be motivational talks or comedy routines—they
would still be focused on worship and preaching God’s
Word.
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Still Church presents several ideas, most of which we
will discuss in the following pages of this booklet. With
the whole concept, we worked to saturate Stillwater with
the idea of Still Church, and we developed tracts,
magnets, business cards, invitation postcards, flyers,
yard signs, window stickers, banners and even a series of
billboards and a new website (stillchurch.com). We
printed up thousands of invitations, repainted our buses
with the website on the side, developed downloadable
graphics for computer backgrounds, and printed
letterhead and scratch paper.
All this work was for the purpose of emphasizing our
point: we want to be a church that is timeless rather
than trendy. We do not have to be caught up in the latest
fads and keep up with the latest entertainment. We are
still… church. We are still a place that feels like church.
You won’t come here to be entertained. You won’t come
here to make connections like a social club. You won’t
come here to have rock concerts or parties.
We are passionate about timeless principles. We are Still
Church.
Your Church
Your church can do the same. You do not necessarily
have to have all the printed materials in order to be
timeless.
You just have to be passionate about being timeless.
Are you?
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“I’m only 13!” you might think.
Your pastor is not concerned with how old you are. He
wants to know if you are going to carry on the future of
the church the same way it has been carried on for years.
You do not have to be an old fuddy-dud in order to be
timeless. You just have to follow the Bible! Sounds
simple, right?
Well it is not so simple when you start to feel all the
pressure from other churches to conform to the world.
Church Tract
Our church (Calvary Baptist, Temecula, CA) uses the
Still Church tract. Inside it gives a brief paragraph that
describes Still Church:
“Timeless or trendy? Malls are trendy. Churches should feel
timeless. With the forceful current of constant change sweeping
over every part of our lives, people have the need to connect with
something enduring and firm. We believe Christ designed the
church to fulfill that need by representing an eternal kingdom
and ageless truth with no need to imitate the culture. We want
you to know that there’s still a church that feels like a church. It
won’t feel like a rock concert, comedy club, or motivational
seminar. It’s not old- fashioned, as in 50 years ago. It is timeless,
as in 2000 years ago.”
Under Still Church comes six main headings: Still
Preaching, Still Men, Still Hymns, Still Reverent, Still
Family and Still Exciting. These are a few ways you can
choose to be timeless at church.
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Still Preaching
Our youth group recently came through a series of
sermons through the book of Romans on Sunday
mornings. Paul’s opening words in chapter one reveal
his heart for preaching. He is ready (v14), or eager, to
preach to them the Gospel, because as the Gospel is
preached, souls are saved and God’s righteousness is
revealed through growing Christians (v17).
The letter’s closing words in chapter 16 again reveal his
passion for preaching. Not only is preaching needed to
see people saved (v26 “obedience of faith”) but it is also
needed so that Christians can be stablished (v25), or
strengthened.
Preaching is supernatural. It is God-ordained. It is
commanded.
Preaching is God’s voice through man’s.
Preaching is the compelling plea of God’s Word to make
changes in our lives.
Because preachers are called of God to preach the whole
counsel of God and not hold back on any of what God
has commanded, preachers are sometimes seen as
negative.
Certainly the Bible has a lot of positive things to say
about doing right, but it also has a lot of negative things
to say about doing evil! Any preacher who is called of
God to preach God’s Word is called to preach ALL of
God’s Word! As long as a preacher is faithful to preach
exactly what God said, he is fine.
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When a preacher ignores some of what God says, he gets
into some trouble.
A lot of modern churches say a lot of good things, and a
lot of what they say is Bible-based. The problem comes,
however, when they only focus on the positive parts and
ignore the negative.
Case after case of modern churches stooping to the
world’s level shows us that people need a church that is
anchored to God’s timeless principles. Preaching is still a
principle found in the Bible. It is still vital to a
Christian’s life.
Someone might think he’s doing fine as a Christian
without going to church and without hearing any
preaching.
Not according to the Bible! Preaching was central to
Paul’s ministry! He planted churches and brought
people into true worship of His God—the only True
God!—by preaching the Gospel to them!
