American Idol - Why Change? What can the Church learn?

I watched American Idol last week and noticed several things, all of which involve change. They added a fourth judge, changed the way the final 24 were selected, added a "wildcard round," and finally allowed a 13th finalist.

Why would American Idol change anything? We are talking about the show with the largest viewing audience in the history of network TV. Only the Super Bowl has attracted a larger one night audience. It is off the chart in popularity and without question, successful. Why change? Seems absurd, doesn't it?

American Idol introduced change because the producers understand a simple principle: changing and improving ahead of the moment of necessity creates a healthy environment for growth. In our culture, its too late to change when you have to change. In American Idol's case, they will have lost viewers if they wait to be creative when ratings are low. They will have already switched to the next entertainment excitement.

Apply this to the church. We wait to take a risk, we wait to try something new, we wait to change. We wait. And we wait. We wait until attendance is poor, until income drops, until fear and panic take over.

The church should be ahead of the curve in an effort to be relative. The church should always examine the ways it is offering hope and help, of sharing good news. Waiting is death. Creativity is birth. We are people of the Resurrection. We are Easter people. We are about birth.