At the start of every year people who keep track of trends publish a list of things that are trendy along with a list of things that have become passe'. One of the things I continue to struggle with in my own faith journey is the temptation to jump on the latest bandwagon of the latest trend when it comes to the church. Rather than taking the time to stop and pray about if this is right for the church or for my life it is easier to try to grab a hold of the latest trend to see if it will work. In most cases I have found such an approach to have excitement for a while but the long lasting results of that style is really short lived.
It is easy to give into the temptation of the moment because it is right in front of you and can be had for a minimal amount of effort. But if long lasting results are what I desire (and i do) then I have discovered I have failed miserably at the overall goal. Trend jumping from latest gimmick to the next great thing that comes along only takes away energy that could be used in more productive areas.
Rather than jump from trend to trend I have discovered the need to put an idea to prayer rather than jump into a program or idea headfirst. This helps me to seek the direction of God for this idea along with allowing the excitement for the project level out so a more balanced decision can be made rather than on just emotion alone. Praying about such an idea also gives me the time to share this idea with some other people to see how they respond to it and see if God is leading them to make such a commitment to the project. It is much easier to move forward with others on board for a project rather than try to push others to get on board an idea they have not had time to think about.
Patience is needed on my part because if something is long lasting it will stand the test of time rather than just go out as last year's hot idea.