Articles
Retro Thinking
By definition, something is considered ‘retro’ if it is ‘of or designating the style of an earlier time,’ or, if it is ‘deliberately intended to be like [something] from the recent past.’ In the world of design, retro styling is quite common in the fields of architecture, automobile design, and clothing. The designers in each of these fields are trying to appeal to the consumer or client by drawing on something that is somewhat familiar and comfortable to them, and maybe even something that evokes a pleasant memory of the past. If that happens, the product will likely be accepted well and become popular, but if the design evokes a negative or unpleasant memory, it is likely to be rejected and be a commercial flop.
In the world in which we live, there are individuals whose sole job is to study the buying public and gauge whether such designs will be a success or failure. Often, the costs of production or construction are going to be quite large, so the ones footing the bill want to know ahead of time if it will be worth the investment. If there is any sense that the design is not going over well, the product or planned construction will be scrapped before costs make a dent in the budget and possibly even ruin the company.
The popularity of retro styling and design will likely always remain, as long as someone can get others to recall fond memories and feel comfortable and happier. The designs may change, due to each generation’s memories, but the motive behind these designs and products will always be the same: Give the public a reason to associate good and pleasant memories with the product or design. When the designs and styles do that, they will have achieved their intended goal.
While it may seem like a stretch to some who may be reading this, retro thinking should be the habit of every spiritually-minded individual! How so? Let us take a few minutes and consider why retro thinking can be a good thing, and even some cases where retro thinking is dangerous.
Good Retro Thinking. One does not have to look far or too deeply to see that the public’s view of religion and Christianity has strayed far from the original intent and model of the church Christ established. The Scriptures teach us Christ intended and established only one church (Matt. 16:18; Eph. 4:4; Eph. 1:22, 23), but surveys and studies reveal that there are over 1200 different denominations in this country who identify as ‘Christian,’ and over 41,000 around the world. I may not be a math genius, but even I can see that one is nowhere close to 1200 — much less 41,000. Somewhere along the line, things have drastically changed! I would make the argument that it is time for some retro thinking and get back to what Christ originally intended, with us recognizing the truth that there is only one true church that is His, and then be a part of that church, or become that church.
That would also necessarily require that we practice retro thinking regarding the source of our authority for all we believe, practice, and teach. In the beginning, the apostles taught unbelievers “the gospel” (Mark 16:15) — the story of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and who He was and is (1st Cor. 15:3-8) — and then taught those disciples “to observe all things that [Jesus had] commanded [them]” (Matt. 28:19, 20). The authority for what the first disciples did was God’s word, and human-created creeds were nonexistent. Paul’s admonition to the young evangelist Timothy was simple: “Preach the word!” (2 Tim. 4:2). Faith comes by hearing God’s word (Rom. 10:17) — not by teaching human-created creeds. Again, it is time for some retro thinking where we reject all the creeds of denominations and go back to the pure and simple word of God, the Bible.
Going back to the original intent of Jesus regarding the church would also demand we have each congregation independent of one another, as in the beginning, with its organization [for lack of a better term] limited to elders (1 Tim. 3:1-7) and deacons (1 Tim. 3:8-13), and the elders watching out for the local flock (Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 5:1-4), rather than over other flocks in distant locations. Today, most churches we find have an organization completely foreign to the Scriptures, and individuals appointed to lead whom God never mentioned or approved to lead, and congregations and organizations involved in works never given them to do. It is past time for some retro thinking, where we go back to, and are content with, being the church Christ established, content to be organized as Christ planned, and doing the work its people are to be doing.
Bad Retro Thinking. Not all retro thinking is good, however; that being true, we need to know the difference between the thinking that God desires in us and the thinking that takes us away from God and into a position where we stand condemned. In simple terms, bad retro thinking is the kind that brings us back to thinking as we once thought before we became Christians.
The apostle Paul described this thinking when he reminded the Christians in Ephesus, “you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind” (Eph. 2:1-3). That thinking would be best identified as living “according to the flesh” because we “set [our] minds on the things of the flesh” (Rom. 8:5) and, with such a mindset, “enmity against God” because “it is not subject to the law of God” (Rom. 8:7). This is not the thinking we should have!
The main goal of repentance is having a change of thinking so our lives will then reflect that change. It is why Paul and all others taught the sinner to “repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance” (Acts 26:20); without repentance [a change of heart/mind and thinking], there will be no works that would demonstrate a change has been made. A change must be made, though, for Paul also wrote that all disciples must “put off, concerning your former conduct,…and be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (Eph. 4:22, 23). There can be no renewal if the old man and his thinking still reside in us. Retro thinking, in this case, is not good!
Bad retro thinking also includes the thinking of self, rather than thinking about what God and Christ demand, or thinking about my brother or fellow man. The church at Corinth had a problem with this, for they did not think about their weaker brethren regarding the eating of meats offered to idols (1 Cor. 8), thought nothing of taking one another to public courts for personal retribution (1 Cor. 6:1-8), and thought only of their personal glory when given the spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12, 14). In each and every case Paul addressed, it could be traced back to selfish thinking — certainly not the kind of thinking God desires of His people. The answer to this selfish thinking was, of course, love, for “Love…does not seek its own” (1 Cor. 13:4, 5).
In short, let us make a concerted effort to think as Christ thinks. When Paul wrote, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5), the principl0e applies to every aspect of our lives, as disciples. Truly, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:2). When we do, we will have our minds where they should be. — Steven Harper
