All the church leaders I know consider themselves flexible, innovative, forward-thinking. So do I. We North Americans, after all, have an image to uphold as pioneering spirits. If there's a job to do, and if some creative adjustment is necessary to accomplish it, well, we'll do it.

We like to joke about the crusty folk who resist change by invoking the seven last words of the church: "We've never done it that way before" or the more acceptable modern paraphrase, "We tried that before; it didn't work."

We like to consider ourselves immune to such primitive prejudices. Yet in my more honest moments, I find I resist some changes as much as anyone.

Years ago, I heard Fred Craddock tell of being parked at the curb, waiting for his wife to finish shopping, and seeing a young woman in her late twenties sitting in the next car, dabbing at her eyes with a Kleenex.

"I didn't know why she was crying," said Fred, "but I had time, and ...