“Home church” groups and little fellowships that are
focused on sharing God’s Word and meeting around a
little table are not ordained by God.
Don’t get me wrong—they’re not bad. But they’re not the
best. God’s way is the best. The timeless way is the best.
Trendiness in preaching means that we’ve got to find
some way to connect with people. We’ve got to be
relatable. We’ve got to be relevant. We’ve got to meet felt
needs.
Rather than preach the whole counsel of God by
systematically preaching every text faithfully and truly,
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modern preachers share what they think the people
want to hear. While they might be sharing good
principles, God’s best way is for a preacher to feed the
flock of God by preaching all of Scripture.
The trendy, popular methods today include shocking
series on marriage relationships. I’ve seen church signs
that have made the news because of their sexual
innuendos. I have seen church advertisements that copy
Victoria Secret’s layout and color scheme.
What happened to good ol’ preaching? Why do some
churches have to stoop to copy Victoria Secret in order
to get people to come to church?
What about holiness?
How can you help?
You might be thinking “I’m not the preacher. That’s his
job.”
Not entirely.
Still Preaching relies heavily on the congregation all
going the same direction. Imagine how encouraged the
preacher would be if the whole congregation was as
passionate about hearing God’s Word preached as he
was about preaching it!
1 Corinthians 14:24-25 gives us a snapshot of what can
happen when the whole congregation is on board with
one another—all in tune and passionate about the right
things, namely preaching.
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24 But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not,
or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all:
25 And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so
falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God
is in you of a truth.
The preacher does not have to preach a Gospel message
for a guest to be saved. Someone can come into your
church service, see a bunch of members who are
passionate about the preaching (prophesying) and in
agreement, and he can be “convinced of all” and “judged
of all.” He can get so convicted based on the fact that he
sees a whole congregation of people who are passionate
about hearing from God that he can fall on his face in
repentance and get saved, and “report that God is in you
of a truth.”
It’s an absolute miracle when someone is saved. Did you
know you can have a part in people getting saved in your
church services?
Here are a few ways you can be timeless by emphasizing
Still Preaching in your church:
Bring your Bible. How about starting there? Bring
your Bible to church. And use it! You will never get
anything from the preaching if you do not bring your
Bible, so make it a point to contribute to the preaching
by having your Bible. It’s not funny when you forget it,
so stop laughing it off and get a little more serious about
God’s Word.
Say “Amen.” You can contribute to being timeless by
saying “Amen” in church. It’s a Bible principle to agree
and affirm the preaching. The first time you do it you’ll
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feel weird. Keep it up! You will encourage everyone
around you.
Stay Awake. Hopefully it goes without saying… you are
a discourager—not an encourager—when you are falling
asleep during the preaching. Are you passionate about
preaching? Then don’t stay up late playing your dumb
video games on Saturday night!
I used to work nights and know the horrible feeling of
wanting so badly not to be drowsy. I mean, good night…
Bro. Sam Davison was my pastor! He’s a master
preacher! I hung on every word he said and would never
want to miss a service because of his preaching! Yet even
during his preaching I would get drowsy, but I would
always fight it like crazy.
If it’s something you can help, do it. Go to bed earlier.
Learn to drink coffee (takes a solid month to learn to like
it black!) and use it as a tool to contribute to being
timeless in the area of preaching. Pinch your leg. Bite
your tongue. Take notes. Eat breakfast that morning. Do
whatever it takes, but stay awake.
Stay Engaged. Being awake and being engaged are
different. Your eyes can be open but your mind might be
closed. Keep your mind on what is being said. Follow the
preacher’s thoughts. Keep up when he says, “Turn to…”
Don’t “snap out of it” when you hear everyone laughing
at a joke you just missed. Don’t let your eyes glaze over.
Listen! Be engaged!
Sit up. Posture says a lot. When you are at church, do
you slouch in your seat? If so, sit up. Guys, don’t lean
forward with your head down and stare at the floor. Sit
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up! Backs on the seat and eyes up. Contribute! Don’t
discourage.
