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Scripture
Ezra 3:12-13 (NIV) 12 But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. 13 No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.

Observation
It should have been a day of rejoicing. For most it was. After decades in captivity and exile, God's people were not only allowed to return to their homeland, but they were also encouraged, commissioned, and resourced by their former captor to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. What amazing provision from God! It had to seem like a dream to them until this moment, when the foundation for the new temple was laid.

I grew up in a builder's home spending a lot of my childhood at construction sites. I've seen many projects from the very beginning, when there was nothing but a field or wooded lot. The land gets cleared, the ground leveled, and the survey stakes for where the foundation will go are set up. All of this is great and it's progress, but there's something special about the footing for the building being poured. Up to that point, the whole building can be easily moved, redesigned, or stopped altogether. Besides some cleared land and some stakes, it's still more of an idea than something permanent. But, when the concrete footing is poured, it says "this project is for real." You can walk inside the boundaries of the footing. You can imagine the walls. You can stand where the front door is going to be and imagine looking out into your front yard. I got to experience all of these thoughts for myself when in 1997 I designed and built my first house. Even though I had seen and even worked on dozens of buildings, this one was different. This was MY HOME. The day the footing went down was a special day indeed.

For many of the people who witnessed this day in the life of the nation of Israel, it was also a day of rejoicing. No wonder... what had been destroyed was now going to be rebuilt, and the people would once more have a place to live out the covenant relationship with Yahweh that bound their people together since the time of Moses.

For one group though, it was a bitter and sad moment. Why? This group was old enough to remember the splendor of the original temple of Solomon. The new temple was going to be built on the same spot, on the same foundation, and out of many of the same materials, but it was not the same. It would not have the ornateness of the old temple. It was surrounded by a destroyed and desolate city, a shadow of Jerusalem's former splendor. The temple of Solomon represented a time when Israel was a powerful, united people that dominated the Middle Eastern world. This temple would be built by a divided people, a remnant, still under Babylonian rule, with the shame and stigma of centuries of breaking the covenant God had made with them. No wonder they wept.

Both groups of people were seeing the exact same event. Yet their reactions were completely different. Why? It was all a matter of perspective.

First, both reactions were completely valid. The younger generation had not experienced what was, and therefore could not relate to the sense of loss. The older generation could be happy for God's blessing of the moment, but the profound sense of loss for them was very real and very justified. Things would never be the same as they once were. Still over 2,000 years later, Israel remains far from God and has suffered greatly for their rejection of the Messiah.

As we endeavor to redefine "church"... to reconnect it back to the mission Jesus gave her... to engage culture as Christ did without compromising the message... many of our churches will have an experience similar to this one. There will be those who are recently converted or rechurched who will love everything we are doing. They will rejoice and think it's the greatest thing they've ever experienced. And why not... they either have known nothing else, or come from a past church experience that was irrelevant or even painful. There will also be those who will mourn. They will remember the church as it once was... the grand steeples, stained glass, green backed Broadman hymnals, choirs, Sunday Schools, the church fish fry, "Sunday go-to-meetin'" clothes, and more. This is where my own parents are. For this generation everything many of us rejoice in will be painful and sad... a reminder that their time on the stage is passing, and that things in the world will never again be the way they once were.

Yet, if this world is to see the Second Reformation... if Christ's church is to finish the work that was started by Luther and Calvin and Zwingli... change we must.

Application
I know that my calling is to lead churches to become the living, healthy, vibrant local expressions of the body of Christ that Jesus intended them to be. Whether that is transitioning a church like Emmanuel or leading a church to reach more of the unchurched and dechurched in the community, this is a scene that I will see many times. What it calls for is love and grace. I must set the example by loving both groups completely, authentically, and unconditionally. Both perspectives are valid from each group's experience. By setting the example myself, I can lead both groups to love, appreciate, and respect the other. That is the key to a church either transitioning successfully or ripping itself apart in the process. It starts with love, and then moves to granting each other enough grace to appreciate a different perspective. In the end the group that reveres the past will have the toughest time, because we cannot reach today's generation by going backward. To fulfill God's dream for His church we must move forward. But we can do so in love, with grace, celebrating the contributions of the past and recognizing the necessity for new methods that will reach a new generation. May God grant me the wisdom, the grace, and the capacity to love necessary to lead whatever church I am serving through this process.

Prayer
Father I can only do this through your power and your gifts at work in my life. Teach me, shape me, prepare me, guide me. I want to pour myself out as an offering to you, leading your church to the best of the ability you give me. Amen.