Trying Something New | Previous Challenge Entry

how it works

TITLE: Trying Something New | Previous Challenge Entry
By Kayla James
02/26/26
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Pastor Daniel Nicholas was distracted when he picked up his four-year-old daughter, Sandy, from the Sunday school picnic one afternoon. He was mentally jotting down notes for next week’s sermon as well as looking up cheap hotel reservations for next year’s pastoral conference on his phone.

So when Sandy kept pestering him to “guess what?”, He brushed it off and told her to wait until lunchtime.

At lunch, as Daniel’s wife, Mary, cut Sandy’s spaghetti, Daniel asked Sandy about what she had to say.

“daddy,” she began, “did you know that God is not a man but a lady? Mrs. Alvarez said that God is a she. I bet you didn’t even know that.”

Daniel was shocked. He vaguely remembered the deacon board hiring Tina Alvarez for the position of preschool Sunday school teacher. he personally glanced over her résumé and it appeared she was a devout Christian lady. So why would Mrs. Alvarez say such heresy?

Daniel showed Sandy a few verses in her own children’s Bible, where it stated that God is he. When Sandy went away to play, Daniel felt perplexed. If things like this was going on in his church what other things were veering away from what the Bible truly said?

Daniel went to his study and looked over the camera footage of last week’s online service. The worship team was phenomenal, but the songs sounded like a pop concert. His own sermon was short and littered with bits from previous sermons. Quite a few people didn’t have a Bible.

A flashback to his boyhood and the small red brick church danced through his mind. He recalled the old hymns and the verse-by-verse sermons which lasted nearly two hours. “Ask for the old paths,” the Holy Spirit whispered.

“Forgive me, Father,” Daniel said as he shut down his laptop and his phone and went to have evening devotions with his family. How long had it been since they had those?

During the next week, Daniel sent an email to Jonathan the worship leader for the worship team to take a break this week and to bring up the old hymnbooks stashed in the basement. Jonathan texted back a question mark. Daniel replied: We’re just gonna try something new.

The next Sunday hymns were played. The older folks liked it. A few from the younger crowd yawned while some others left before the sermon even began. Daniel did his usual sermon, noting how calm everyone seemed to be. They were not terribly emotional, but they were reflective.

Before the next Sunday Daniel sent word to the entire church that they were to bring their own Bibles and if they truly didn’t have one, extra ones would be provided. The projector displaying the Bible verses was stored in the back. His next sermon went a bit long—an hour and ten minutes.

A few families came up to him at the end of the service and asked what was going on? Was this just a temporary thing.

“If it’s not,” Peter Lamb said on his way out, “I won’t be back. This is a bit backwoods, don’t you think? I like the modern ways.”

Daniel went home, his thoughts racing. Maybe he should go back to how things were.
he knelt and prayed, begging God for an answer. He opened his Bible to Jeremiah 6:16:

“The Lord saith, stand ye in the ways, and see, ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.”

Such peace washed over him. Even though his flock might object, he was doing the right thing.

As the Sundays went by, the church grew smaller. A third of the church, including Mrs. Alvarez, departed. Since there was a shortage of Sunday school teachers, a few children straggled into the adult classes, causing the teachers to simplify their lessons so all could understand. Everyone seemed to like this, so all the children were allowed in. When the smaller children got antsy, coloring books kept them busy.

Daniel looked out at the church and realized that this was a start. When his secretary, LaShonda asked why they were switching up so many things all of a sudden, Daniel said:

"I was hit hard with how worldly and lax our church was becoming. It made me sick.
Some things in modern churches are OK, but we were tiptoeing away from God’s Word and no longer set apart.”

LaShonda agreed.

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