Don't talk. Many youth ministries have a certain
section of the church where the teens sit during the
preaching. Don’t do anything to distract others. Most
importantly, don’t talk. I love seeing you ignore your
neighbor when he or she leans over to talk to you during
the preaching. That’s good. That’s the only time you can
be rude to your neighbor—when he or she is being rude
to the preacher. Just straight up ignore him or her! Eyes
forward, Bible open, straight face. Don’t laugh, don’t
respond, and don’t even flinch. Better yet, shout,
“AMEN!” even if nothing amazing was just said. That’ll
scare them off!
Pre-read texts. If you are in a series and you know
what text is coming up, read the text ahead of time. You
will have questions come up in your mind and you will
wonder what the preacher will say about this or that
verse. You will have a grasp of where the preacher is
coming from in the Scripture, and you will already be in
the biblical author’s flow of thought. You will
understand the context better than anyone else, and you
will be more excited about the preaching because you
have invested in the service.
Change. Probably the most encouraging way to
contribute to the timelessness of preaching is to make
sure preaching works. How can YOU make sure
preaching works? By changing.
Every week, something is preached from God’s Word. If
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable,” then that means every time you are
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confronted with the Bible there is something there for
you. Apply it. Change. Let it work in you. Preaching is
supernatural, but it won’t override your will. You have to
do your part to respond to the preaching. Let it change
you.
These are just a few practical tips to help you contribute
to the preaching ministry of your church. Who knows…
maybe if you and your whole youth group followed some
of these tips you would be able to have a part in seeing
someone saved in your services.
You are an example every time you come to church—a
good example or a bad one. Choose to be a good example
and get passionate about Still Preaching. Our church
tract phrases it this way:
“Dynamic, passionate preaching straight from the Bible still
brings more lasting change than comedy routines, drama, or
motivational talks. Come discover the benefit of Bible preaching.”
Do you agree?
If so, live like it.
Still Men
Our church tract phrases it this way:
“The rumor that masculine men hate church isn’t entirely true.
Come discover an environment where plenty of real men still
believe God expects them to step up and provide strong, loving
leadership in the church and in their families.”
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You say, “But I’m only 13!”
How many times are you going to say that?! Okay so I’m
putting words in your mouth.
But the answer is still the same: even as a 13-year-old or
as a senior in high school you can still choose to be
timeless by following the timeless Word of God.
The Bible clearly lays out the roles of men and women,
and by following those roles you will be timeless.
Being passionate about biblical masculinity and biblical
femininity are the pillars to upholding the timeless
principles of what is right and wrong.
The fad today is that only women attend church. A
common mindset is that religion is a crutch and real
men don’t need anyone’s help. “I’m my own man” is a
common saying, and “self-made man” is a common
term. You will hear men say, “I’ve pulled myself up by
my own bootstraps” indicating a self-reliance and no
need for God.
Do we bend to the culture’s view of manliness?
When you think of a “manly man” what do you think of?
A biker-dude? A big, tough, gruff man with a huge chest,
huge arms, cutoff sleeves, tattoos, a beer-belly, a
motorcycle, long hair, long beard and sunglasses?
Or the more refined tough-guy? Slick Rick with all his
fancy cars and his flashy gadgets.
If you think masculinity is in these stereotypes, then
when you run a church you will try to be manly as the
culture defines manliness. That leads you down a trendy
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path—always trying to keep up with what the “real man”
wants.
The so-called pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle,
Mark Driscoll, has catered to the culture’s view of
manliness. Because he defined manliness as the
stereotypical beer-drinking, football-watching, partying
dude he wanted to cater his church to meet those needs.
Trendy churches will eventually compromise the Bible in
order to get more people. They have to keep up with
what is new. There’s no anchor.
Despite God’s clear teaching against alcohol, this church
has a brewery. The men sit around and drink beer while
they watch football together. The pastors have meetings
at local bars, and they preach “sermons” on why they
think it is okay to drink alcohol.
Something is wrong here.
Do you see what happens when you ignore God’s Word?
You slip into the culture’s view of manhood rather than
God’s.
I want to embrace God’s definition of masculinity and be
timeless. I want to be passionate about what God’s Word
says about being a man, and I do not want to be swayed
by every new trend that shows up.
