“Water is a liquid that fills the shape of any receptacle. As long as we trust the water and don’t tamper with the recipe—don’t dilute it, thicken it, or separate its ingredients—the content can remain the same while containers change… I am a virtual fundamentalist about content. I am a virtual libertarian about containers. Only in Jesus the Christ did the container and content become one. Jesus’ comments about new wine in old wineskins remind us that we cannot make an idolatry of any form or container. We must not elevate an ecclesial form to the level of authority or primacy that belongs only to the content… The mystery of the gospel is this: It is always the same (content), and it is always changing (containers). In fact, for the gospel to remain the same, it has to change… In fact, one of the ways you know the old, old truths are true is their ability to assume amazing and unfamiliar shapes while remaining themselves and without compromising their integrity.”

Len Sweet