And they said to [Jesus], “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.” And Jesus said to them, “Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.” He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’”
(Luke 5:33–39)
Jesus was illustrating that, with his advent, God’s people need to embrace change, which will involve both continuity and discontinuity.
The illustration teaches that the new covenant gospel requires a different “container” than the wineskin of the old covenant. And this principle provides insight to help as we experience change in church life, including a change in pastoral personnel in which we should expect both continuity and discontinuity. That is, some things should remain the same while other things will, and often should, change.
The word translated “new” in “new wine” can refer to that which is fresh. New wine is essentially no different than old wine, yet, because it is new, it will ferment, thus putting pressure on the container in which it is housed. If the container is not able to expand (“change”), it will burst and both its contents and the container will perish. So it is with the gospel of the new covenant. Under the new covenant, the gospel is a fresh fulfilment of the same gospel to which the old covenant pointed; and this “freshness” must be handled with care. To try and “house” it in the old structures of old covenant laws (e.g. dietary restrictions), rituals (circumcision), ceremonies (e.g. Passover), and structures (like the tabernacle) will result in losing the gospel (just ask the Galatian church). Jesus was telling the disciples that change had come with his arrival and that, as God’s people transition from the old covenant to the new covenant, they would need to be careful how they handled the change. Failure to do so would result in the loss of what matters. We can paraphrase: “Handle change wisely and well. Some things need to change while some things must never change.” And when it comes to pastoral transition, essentials must continue, while other things can be (perhaps even should) be discontinued.
When a local church undergoes pastoral transition, it must handle with care. In pastoral succession, the church needs to be mindful of what is a gospel essential and therefore abiding, and what is non-essential and therefore dispensable. Failure to do so may result in losing what matters.
In matters of continuity, the gospel message and ministry are non-negotiable. This is a no-brainer as they say. Relatedly, ministry grounded in biblical theology must continue, as well as biblical exposition, and an emphasis on the Great Commission. But expressions of these essentials might change with a new pastor. Same content, different container. Let me elaborate and illustrate.
The new pastor-teacher must continue to expound the word of God, faithfully declaring the gospel, but he will do so with a different personality. He might be more or less humorous, and he might be more or less demonstrative. He will doubtless have a different accent. Further, his style of ministry may be different. For instance, he may preach more frequently on Sunday evenings, he may lead a Grace Group, and he may do more or less counselling. He might visit in homes more or less. He might administrate better. His ethnicity may be different, his family dynamic may be different. He might even wear skinny jeans!! None of these are problems, unless, of course, those in the congregation (including the elders) make it a problem.
It is axiomatic that people, including church people, do not like change! But change is a part of life, and is a reality of church life. When BBC votes in its next pastor-teacher, it will be voting in change. While not depreciating the former usefulness of the old wineskin, I trust we will appreciate God’s gift of a new wineskin for the faithful preservation of the old wine of the gospel. A motto of the Hays Hills Baptist Church in Texas captures what I have tried to say: “Bringing life-changing hope, to an ever-changing people, through the unchanging gospel.” And most everything else can change.
Continuing until discontinued,
Doug