Traditions! What Traditions?

We have been having tons of discussion on traditions and how we utilize it today in the church. Some people even say that we need to remove tradition from the church completely or change our traditions for the sake of change. For one we will never remove tradition completely from any aspect of our lives. Let me give you a very simple example of this fact. Do you shower in the morning, afternoon, evening or not at all? This is your tradition, it may change periodically or even be random sometimes but it is still a tradition.

The dictionary defines the word tradition like this:
- the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, etc., from generation to generation, esp. by word of mouth or by practice: a story that has come down to us by popular tradition
- a long-established or inherited way of thinking or acting: The rebellious students wanted to break with tradition
- a continuing pattern of culture beliefs or practices
- Theology
* (among Jews) body of laws and doctrines, or any one of them, held to have been received from Moses and originally handed down orally from generation to generation.
* (among Christians) a body of teachings, or any one of them, held to have been delivered by Christ and His apostles but not originally committed to writing
* (among Muslims) a hadith

One thing that I am constantly cautioning myself about related to traditions is not to condemn something just because it is a tradition in the church. While I could not agree more that we can not allow traditions to become more important than the gospel, tradition in itself is not a bad thing. For example, every year at Christmas our family get together to exchange gifts and have a very large and I do mean very large meal. That is a tradition and it is not bad at all. However, when I was growing up we always went to my grandmothers house on both sides on our family. Since that time both of my grandmothers have passed away. Those traditions has evolved into the new tradition of meeting at my parents home and with Ronna’s parents at their home. All traditions, not a single one of them bad, yet we did not forsake ourselves or our family when the tradition was changed. I think it would be very awkward to knock on the door of my grandmothers house in Pasadena on Christmas Day and walk in on the family living there now.

My first point is this, tradition itself is not bad, we all have them and we follow them. However, we can not allow these to become the single driving force in our lives and we should never condemn someone for having a tradition that is different from our own. Some people open all their gifts on Christmas Eve and they have what Santa brought on Christmas morning. Others open a single gift on Christmas Eve and then everything thing else on Christmas morning. Still others wait until Christmas morning to open everything. Which of these traditions is right? If someone does it different do we tell them it is a sin and wrong or do we simply accept them for what they are, traditions?

Second, we don’t have to change tradition if there is nothing wrong with it. To put it simply if it is not broken, don’t fix it. I know at some point in the future my entire family will be coming to our home on Christmas Day and we will have to share time with our kids spouses families. If I declared that time to be this year it would cause some issues within our family. Does this sound familiar to anyone? The changes will happen when the time is right and when circumstances dictate.

Third, we don’t have to make a complete 180 degree turn all at once. A great example of this is with Ronna’s family on Christmas Eve. When we first started dating we met at Ronna’s great grandmothers home in Baytown, over time that visit got shorter and we would all migrate over to Ronna’s grandmothers home. Again over the year that tradition have shifted to her parents home. Sometimes it is just better to mix it up, to take some of the new in with the old and to enjoy both. I know it did not matter whose house we went to or even how long we stayed, there was always good food and good company.

So what do all these Christmas stories have to do with the church? Well for one, our church family has some traditions. We like to meet on Sunday mornings at 9:30 AM (9:00 for donuts and coffee). We like to host bible class first followed by the morning assembly (Big Church) at 10:30. In our Communion Service we like to use the larger crackers and break them ourselves, and we like to drink out of individual little cups. We like to use an overhead projector for our song service instead of holding those heavy books. We like to have the A/C running during the summer time and the heater on in the winter. We like to have our preacher lead a sermon from the pulpit (preferably 25-30 min-sometimes longer). I could go on and on all of these items are traditions. We do not need to change them for the sake of changing them but we must realize that they will change over time and both scenarios are good.

Right now we are undergoing one of those times in the church when we have a very active, strong and motivated group of young people that are pushing for change (like this have never happened before). I was born in the 60’s but I did not live through them, but I have heard rumors. Anyway, the point is we, as a church, must examine each of these new traditions and determine what the impact will be on the old tradition. We must take the focus off ourselves and seek advice and guidance from the only source we can trust, our Heavenly Father.

