The Forty-Year-Old Box of Jell-o

A couple of weeks ago, two of our fantastic volunteers at church, Miriam and Pat, were cleaning out our food pantry in the office. Church food pantries require cleaning out periodically or else you end up with a closet full of canned beets. I don't believe anybody actually eats canned beats, so they get donated quite often. After all, the thinking goes, if the people that come to the pantry are hungry enough, they should eat what they get. At one point, Miriam asked me if Jell-O goes bad. She showed me a box of Jell-O that was in the pantry. There wasn't a date on it , but the box looked awfully old. Then we found the offer on the back. Ge $.50 if you buy 12 boxes. Must be postmarked by April 22, 1968!

Now I don't know if that box has been in our pantry for the past 40 years or if someone donated a forty-year-old box of Jell-O. I do know that I plan on keeping this box of Jell-O on my desk for as long as I stay in church ministry. It's a great reminder that we are not ministering in the 1960's anymore. It sounds obvious, but it's easy to forget, especially in a hundred-year old church that had its heydays in the 60's and 70's. We long to go back to there. Heck, I wasn't even around then and sometimes I even long for it! But what we did in the 60's does not touch people of the 21st century with the power of the gospel. 1960's strategies will not transform society and culture in 2009.

It's easy to say "We have some beets and Jell-O (it doesn't go bad does it?) Let's mix it up and serve it. If they're hungry enough, they'll take it." But we're finding out the hard way that they won't and our message of hop is being lost on those that are turning up their nose at our Jell-O and beet salad. May I always be reminded by my 1968 box of Jell-O.