World's Oldest Blogger

Olive Riley, reputedly the world's oldest blogger, died in a nursing home on the NSW's central coast on Saturday. 

Olive was born in 1899, lived through enormous change, and championed causes - such as saving the business of the local hydroponic lettuce grower!!!

What causes some to embrace change while others fear change? Why do some look forward to the future while others harken back to the "good ol' days"?

I suspect that the reasons are complex and link aptitude, personality, life experience and opportunity.

There is much about traditional, institutional church - fossilised and battling change - that signals a use-by-date that is not far away.  But church planting movements, adaptive methods and dynamic movements give me hope.  The answers do not lie in complex plans but in simple, reproducible fundamentals.  I've tried to implement that in my recent church planting ventures.  Now the challenge lies in translating these principles to my current local church community - which is slightly older than Olive Riley.

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Comments

[Adam (tassieboy)]

I'd like to think that I will be like Olive when I'm that age. I have the example of the elderly people in my own church, who have accepted a lot of major change over the last few years.

[Paul]

Couldn't agree more, Adam.

I think we may do our seniors a disservice if we imply that they are inflexible and resistant to change. After all, when you consider the changes they've faced over their lifetimes, who could be more experienced in incorporating change?

In my experience, resistance to change is not age or gender specific.