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“No one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins.”
— Luke 5:37–38

The Tension of Growth

The moment the Spirit moves, the church faces a choice:
Will we stretch to hold what God is doing, or cling to what’s comfortable?

Jesus’ parable of new wine and new wineskins isn’t about replacing tradition—it’s about making room for transformation.
The problem was never the wine or the skin; it was the mismatch between the two.
When God brings new life, His people must remain flexible enough to hold it.

The Nature of New Wine

New wine is dynamic. It’s alive, expanding, still in process.
The same is true of God’s kingdom life—it ferments with grace and movement.
Old wineskins become brittle when they stop stretching.

In every generation, the Spirit invites the Church to grow, adapt, and reform—not by abandoning what came before, but by rediscovering the living essence of it.

Our challenge isn’t to invent something new, but to keep what’s eternal alive within what’s temporal.

From Linear Tracks to Living Pathways

Traditional discipleship often works like a track: classes, checklists, and committees that move people from one station to the next.
But Jesus didn’t form disciples on a schedule; He formed them on the road.

The early Church grew through parallel pathways—multiple, overlapping channels of growth that met people where they were:

• Home Pathways: house gatherings, meals, family worship.
• Relational Pathways: mentorships, friendships, and small groups.
• Missional Pathways: serving the poor, healing the sick, proclaiming hope.
• Learning Pathways: study, storytelling, and reflection on Scripture.

Each pathway flowed into the others, creating a living ecosystem of growth.

When the Church becomes a network of pathways instead of a set of programs, discipleship becomes both personal and multiplying.

Leading with Flexibility

The new wineskin is not chaos—it’s capacity.
It’s structure that stretches.

A healthy church doesn’t fear change; it fears stagnation.
It listens for the Spirit’s direction, honors tradition, but refuses to idolize method.
It keeps its shape only so long as that shape serves the life inside.

🕍 A Living Institution: Wineskins That Serve the Spirit

Some people hear talk of new wineskins and ask,
“Tom, what does this mean for the church as we know it—the building, the committees, the nominating process, and even the 501(c)(3)?”

The answer: I’m not calling for the wineskins to be thrown away, but for them to stay alive and flexible.

The institutional church is not the problem—it’s the wineskin.
Its boards, bylaws, and budgets were created to protect and support the life of the Spirit, never to replace it.

When structure begins to serve itself, it becomes brittle.
When it serves the Spirit’s movement, it stretches beautifully.

The building remains sacred, not because of walls or schedules, but because it’s where the sent gather before they’re sent again.
It’s not a monument to ministry—it’s a basecamp for mission.

Committees and nominating teams can become spaces of holy discernment when they focus on recognizing spiritual gifts rather than simply filling slots.
Imagine if every agenda began with this question:

“Where is the Spirit already at work, and how can we support it?”

Even the 501(c)(3)—the legal and administrative framework—becomes a tool for freedom rather than a fence.
It safeguards the church’s witness, enables generosity, and gives stability.
But it must never dictate the boundaries of our calling.

The Church Alive honors the wineskin as long as it remains pliable in the hands of the Spirit.
Our structures matter—but only if they serve the life within them.

🌱 Living It Out: Cultivating New Wineskins

This vision only matters if it takes on form in daily ministry.
Here’s how to cultivate structures that stay flexible and faithful:

🏡 Home Pathways: Worship and Welcome

• Encourage families to treat their homes as house-churches—centers of worship, learning, and hospitality.
• Offer simple Sabbath table liturgies, prayer moments, and family devotion guides.
• Let home life become the seedbed of discipleship, not its rival.

🤝 Relational Pathways: Connection and Mission

• Form small circles of 3–4 people who meet regularly to ask:
  “What is God teaching you right now, and how can we support that?”
• Keep the circle porous, open to new relationships and needs, so that discipleship keeps breathing—connection in, mission out.

🌍 Missional Pathways: Grace in Motion

• Encourage every ministry to find its outward rhythm:
  • Worship → Serve
  • Fellowship → Witness
  • Learning → Application
• When the inward experience of grace naturally leads to outward action, the church’s lungs are healthy.

📖 Learning Pathways: Truth Shared in Love

• Move from information to formation—teach for transformation, not completion.
• Pair biblical learning with service and reflection, so truth becomes lived wisdom.
• Celebrate growth as spiritual fruit, not program attendance.

🙏 Prayer for the Church Alive

“Holy Spirit, stretch us to hold what You are pouring out.
Keep our structures supple, our leaders humble,
and our ministries rooted in love.
May every committee, classroom, and conversation
become a living wineskin for Your grace.”

👣 Coming Next:

Discipleship on the Move: Pathways for Growth and Grace
The Church was never meant to stay still. In Part 4, we’ll explore how growth happens along the road—discipleship that’s relational, reproducible, and alive in motion.