Are you timeless or trendy in how you view man’s role in
our society? How about in your church? Do you want to
be timeless in understanding your proper role as either a
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lady or a man? Then obey the Bible. Here are some
simple thoughts for men and ladies:
Men, lead. If you are a man, be a leader. If you are a dad,
lead your home. You are responsible for how often your
family goes to church, what your daughters wear, and
what your family is involved in. Be a leader. I am
passionate about our young men learning to lead. Don’t
let the ladies be the ones who volunteer to clean out the
bus, lead the singing, clean up the gym, fold up chairs, or
pass out pens—YOU lead!
Ladies, influence. Ladies, you have influence—use it!
Your main power will not be in taking charge and being
a leader, it will be in influencing others to be better.
Used in a bad way this is called manipulation… and you
know exactly what I’m talking about there! Use that
power in a good way! Influence others. Have a sweet
spirit and be willing to follow, help and serve.
How you act determines how passionate you are about
this point. If you are a man, step up to the challenge and
be a man. You are incredibly powerful when you are
submitted to God and following Him—you are weak
when you think of manliness merely as having a big
beard and drinking beer. It is much more than that!
If you are a lady, embrace your femininity and stop
playing this culture’s game by thinking you are somehow
“less” than a man because you cannot lead in certain
areas. You are at your best when you are following the
timeless principles of God’s Word, and nothing is more
beautiful than a feminine lady who merely wants to be
obedient to God in everything.
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You can choose to be either timeless or trendy in every
area of church life—even in your masculinity or
femininity. Choose to be timeless.
Still Hymns
If a church ever slips from the timeless path it will
probably start with music.
If it starts with music it will probably start with the
teens.
Music is powerful. Music is personal. Music is emotional
by nature and by design.
The purpose of this booklet is not to explain nor define
good or bad music, it is to challenge you to stick to the
timeless principles of music rather than changing your
music preferences with the fads of the world.
Our church tract succinctly states a good point about
hymns here:
“Most church music amounts to dumbing down the lyrics and
cranking up the volume to build interest. The hymns we sing still
generate an attitude toward God that is anything but lifeless and
boring.”
What are some timeless principles about music?
God deserves worship. That should go without
saying. God is high and we are low. Worship is a
recognition of someone else’s worth. True worship is a
humiliation of self and an exalting of God. He deserves
every bit of our worship.
God designed worship. A main feature that sets us
apart from animals is worship. We are designed and
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created to worship our Holy God. We are to worship
Him in holiness.
Worship is based on truth. John 4:24 says, “God is a
Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in
spirit and in truth.” True worship, then, is not emotional
and sensational. Rather, worship is spiritual and
truthful. True worship is not the raising of hands and
singing choruses. True worship is recognizing God’s
worth by thinking truthful thoughts about Him. The
deeper the truth is, the deeper the worship will be.
If true worship is spiritual in nature and gets deeper and
more real as our thoughts dwell on truthful thoughts
about God, the hymns are one of the best worship tools
we have.
Most hymns are written in a way that causes you to
think.
They are designed to be doctrinal and deep. Many of
them were written hundreds of years ago by people that
thought very differently from people today. Of course,
today we have plenty of brilliant people, but just in
reading the hymns you get a sense that the author’s had
an intensely deep relationship with God.
They were often able to express such profound thoughts
about God through their hymns, and they were phrased
in such a way that very few of today’s writers can
accomplish.
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The authors were not perfect. Many of the hymn-writers
were not Baptists, but the truths expressed through their
hymns were deep, rich and meaningful.
Much of the music in modern-day churches is shallow
and emotional. The emphasis is often on the rhythm
rather than the melody, and you get a sense of the
feeling of the music even before the truth of the music.
I heard a man say something to this effect: “The church
is making a transition in music. It used to be truth first,
then emotion. Now, we draw people in through the
emotion, get them feeling good about God by relating to
them with their music, and then presenting the truth to
them so that they can accept Him.”
Their way: emotional connection leads to truth.
But God has never done it that way.
God has always presented truth first. In fact, very little is
even said about emotions and being accepting. Anything
in the Bible about emotions and feelings comes after
salvation.
