Parable: The Stainless Steel Church
The Chairman of the Administrative Board called the meeting to order. “We have a problem,” he announced gravely, “with mice. They
are gnawing holes in the wood and getting into the church.”
The innovator had an unusual idea. “If we tore down the old church and built a new one out of stainless steel, the mice couldn’t gnaw
their way in.”
The early adopter saw the advantages. “We would certainly be in the forefront of all the churches in our conference in using this new
material to build a church. Just think: it would never rust, never need painting, and last forever.”
The middle adopter was practical. “Wouldn’t it be very hard to work with steel as a building material? You’d have to weld everything.
And it wouldn’t be cheap.”
The late adopter was nostalgic. “I would miss the old church of wood. It seems so comfortable and warm to me. Wouldn’t steel be
expensive to heat in winter?”
The laggard harrumphed. “My sister has too many cats on her farm. I’ll bring one over tomorrow and it won’t cost us a nickel.”
“Well, I see we’ve solved that problem,” the chair noted. “Now, on to the next problem.”
The Chairman of the Administrative Board called the meeting to order. “We have a problem,” he announced gravely, “with mice. They
are gnawing holes in the wood and getting into the church.”
The innovator had an unusual idea. “If we tore down the old church and built a new one out of stainless steel, the mice couldn’t gnaw
their way in.”
The early adopter saw the advantages. “We would certainly be in the forefront of all the churches in our conference in using this new
material to build a church. Just think: it would never rust, never need painting, and last forever.”
The middle adopter was practical. “Wouldn’t it be very hard to work with steel as a building material? You’d have to weld everything.
And it wouldn’t be cheap.”
The late adopter was nostalgic. “I would miss the old church of wood. It seems so comfortable and warm to me. Wouldn’t steel be
expensive to heat in winter?”
The laggard harrumphed. “My sister has too many cats on her farm. I’ll bring one over tomorrow and it won’t cost us a nickel.”
“Well, I see we’ve solved that problem,” the chair noted. “Now, on to the next problem.”
| Source: Seminar Two: Dialogue http://www.disciplewalk.com/Resources.html |