My Love-Hate Relationship with Church Traditions

I enjoy visiting churches that still practice the old traditions from the reformation era. There's something comforting about pews, pipe organs, old hymns sung from hymnals, stained glass windows, and ministers decked out in clerical robes. These traditions are wonderful and I'm glad that they still exist in some

I love the sound of a pipe organ in the morning.

churches.

But as much as I love the old traditions, the fact remains that they are only traditions created by human beings. They aren't written in stone like the Ten Commandments. In fact--except for the music--the above-mentioned practices aren't even in the Bible. True, the Old Testament priests were decked out in special garb, but nowhere in the New Testament are elders and pastors told to dress differently than anyone else.

On the other hand, the New Testament doesn't say these traditions are wrong. As far as I'm concerned, if there's no biblical command against a practice, then why not do it? I do think there's a danger of elevating the practice above the actual worship of the living God. So, the tradition should be recognized as a tool used for the true worship of the Creator.

There are few specifics in the Bible about the organizational structure of the church fellowship. Even our supposed "nontraditional" contemporary churches follow a traditional format of music, prayer, announcements and sermon. Often, the sermon is followed by more music.

Where in the Bible does it say we are to follow that format? Some things are clear in the New Testament. We know that Christians are told to gather for fellowship: " not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some," (Heb. 10:25). Also, we should avoid chaos in the fellowship: "But all things should be done decently and in order." (1 Cor. 14:40). That being said, it seems to me there's room for significant variety in church structures, preferences and styles.

Music is Bible based. We are to sing: "...addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart." (Eph. 5:19). Jesus and the disciples sang a hymn together at the end of the last supper: "And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives." (Matt. 26:30). The Psalms were songs, often directed "to the choirmaster." Singers and musicians were a part of the temple ceremonies: "Your procession is seen, O God, the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—the singers in front, the musicians last, between them virgins playing tambourines." (Psalm 68:24-25).

Every believer should practice a spiritual gift to edify the the fellowship of believers: "To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good." (1 Cor. 12:7). It seems to me that church is too much of a spectator sport, where the congregation sits, sings a few songs, listens to a sermon, and heads home. Each person should discover their spiritual gift(s), so they can serve in a Spirit empowered way. I'm open to suggestions here.

There is leadership in the church, such as elders and deacons. Elder means the same thing as pastor. This implies that our tradition of a "lead" pastor may be overemphasized. How is the lead pastor any different than the other elders? You tell me. Preachers and teachers are also mentioned in the New Testament. We should always remind ourselves that leadership under the new covenant is actually "servant leadership." Remember when Jesus humbled Himself and washed his disciples' feet? Jesus was the perfect example of true leadership.

Then there's prayer, which is greatly emphasized in the Old and New Testaments. It should always play a large part of any church fellowship. 1 Thes. 5:16-18, 25 says, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." And verse 25, "Brothers, pray for us."

I think every Christian should occasionally pause and ask him/herself, "Am I emotionally dependent on a tradition, mistaking it for God's truth? What aspects of my church experience are truly biblical." I'm not saying it's wrong to enjoy the aesthetic aspects of the stain glass windows or lofty pipe organ, or even the hip and trendy style of contemporary worship. We just need to recognize the difference between human emotional pleasure and true spiritual worship of almighty God. Sure, God wants us to enjoy our humanity with it's capacity to appreciate art, music, etc. But remember these things are not true worship. If they are not used as tools for personally worshiping God, then they can end up being empty human traditions. Blessings.