Emotions and good feelings are not a marketing tool!
“Come get Jesus so he can help you feel better!”
No. Worship is about recognizing God for who He is,
truthfully recognizing ourselves for who we are, and
humbly submitting to Him.
The interesting part is that emotions always follow truth.
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I am not an emotional person, by nature. It is really a
turn-off to me for these sissy-boys to get up there with
their little half-baked bands and chink-a-chink on their
little guitars and call it worship.
I can see how the stereotypical “Manly Man” would be
turned off to Christianity if they thought that worship
meant they have to have earrings, dreadlocks, tight
pants and close their eyes, raise their hands and sing
breathily.
I’m not into that!
Thankfully, I do not have to come to church every week
and manufacture emotion in order to worship God. I just
have to worship Him in spirit and in truth. Timelessly.
Not culturally.
My form of worship will never change. It is timeless. It is
based on the Bible.
My form of worship will always be around. It is timeless.
Today’s idea of worship changes with every new song
that comes out, and every new style that is introduced.
I don’t have to choose to be emotional in order to
worship—I just have to think truthful, good thoughts
about God.
I mentioned earlier that the cool part about true worship
is that emotions always follow. Because I am not an
emotional person by nature, I cannot just make myself
feel something.
Hype, mood music, lights—none of that affects me all
that much.
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But truth… wow!
I can’t get through “And Can It Be” without feeling
emotional! Thinking truthful thoughts about God affects
my emotions far more than any hype or soft speaking
could do!
And can be that I should gain,
An interest in my Savior's blood?
Died for me, who caused his pain?
For me, who him to death pursued?
Amazing love, how can it be
That thou my God should die for me
Amazing love, how can it be
That thou my Lord shouldst die for me
Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature's night
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth
and followed thee
My chains fell off, my heart was free
I rose, went forth and followed thee
No condemnation now I dread,
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine
Alive in Him, my living Head
And clothed with righteousness divine
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown,
through Christ, my own
Bold I approach the eternal throne
And claim the crown, through Christ my own
You can be timeless in your music by always choosing to
take timeless over trendy. Timeless music affects the
mind and then the emotions. Trendy music targets the
emotions first.
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Where does trendy stop?
It doesn’t. There is no anchor. There is nothing to hold
on to. When the styles and tastes of music in the world
changes, so does the church music.
Teen, you can have a huge influence on the future of
your church by choosing to be passionate about timeless
music. Too many churches are choosing to be trendy
instead of timeless, and they are leaving the Old Paths
that got them this far.
Why change?
When Joshua entered the promised land he built a
monument to represent all that God had done for them.
It was a timeless monument because it represented a
timeless God.
Sadly, Israel ignored the monument.
They were more enraptured with the gods of the
Canaanites and they turned their back on the timeless
principles that God had promised would work for them.
They didn’t know where their new Canaanite path was
taking them, because they had never been on it before.
All they knew is that it was new and exciting! The
problem was that the Canaanite way was not timeless. It
had not been tested and proven.
God was.
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And that’s why there was a monument—so they would
think back to the very reason they were in their
promised land.
With music, if it has worked in the past, build a
monument to the reason it worked. Before you think,
“They’re too old and they’re not working any more,”
remember why we sing hymns. Don’t just throw them
out and replace them with new stuff. Revive them!
A few thoughts on how you can be Still Hymns:
Sing hymns. There is no better form of worship
because there are no deeper truths presented about God
anywhere else but in the hymns. You will never know
that unless you sing them!
Think while you sing. While you are singing,
concentrate on the words. Think the thoughts that the
composer was thinking. Move with him or her through
the music. Think! Keep your mind engaged! Don’t drift
off. Don’t count the lights. Don’t talk to your friends.
Don’t worry about what they think of your voice. Think
about God. The song service is not a filler time in the
schedule, and it is not a time to “prepare our hearts for
the preaching.” It is a time to think great thoughts about
God. When you have spent the entire song service
dwelling on God’s truth, obviously, your heart will be
eager to hear God’s Word preached, but preparation is
not the purpose of singing—worship is.
