he XFL. Do you remember it? I didn't until I had a "whatever happened to . . ." moment while driving to an evening class in Baltimore, Maryland. I was listening to a news radio station. The featured story mentioned the September beginning of the National Football League season in the United States and was an interview with the new coach of the Washington Redskins, Steve Spurrier. My immediate thought was: Wow, it's football season already? It seems like the Super Bowl was last Sunday. Has football become a yearlong sport?

Of course, I realized that there was an off-season--even though Redskins fans rant on and on about football year-round. Then I had my moment. I recalled that the XFL, an extreme football league, was supposed to "fill in" the gap left during the NFL's off-season. Whatever happened to that league? In the next instant I remembered. It died.

Up and Down
The XFL's first televised game, on February 3, 2001, broke records. In the ratings game, the target for opening night was between 4.0 and 4.5. The actual rating was 9.5 (according to archived news releases on www.xflboard.com), making it the highest-rated Saturday night on NBC since September 30, 2000. But the weeks passed, interest waned, and the ratings dropped. At the end of the season NBC declined to continue its partnership with the fledgling league, and the XFL folded after just one season.

Pages could be filled as to the reasons why the XFL didn't work. Print media in 2001 was, at one time, flooded with articles and analysis. But that would now be a waste of space, because the bottom line is that it didn't continue to deliver what people wanted or needed.

Closer to Home
The XFL reminds me of ministries in our church. In the beginning all the research is done, all the are plans made, and out comes a wonderful ministry from which we hope many people will meet Jesus and be blessed. And people do meet Jesus. They are blessed. But then interest eventually and inevitably wanes-society shifts, and interests and needs change. The ministry dies.

Don't get me wrong: our message and our mission are ever constant. We must not tamper with them. But just as we must keep our mission and message determined, it is imperative that our ministerial efforts stay dynamic. Times change. So must our ministries.

Here's an example--one of many I could share. When I was young it was perfectly acceptable to hand out tracts with all the scary images of Revelation emblazoned across the glossy pages, inviting people to find out what it (life and hell) all means. Times were simpler (and life less graphic), and these images pulled people in. They attended the seminars that uncovered prophetic doom and startled them into realizing that they needed the salvation Jesus offers. Many gave their lives to Christ. It worked, and worked well.

The same is not true today. We've been so inundated with horrific images, from present-day films, television shows, and books for adults and children to terrible images of death and terrorism, that the flashy brochures and eerie topic listings wouldn't cause more than a brief glance from most. But would images of friendship, comfort, and unity work? Not only would they work; they do. Just flip through a magazine or watch prime-time television for a little bit, and you'll see. Or talk to your pastor and find out how popular and important friendship evangelism is today.

In the realm of sports there are fans who believe the XFL could still work. They continue to pine for the deceased league, putting lots of information on Web sites, trying to get interest to generate again. I can say to them, with assurance, "Folks, it ain't gonna happen. When it's over, it's over. Let it go."

Jesus did not stubbornly stick to one method or way to reach people. He used harsh words in the Temple, gentle compassion with Mary Magdalene, reason and logic with the Pharisees, and friendship with His disciples. And if Christ would have been on the earth long enough for the cyclical changes of time, I'm sure He would have found new ways to share His message and His love.

So to those in our church still doggedly trying to use tired-out approaches to ministry and evangelism instead of prayerfully looking for new or updated methods, I say: "When it's over, it's over. Let it go. Let's move on. Let's move up."

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Kimberly Luste Maran is an assistant editor of the Adventist Review.