The year 2008 may go down in history as the year of television reruns. First we had the writer’s strike which forced us all to readjust our viewing habits. As soon as the strike was over it seemed we were into the summer siesta season with a choice between B-grade new shows or reruns of our favorites. And now there are rumors of an actor’s strike putting fear into all of our television-viewing hearts. With all of that, it sometimes seems as if there’s nothing new under the sun. Perhaps King Solomon was prophesying television when he wrote that in Ecclesiastes!

Some reruns stand the test of time: great moments in television history are lodged in our collective brains and pop out at odd times. You know what I mean! If I say “Marsha, Marsha, Marsha” we all picture Jan Brady. Say the words “Lucy and Ethel” and a host of sights and sounds flood our minds, including the lame remake of their show they attempted years later. Whole seasons of Seinfeld have become quotable conversation in everyday life. Current shows have a new life as reruns, too. For instance, let us take a moment to ponder the many classic episodes of The Office available for our quoting and viewing pleasure! I have never looked at a George Foreman Grill the same again.

Although reruns can entertain us, provide us with quotable moments and offer an odd sense of stability in a swiftly changing world, we also long for new territory. We want to meet new characters, hear new dialogues, see a plot line move forward. That’s why cliff hangers work so well at the end of a season. “Please, Jim, take the ring back out of your pocket!!!!” We are wired for the excitement and thrill of a new episode. Erwin McManus, in his new book Wide Awake, recently talked about getting stuck in “reruns” in our lives. We stop dreaming and begin living in the same patterns over and over.

Many of us need reinvented lives. We are living a rerun, and we need fresh stories, maybe some new characters to enter our story. When you get up in the morning, maybe you feel that your life is just a show waiting to be canceled, an endless rerun with worn-out story lines and superficial characters.

If you’re going to engage in a journey with God, if you are going to follow the God who created you, if you’re going to explore mysterious, dangerous, unknown, uncertain places — then you nee to know how to reinvent yourself. You have to learn how to adapt.

Those words caused me to stop and think about the reruns in my life, both literal and metaphorical. Ask yourself a few questions today as you think about your own adventure in the kingdom.

  1. Am I stuck in a comfortable episode with a known outcome? Is this just a short summer break or a lifetime habit?
  2. Is God planting a new storyline in my life? Do I feel a tug to a greater adventure growing inside?
  3. Has God, perhaps, been sending you script after script while you download past seasons off iTunes?
  4. What about your church: churches as individuals and the church as a whole can also get stuck in reruns. Are you relying on what worked in the past, when a new generation is seeking a plotline worthy of their lifetime devotion?
  5. Does the community around you view you as a culture-influencer, or just a guardian of the sacred reruns?
  6. Are you awake?

This post is part of Watercooler Wednesday at Randy Elrod’s place. Enjoy your Wednesday, everyone! David and I are flying back to Boston for a family funeral and — oddly — a friend’s restaurant opening. And maybe a little tie on the lake!