The Stigma of Tradition
The American Heritage College Dictionary defines “tradition” as “a mode of thought or behavior followed by a people continuously from generation to generation.” Traditions represent a wonderful piece of one’s culture, but holding too tightly to them can also prevent change and progress.
Consider these statements from Jim Cymbala’s Fresh Power –
“We are probably organized far too much. The early church had a beautiful spontaneity and freshness, without being chaotic or disorderly.
“What often holds us back is what I call ‘cultural religion’ — our blind devotion to the way we were raised in church and the atmosphere we experienced every Sunday. Are we making such an impact on the world for God that we can’t humble ourselves in prayer for a change in the status quo? Revival comes when people get dissatisfied with what is and yearn deeply for what could be.“
Many churches today are trying to counter this staleness within the church with grand state of the art facilities complete with coffee shops, elaborate indoor playgrounds, and innovative lighting and audio visual systems. Personally, I think all of these elements are great, but they are not the key to reaching the unchurched and developing the churched spiritually.
“Now, worship is the missing jewel in modern evangelicalism. We’re organized; we work; we have our agendas. We have almost everything, but there’s one thing that the churches, even the gospel churches, do not have: that is the ability to worship. We are not cultivating the art of worship.” – A.W. Tozer in Worship: The Missing Jewel
from my notebook 