Go back and read Matthew 6, Jesus in teaching His first disciples to pray used these words.

'Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
'Your kingdom come
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.

God’s will for our lives will be fulfilled here on earth, if we will seek Him and allow His Spirit to work in us it will be much easier. Some traditions will not change, now is not the time. But, if it is the time don’t you think God is strong enough to make it happen no matter how hard we may fight it? It done not mean we have to abandon all of our traditional or that we have to implement all the new traditions. Shouldn’t it be a good mixture of existing with new and a deep fulfillment in enjoying both. What a wonderful example of this very issue in our music. How many times has a new artist recorded an old song to give it new life. Once the new recording is out how many of us have gone back to the original recording and listened to it again? It sounded like new to us, we could enjoy it like it was the first time we have ever heard it, and we could bring it to our kids and let them hear it for the first time. Except when they heard it they liked the new version and you still preferred the original. Good news, both of you are right and better news, both of these songs can bring joy to all of us or glory to God.

My prayer for all of our traditions is that God will use them for His glory, both the older ones and the newer ones.

"Lean In"

“Lean in”, I heard that little phrase about 100 times yesterday. What does it mean? In the setting I was in, it meant to pay attention to what is going on in our corporate surroundings and to not be afraid to step out and take a chance. It means to not stay still, but to do something, even if it is as simple as asking a question. This phrase was given to me yesterday by Trey Davis. Trey is my manager up two levels, he came down from Plano to meet with our team and to give us a little bit of hope in these troubled times and tough economy. I drove up to Tomball for the meeting and met with my manager (RC Duron), Trey and several other members of our team. It was a great meeting followed by lunch and some very good conversation. However, as I was driving home the thought that kept hitting me was “lean in”.

This morning I am looking into some online training courses offered by the company, these will help me to become more marketable to the company as well as help me personally and professionally by achieving some certifications. I am also checking on how I can be more involved in the team from work, sometimes for me this is a challenge as I have been working either remote or from a customer site for almost 10 years. RC is very good and pulling me in and making sure that I am leaning in when I need to, like a coach or a mentor. These men are looking out for the interest of the team, by making sure each member of the team is engaged and growing.

The single thought that I keep coming back to is, “am I “leaning in” to God and His Church?” You see like Trey and RC, I know God is working behind the scenes in our lives to help us grow and stay engaged, he only asks us to “lean in”.

Consider Hebrews 10:19-25 19Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

The text here is talking about us “drawing near”, “holding fast”, “stimulate one another” and “meeting together” that sure sounds a lot like “leaning in” to me. The book of James also tells us that if we will draw near to God, He will draw near to us (James 4:8). I have heard it said many times that if you feel far away from God, it is not because He moved.

My point is this, I really don’t care about little insignificant complaints, or people being offended by something that is not a matter of salvation. If God had really cared about these things He would have spelled out every detail of them in Acts, like He did in Deuteronomy. Jesus fulfilled the law of Moses, which means that the legal details no longer matter. God want to have a relationship with you, not a legal, binding contract set of rules to be followed without putting your heart into it. He did not call us to check each box as we go through our lives, He called us to be “living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship” Romans 12:1-ff.

Lean in, draw near, spend some time getting to know God and getting to know your brothers and sisters in our congregation. The new covenant is all about relationships, not rules. Lean in, trust that God will give you what you need to be successful and happy. Lean in, join a life group or find a ministry that you can get excited about. Lean in, volunteer to help with Monday Night for the Master or the Youth Group activities. It can be as simple as just asking a question or playing softball with us. You might find as I did, that you have some real friends in this group of people. Just lean in and find out for yourself.

Remodeling by God

As many of you already know, we are having the repairs done on our house caused by Ike. Yes, it has been about 7 months but when you are seeking approval from State Farm it can take a little while, that is another story.

