The only answer I could come up with is the fact that many of the traditions I experience in church aren’t attached to a greater meaning and story.
They typically feel more like a list of “don’ts.” These rules are often lined up more with behavior modification rather than expressed as small acts of worship that point to an indescribable God. Tradition can be a powerful practice, but it needs to be attached to greater meaning, to wonder, and, ultimately, to a shared love and respect for something greater.
In other words, tradition is a great pathway to worship, but a lousy destination.
I’ll give an example (a possible hot-button for some of you). The King James Bible was a great gift—sharing the Word of God in a common language for its readers. However, over time language changes and the same translation that once was a conduit for worship soon became, to some, a destination. The tradition of KJV (or KJV only) became a practice that hindered the very thing the original tradition celebrated—understanding God’s Word in everyday language.
When traditions are shirked or dismissed or ignored, it’s not necessarily a sign of rebellion, it could also be a sign of lost meaning. When we push traditions without sharing the meaning it can become a distraction or even an obstacle to the exact thing tradition points us to—the story of the Gospel.
So, why does your church hate tradition?
Well, it could be that our traditions no longer serve the purpose of pointing people to the greater story—they may just be pointing toward something else: proper behavior, the good ol’ days or even a bygone cultural norm—which isn’t really that inspiring.
I think it’s always good to evaluate our traditions to make sure we’re telling the right story, connecting meaning to the practice so that the best traditions don’t get lost in time or in translation—instead, they get celebrated in the right context with the right people and passed on with rich meaning.
Tradition is kind of like the Sabbath—it wasn’t made to master us, but given as a gift. Our traditions should feel like that … like gifts not burdens.
