Dead leaves

We were driving to church on Sunday morning. The route we usually takes includes a section of road around our city park. As we drove by, we noticed that lots of the trees -- even in January -- still had their leaves. Not live leaves, but dead, brown, ugly leaves.

Steve noticed them and wondered why trees would still have their leaves. I assume some species, like what we used to call "pin oaks" maintain their dead leaves through the winter.

It does make one wonder, though. Why would a tree keeps its dead leaves?

I wonder if our churches sometimes hold onto dead leaves, just out of a reluctance to let go of something that used to be green and lush. Do we do that? Do we hang onto traditions, locations, programs, or rules just because they used to work? Are they hanging on the "branches" of our churches, dead but unreleased?

Do we look rather silly as the seasons pass when we don't let go?