Sometimes our church traditions can get in the way of doing what we’re supposed to be doing. For example, I am not convinced that it is wise for most churches to have buildings, meet on Sunday morning, and be “non-profit.” Sure, there are times when these things make sense. But in many ways today, such practices are only getting in the way of reaching out to unbelievers and adequately making disciples.
So how can we discern good and helpful traditions from bad ones? One good way is to practice something I learned from my two-year old: asking “Why?” To discover if a certain church practice should be continued or not, ask “Why?” about it seven times.
If, in asking “Why?” seven times, you don’t get to a good reason, you might want to consider dumping whatever it was you were asking “Why?” about. And if you ever answer “Because the Bible says so” then ask “Where?” and “Is that really what that verse means?” This is often good to do with a group of people because they can help you answer the questions, and tell you when an answer is not valid. You may have to “tweak” your question asking a bit to get at the root of the issue, but the point is to ruthlessly examine and question everything. It may look like this:
Here’s how it works:
Statement: The church meets on Sunday morning.
Why?
Possible answers:
It’s the Sabbath. (No, it isn’t. Saturday is.)
It’s the day Jesus rose from the dead (So? Where does it say we have to meet on the day Jesus rose from the dead? Doesn’t Paul say all days are equal?)
It’s a day that everybody has off. (Not any more. If we’re trying to meet when most people are free, would Tuesday night be better? And for that matter, why do we want to meet when most people can meet? Furthermore, which people are “most people?”)
See how this works? Just keep questioning everything you do, and with some careful, critical thinking, you come to see that most of what the church does, it does by tradition: just because we’ve always done it that way. This frees us up to realize that if there is a better way to make disciples, we should do it, even if we have to abandon most of our traditions.
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You don’t sound very orthodox Jeremy.
I like it.
Trent,
Some days, I think I’m turning into a heretic. Certain critics out there would say I’m already there…. ha ha.
Thanks for your postings over at http://www.freegracechurches.org and on your own blog!
We meet on the first day of the week to break bread because we have the example of the early church in doing this (Acts 20:7).
I also believe that meeting on the first day of the week has a very important symbolic meaning when compared with the Sabbath of the law.
http://morningmeditations.wordpress.com/2007/11/06/the-lords-day-a-day-of-grace/
Steve,
I agree that this is why the typical church meets on Sunday, but the example of the early church does not mean that this is when all future churches should also meet. We must distinguish between “descriptive” passages and “prescriptive.”
Here I go again…….. being challenged to THINK. Steve had a good reply. But you, Jeremy, responded with a interesting point of view…. “descriptive” and “prescriptive!” Now I have to THINK on these things! Hmmmm?
Interesting!
Diane