Oh the smell of Popcorn..

The smell of popcorn brings back so many different memories. I remember when my grandma would make it, she would make it on the stove in a little pan with oil...can you remember that? Then I remember when "jiffy pop" came out. You still made it on the stove but it was in a little pan and as it heated up the foil would grow into a big popcorn looking ball...remember. Then there were the popcorn poppers....what a great invention. But the greatest....microwave popcorn in only a matter of a few minutes..BANG you had a bag of popcorn.

Everyone of those ways could get you the same results...cook it to long and it burned. Oh, I can still remember that smell...what an awful smell. It seem to stay with you a long time. And no matter how you cooked it not every kernel would pop. No matter if you used oil, jiffy pop, the popcorn popper, or even in the microwave...not every kernel would pop....I have always wondered why. Oh and it always amazed me that several kernels would pop almost instantly...others it would be a few more seconds..others longer..and still some would wait until it was going to burn to pop..then finally some just would not pop.

By now you know I am trying to get to a point...I see church the same way as making popcorn. We try so many different ways..and each congregation settles on its own way to " pop the corn"...and no matter what you will always have some that will never pop. So why get upset when people don't like one thing or another, and decide to try another way to grow..or get popped...by going to another congregation? We spend to much time worrying on why people leave..The Christian Chronicle had a big article on the decline of the "churches of Christ." that people are leaving..well maybe they just need another way to grow... and some that complain about everything and hate any change and are always concerned about the old paths...they may be the kernels that will never pop.

Peace.