'Traditional' Church? Pt. 3: Reality doesn't look like 'tradition' (Revisited)

We are creatures of habit for sure. Driving down well-worn streets, walking favorite routes, eating familiar food, and spending time with people we love. Often times these habits become our tradition. We open one present on Christmas Eve and save the rest for the Christmas morning. We go shopping on Black Friday and bond while dodging death for a cute shirt or some DVD’s at the crack of dawn.

The point is we create habits and traditions. So it is understandable that the Church will have habits, tendencies and traditions. But we unrealistically expect the Church to always do the same traditions the same ways. We want a Children’s Ministry, Youth Ministry and Adult Ministry and when it’s questioned we argue, “We’ve always done it this way and its worked, why should we change it now?” Has it worked? I argue no.

80%-90%, that’s the statistic of youth that leave the church during high school or after graduation. I suck at math but I know that leaves a 20%-10% success rate… Also known as failure. If a kid comes home with a 15% on a math test, he may be in a little trouble. Tradition is working, eh?

Reality does not look like tradition. Your traditions change, your habits change. Whether from a move, a child, or death your traditions will not remain the same. But we think the Church’s traditions can’t change. Traditional Church must remain the same so as to please those who grew up in the tradition. Because it’s the way it was done.

That’s the problem. Did you catch it? People want to be pleased and cuddled by a nostalgic memory of the way things were. Rather than being prodded to growth we would remain children of what use to be, than be men and women of what is. Its pride is what it is. Pride.

Change is inevitable. But we would presume to stop the hands of time to keep the church the way it was when we were kids. We would have the audacity to sacrifice our children to the god of tradition so things remain congruent.

Similarly, leaders won’t press for change, because they were trained in the tradition. They logically, and rightly, think that if the format changes their position may not be necessary. They are a stagnant bunch, where rot and decay run rampant and unchecked. A leader is an under-shepherd. Keeping watch over the souls God has given him. But if the leader is more concerned with keeping his job than pushing souls into the Gospel, he is a liar and cheat and the congregation he ‘shepherds’ should get their money back.

Tradition is sucking the life from the church.

May, God in his grace break us who audaciously presume to fight change choosing rather to be cuddled by nostalgia than broken by Gospel heralding.