Be wary of emotionalism. Guard yourself from
having to feel something first. Do not let emotions be the
goal. A lot could be said here about Contemporary
Christian Music, but stay away. Be careful of even the
feel of the song. If it is all about rhythm… red flag!
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Choose new songs wisely. Obviously, hymns are not
the only songs we sing or listen to. We sing kids’ songs,
fun songs, movement songs, slower songs and the like,
but choose new songs wisely. God has given us timeless
principles to guide us, but not all of music falls clearly
into a biblical category. So, we are also granted His
wisdom to help us choose.
Be timeless in your music by following our timeless
guide—God’s Word.
Still Reverent
Attendees of our 2013 Preaching Rally received along
with the Timeless booklets the A Case For Reverence
booklet. Much is said in that booklet about the area of
Still Reverence and we will not repeat each point.
Our church tract puts Still Reverent this way:
“Casual is all the rage in American institutions, but God deserves
better. While you won’t find a judgmental spirit here, you will
find a place that still believes reverence is right for the presence
of God.”
Being timeless in church life means that church is to
always be respected as a place of worship and reverence.
If God expected reverence in His worship in the past, He
has not changed His nature.
While the trend in most churches is toward “loosening
up” and trying to be very “laid back” and welcoming, we
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want to be timeless instead of trendy and reverence the
most important day of our week—Sunday—as a day of
true worship.
The main headings of the booklet A Case for Reverence
are as follows:
 A reverent God deserves reverent worship.
 We are reverent when the occasion is important
enough.
 The very reason for church should produce a
reverent atmosphere.
 Reverence either changes or reflects your
mindset.
 Arguments against reverence seem weak.
 Reverence does not negate excitement.
 We are reverent on purpose.
 We should contribute to reverence.
Still Family
While you may not necessarily be able to change much
about this section, you definitely need to have the right
mindset about the family. From our tract:
“Our culture’s experiments with the family have left the American
home in a mess. We still teach the biblical roles for the family as
the best answer and as our only hope for stable, fulfilled homes.”
You might not come from a solid home with both a mom
and a dad who are saved or even together. That is tragic,
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and every pastor with a caring heart is burdened to help
you in any way he can.
Your youth pastor loves you and wants to help you more
than anything, and he would do anything he could to be
a blessing. He would never want to hurt you, embarrass
you, disappoint you, or push you away in any way.
But… no matter how much sin has wrecked some
people’s lives, sin never changes the timeless truth.
To be timeless in your family means that you are
passionate about the Bible’s definition of the family.
Your personal family may or may not be entirely biblical.
Either way, timeless teens are passionate about the
Timeless Guide for the family—the Bible.
Trendy says that families are about love. Whatever that
means for you is great, and when love runs out, so does
the family.
The trendy definition of a family is that love is the
highest form of family, so homosexuality is okay as long
as the couple loves each other. So much money is being
poured into education and into entertainment to
brainwash our society into thinking that God is
somehow okay with homosexuality.
Teens who are passionate about being timeless will
recognize what God’s Word says about homosexuality
and never be accepting of this abomination.
The trendy definition of a family also says that marriage
is unnecessary. It is interesting that homosexuals are
fighting for the right to be married while so many men
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and women today do not care in the least about
marriage. They just live together.
If the trendy definition of family says that it is just about
the feeling of love, then when the love runs out, so does
the commitment. Dads leave their families, moms leave
with another man, kids are left with one or no parents—
these are all tragedies of the trendy mindset.
When there is no anchor to hold people to a fixed set of
beliefs, people make up their own rules. No longer do
they have to be committed for a lifetime to one person,
they can just get a new lover when they get bored with
theirs.
Teen, choose to be passionate about the timeless
principles of family. God’s design is one man plus one
woman for a lifetime—children leave their parents’
authority, cleave to one another in marriage and God
weaves their lives into one flesh (Gen 2:24).
You do not get more timeless than that. The principle of
marriage goes all the way back to the beginning of time
in the book of Genesis with Adam and Eve. That is God’s
design. That is how God wants it, and anything outside
of His design is less than best.
If you are unmarried, choose to be timeless by never
letting divorce be an option in your future marriage.
