OUTSDE THE CAR

Since Henry Ford rolled out the first Model T cars have evolved in safety. Seat belts, first then air bags. Did you know that car fronts of been re-engineered to help pedestrians bounce up instead of getting knocked down when hit? I didn't know this. And I am glad I have never had the experience to test the engineering from either side of the car-pedestrian equation.

Now there is a call for car makers to install air bags on hoods to protect cyclists. You got it! A cyclists hits the hood and a airbag deploys cushioning the impact. I wonder if they will take into account the deployment velocity. It may reduce the injuries from car impacts, but it may increase injuries of cyclists launched, who knows where, when the bag deploys. Or, it may result in the first cyclists to orbit the earth.

Here is my real point. Cars have stayed basically the same since the Model T. They have wheels (usually four), a chaise, a body, seats, steering wheel, etc..., but they have dramatically changed. Automakers are always looking of ways to adapt the basic car to the newness of the environment in which the car must function. Functionally it remains the same, but it's form changes. It still, basically, moves a person from point A to B, but the way and speed it makes that journey has transitioned.

I wonder if this might apply to churches? They need to maintain the integrity of their foundations, but adapt to the new environment. I think, I think, that if some church leaders where in the car business they would still be manufacturing Model T's and declaring it sound doctrine.