The Myth of the Good Old Days
Every church has a version of it.
That season when things were full, exciting, growing. The choir robes were pressed. The Sunday school rooms were packed. The offering plates were heavy. It felt like God was really at work.
We call it “the good old days.”
And if we are not careful, we will spend the rest of our ministry trying to get back there.
Memory Is a Gift. But Nostalgia Can Be a Trap.
There’s nothing wrong with remembering the past. We are supposed to honor those who came before us. We are supposed to celebrate faithfulness.
But when the past becomes the standard, and the present becomes a disappointment, we stop seeing what God is doing now.
We become like the Israelites who wanted to go back to Egypt—not because it was better, but because it was familiar.
Nostalgia can blind us.
It makes the past seem easier than it was, and the present feel harder than it is.
Churches That Live in the Past Die in the Present
I have seen churches waste decades chasing a memory.
They run the same playbook, hoping for the same results. They tweak the music, revive old events, and double down on tradition—not because it’s working, but because it reminds them of when things felt alive.
But God does not call us to recreate the past. He calls us to be faithful now.
And sometimes, faithfulness means letting go of how it used to be.
You Can Honor the Past Without Idolizing It
The past should shape us, not define us.
It gives us roots. But it cannot be our destination.
You can celebrate what God did without assuming He will do it the same way again.
You can honor the people who built the church without assuming their methods still reach your community.
You can love the memories without being stuck in them.
What Is God Doing Right Now?
If we want to be a healthy church today, we have to ask fresh questions:
Who is in our community now?
What are the real needs we are called to meet?
Where are we seeing signs of spiritual hunger?
What new thing might God be inviting us to be part of?
He Is Still the God of Today
Focusing only on the past does more than stall our mission—it minimizes God's power.
Isaiah reminds us that “the arm of the Lord is not shortened” (Isaiah 59:1).
God is not just the God of yesterday’s revival or tomorrow’s return. He is the God of today. And when we act like His greatest works are behind us, we are not being reverent—we are being faithless.
We do not honor Him by shrinking our expectations.
We honor Him by believing that He can still move in power, still change hearts, still awaken His church, and still reach the lost.
Longing for the Harvest Can Make Us Miss the Planting
Most of the seasons we romanticize were harvest seasons. The fruit was visible. The pews were full. The work felt worth it. But what we often forget is that those seasons were built on decades of planting, watering, and slow, faithful obedience.
When we get stuck longing for a past harvest, we can miss the soil God has placed in front of us now. We waste the preparation season by wishing it was still harvest time.
But if we plant now—if we water now—He can bring a harvest again.
We just have to stop looking backward long enough to start working forward.
Let’s stop longing for the good old days—and start listening for what the Spirit is doing right now.