Convergence

Have you ever tried fried ice cream, or how about an ice-cold coffee?

This concept of mixing contrasting substances arouse our curiosity for imagination and leave us thinking of other ways of approaching conventional things. Ideas like these gave birth to new businesses, some of them a little bit familiar, like Starbucks perhaps. And so, I kind of wonder how it would be like bringing this concept to teaching. What inspired me to dwell in such idea was the last church service I attended. There’s this pastor, a bit old already, but still on his prime; with a speaking voice so well-modulated, you can imagine hearing a newscaster preaching. His message was about the fall of Jericho under the leadership of Joshua. And so I took out my pen in order to take notes. He started with a video presentation of the fall of Jericho, which was probably taken from YouTube or a movie. I’m sure it grasped everyone’s attention, perhaps even those who were about to sleep. And I got kind of surprised because it is the first time he did that on a preaching service (you know when people get used to your redundant and familiar style, they don’t expect you just trying out something new). And considering the age factor, one might expect multi-media effects from a younger pastor, but probably not from someone of a later age; you would expect older pastors dwelling more on oral expository preaching. And what's more, in order to make an argument, he pointed to a scene from the movie Lord of the Rings; and then went for jokes and funny stories from time to time; and I was just astounded – he just never did these things before. His message was creatively clear, and highly retainable, I did not find the need to jot down. It’s amazing how he adapted to modern ways and incorporated them to his style. It’s like buying an ice cream, and it’s not frozen but hot; it’s like sipping a coffee, and you expect it's hot but it's not, its cold with lots of ice in it - you expect something good, you get something even better. The old accustomed expository style got merged with modern technology and contemporary ways, and suddenly, someone is twice as effective. Now, whoever said you cannot teach old dogs new tricks? Perhaps whoever said that is right – the old dog learns new tricks by itself.