That means choosing right the first time! Let God lead
you by being obedient to Him in every step, and choose
to be timeless by following His timeless Word.
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He has already told us what a family should look like. He
has already made it clear.
Be timeless in your family by obeying His Word.
Still Exciting
You might be reading along thinking, “Man! This stuff is
boring! No wonder people have rock concerts and
Motocross in church—otherwise church would be dull!”
No way!
Serving God has been the most exciting thing I have ever
done! God has been so good to me for the few years I
have been alive, and I would not want my life to be any
other way!
I have been around some churches that seem to be
driven by hype, and it seems so fake. God is real. We do
not have to manufacture the emotions when it is real.
We do not have to entertain Christians in church, we
simply have to be faithful to His timeless Word and
allow Him to bring the blessings!
Serving God is the most exciting thing in the world.
Read this summary:
“God doesn’t need the Top 40 or the latest fads to be exciting. We
still enjoy several timeless practices that stir the soul in a way
that strobe lights and dancing in the aisles can never
manufacture.”
Still Reverence does not mean still boring.
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Still Hymns does not have to be still the same, dumb
tunes we’ve had forever.
Still Family does not mean still happy little “Leave it to
Beaver” land.
Rather, doing things God’s way is always the best way. It
is always the most satisfying. It is always the most
enriching. It is always the happiest way.
Doing things God’s way is all I want.
God’s way is timeless.
God’s way doesn’t shift with every new fad.
You do not have to always have new in order to be
exciting. Teens more than anyone else know how to have
fun. If it is not provided, they will make it fun.
Excitement does not always have to be manufactured. It
is in God’s timeless plan.
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6. CONCLUSION
Timeless Math?
You hear the school bell… time for math class.
You file into your seat and stare at the board. You are
just about ready for your daily nap when all of a sudden
you look up. There’s a new teacher. This guy’s cool! The
new teacher says, “Let’s try something completely new.”
“Hm,” you think. “Maybe today’s class won’t be so bad,
after all.”
Your teacher whips out his iPad and shows a funny
YouTube video about the history of math. He explains
that math as we have always known it is broken. We’ve
been doing it wrong all along.
No more rules.
From here on, math is however you want to do it. Add,
subtract, invent numbers as you want to. There’s no
right or wrong answer, just… feel the math.
“Here’s your test, and 2+2 can be whatever you want it
to be.” He says.
“Hm,” you think. “Best class ever! Make it up, huh?
Okay… 2+2= smangerschmitt.”
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That teacher would be the most popular teacher in
school just because he passes everyone in his class!
But… does 2+2 really equal smangerschmitt? I mean,
really?
He might be popular and trendy, but in the math world
there is really no room for trendy. You can’t just change
the rules. No matter who says it is right, there is still
only one right answer to 2+2, and it is NOT
smangerschmitt.
What helps you more? Trendy math or timeless math?
American children have been taught a form of “trendy”
math for years. At one point we were #3 in the world in
education, and now we have slipped to #17 or so.
Has trendy helped or hurt us?
Choose to Be Timeless
You still might not be convinced that this matters to you.
“I’m only 13! What can I do?”
You can do plenty. First, how about choosing. Choose to
build a monument that will remind you of the decisions
you have made. You can be timeless if you put certain
principles in place.
Young person, not only can you be timeless… you must!
Our generation must choose to be timeless.
If we care at all about the path that got us this far, we
need to choose right now to be timeless.
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Build a monument. Build some kind of altar. Sacrifice
something valuable and dedicate it once and for all to
God. And then remember why the monument is there.
Choose to be timeless.
Men in Skirts
A recent fashion trend has tried to popularize the skirt
for men.
How did we get that far? How are we so confused as a
culture that we are trying to popularize cross-dressing?
Well, if there’s no anchor, why not?
If there’s no God telling me to keep clear lines, why
shouldn’t I cross-dress? Because of your opinion about
cross-dressing? Why is your opinion better than mine?
See the logic?
Timeless or Trendy?
Take trendiness to its full end and it always ends up
sinful.
Take timelessness to its full end and you will always end
up satisfied.
It’s your choice.
For the sake of the future, I choose to be timeless. What
about you?
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