Andy Newbrey

     Over the years, I have had several people have said to me, “You’re a Renaissance Man.” That is a name people give you when they don’t know what to call you. It’s how they define what they think you “do” for a living when they have no clue what you “do.”
     My response to that comment is always the same, “There is a very fine line between a renaissance man and a fool.” 
     I am an entrepreneur to the core of my being, and that’s how I live life: 

• Anything is possible. 
• All things are doable. 
• Doing something over and over, and over, just because that’s the way we have done it for a hundred years, is crazy. That is the death knell of progress. 
• If the path you’re on is well-traveled by, get off it and make a new one!
• Never let the “status quo” tell you how you have to live life! 

     My father was a Disciples of Christ pastor for fifty-six years. Another thing people have asked me over the years is, “Are you a pastor?” or “Are you going to follow in your father’s footsteps?” The answer was always, “No, I am not. And I never will be.” But God had other plans. I have felt Him call me into ministry for a long time, yet I ignored Him. 
     For fifteen years, I was a financial and accounting consultant for many churches in Kansas. In that position, I could see their struggle, their failings, and their battles. Much of those complications were self-inflicted and had a lot to do with hanging on to the church's traditions. They were hanging on to the only way they knew how to be and do church. 
     In the last fifty years, the world’s opinion of the church changed massively. Like many Christian leaders, I watched the world moved on, and the church did not; we were unable to let go of the comforts of tradition. I became convinced that I knew what church and pastors needed to do. I could see what needed to happen to turn things around. So, finally, I surrendered to the call. I gave in. I became a pastor. 
     For two years, I served as the lead pastor for the church where I grew up. We accomplished many things. I pushed hard and fast, and at the end of two years, emotionally and physically exhausted,…I failed.
     There are many things I underestimated, even with all of my church management experience. 

• I underestimated the level of apathy created by routine. 
• I underestimated the tradition of an individual’s ownership of a position or task. 
• I underestimated the determination to stick to what we have done in the past. And the reason for that determination: Because “being creative” and trying something new requires us to move out of our comfort zone. 
• I underestimated the power traditions hold. They can freeze a church in time, trapped like that frog in boiling water. Meanwhile, capable people jump off that ship called “church” as it floats and drifts with the current, downstream towards the waterfall. 

     Yes, I may be over-generalizing. Some churches are thriving with old traditions and traditional church models. But, look at the national statistics. 
We need a new Movement. Christ is calling us to a new Movement! We need a revolution in the fundamental nature of (C)church, what it does, how we exist in the Body of Christ, and our understanding of what "worship" is.
     That massive shift away from traditions has to come with/from emerging generations. Generations who are willing to go outside the box, get off that well-worn path, climb out of the ruts, and layout new tracks.