Today, we have several crews in our home working on everything from painting to replacing flooring. The thing is that these guys get to know every flaw we have in our house. From the uneven floors to the crooked and dented walls to the scratches to the just dirty (it gets very dirty behind a stove that has not moved in 11 years). The point is, while this entire process is painful, uncomfortable and sometimes embarrassing, it is necessary to complete the repairs. The same is true in our lives with God. For example; if we are not willing to tear out the old floor and spend a little time working on the foundation, the new floor is not going to be smooth and functional. In our walk with God it might look something more like this: if we are not willing to forgive and accept people for their differences now, then how are we going to get along with them in heaven?

Patrick Mead refers to these people as his “Samaritans”. We all have them, they are the people that we just don’t get along with. For the Jews of the old testament Samaritans were considered less than dogs, they did not even travel across Samaritan territory or eat food from Samaritan markets or homes. We most likely have Samaritans in many forms, they may have a different color skin than we do, they may not like the same sports teams that I do, or they may just choose to worship God differently than I do. What lesson was Jesus teaching us in John chapter 4 about how we should treat others? What can we do to start following this teaching of Jesus?

I find it very interesting that John dedicated 42 verses to this story about a woman from Samaria. We should read it very carefully and reexamine ourselves and the way we treat our own personal Samaritans. If we had been sitting there with Jesus, would we have started a conversation with this woman? Would we have whispered to Jesus about how “unclean” she was as a Samaritan and how much better we were? Would we have asked her to leave or would we have even noticed her? Thank God that our savior is Jesus Christ and He does not discard us so easily.

I would challenge everyone to think about John chapter 4 the next time someone different walks into our lives? Think about how Jesus would respond to them, and simply be like Jesus. This same principle can apply to so many things, from the use instrumental music and the clapping of hands, to the use of videos during the sermon. What about utilizing a praise team? Raising your hands to Gods glory during a song?

I will not even attempt to bring up all the issues that have become Samaritans to us over the years, but I will ask each and every person to take a look at your own heart. Do you see anything in your life that could use a little remodeling? Do we have any cracks in our foundation that need to be repaired? We have the best general contractor anywhere in Jesus, He will not condemn us for our flaws, He will simply treat us as He treated the woman from Samaria at the well. Jesus did not approve of her lifestyle, he simply loved her and showed her a better way, that way is His way.

“Church Buildings”- Tools or Temples?

Ronna and I were driving the other day just talking when the thought hit me, are we using our buildings as tools for God, or are they just temples for us. I can remember as a much younger person the debate over remodeling the tiny kitchen in the building of our home congregation. Some people did not think that the churches funds should be used for updating a kitchen that was at best too small and inadequate. Others thought about what a bigger and more functional kitchen could be used for. Now this is a novel concept, God made the world, money and dishwashers and ovens are in the world, so they must be ok with God.

It is not the kitchen that created the issue, everyone on both sides of the debate had a kitchen in their home and that was good for them. The debate was over what was the proper use of the church building, or as my grandmother used to call it, the church house.

We have always been very touchy about the whole concept of speaking were the bible speaks. The teaching was if we use it and approve of it, it must be an aide. If we don’t approve of it and we don’t use it, it must be sin. Since the very first Christians met in homes, this must make the building an aide.

Since we have determined that our building is an aide, then we should really quit treating it like a temple. God sent his spirit to dwell in our hearts. God wants us to treat our bodies as holy temples and God does not dwell in any house made with hands.

What impact could we have in our community if we use our new facility right from the start as a tool for outreach. What if we opened our doors to the boy scouts, or the youth sport clubs for meetings? What if we had AA meetings and yoga classes? Maybe more of the community would know us and we could do a much better job of serving their needs. What if during floods or hurricanes we could open our building up to serve people that needed showers, laundry, a hot meal and a place to sleep? Maybe if we had our focus on how to serve others we could really find a way to use God’s resources in a great way.

I like the saying, “Don’t worry about the ants on the dirt floor, if you have elephants on the straw roof”. Maybe the ants are the little issues that consume so much of our time and attention. Lets focus on the bigger issues and take the focus off ourselves.