A couple of months ago a close friend recommended a book by Francis Chan titled, "Letters to the Church." I enjoy his writings because they are simple, direct, and challenge me (often in ways I don't want to be challenged). After reading Chapter Three, I put the book down because I knew our staff needed to read through the book together and discuss it. I want to share with you a few of the concepts mentioned in Chapter Three and give you a glimpse into what the staff discussed in response.
In order to set the stage, let me share with you a quote from that chapter, "He [Jesus] expects to find His Church taking His commands seriously. Yet far too often we are more concerned with how well the sermon was communicated, whether the youth group is relevant enough, or how to make the music better. Honestly, what is it that gets people in your church stirred up for change? Is it disobedience towards commands from God? Or is it falling short of expectations that we have made up? The answer to these questions might just show us whether our church exists to please God or please people--whether God is leading our church or we are."
Wow! You might want to read that a few more times. This is exactly what the religious leaders of Jesus' day had done. They supplanted the commands of God with their own traditions. They were more passionate with their own man-made rules than the commands of God. So, our staff took some time to create two lists. The first list are some of the commands (not optional) in Scripture. These are actual commands in Scripture. By the way, neither list is exhaustive, and we took about three to five minutes for each list. The second list are some traditions (not optional). These are things expected in church that are not commands in Scripture. This does not mean they are bad. They are simply optional because they are not commands. Here is our brief list, and I would encourage you to take time with some friends or your spouse to come up with your own list:
Commands (not optional) Traditions (optional)
make disciples dressing up
love others time of day (schedule)
bear with one another hymns/style of music
minister to orphans & widows instrument types
forgive others Bible translations
carry each other's burdens architecture/buildings
pray pews
sing/worship in spirit & truth age group ministries
study/read Scripture potlucks
take Lord's Supper Sunday night worship
baptism Wednesday worship (prayer meeting)
tithe Sunday School
evangelism order of service
go bulletin
go extra mile programs
hospitality entertainment
use spiritual gifts special events (egg hunt, fall festival, etc.)
obey 10 commandments choir
show grace & mercy donuts & coffee
be a living sacrifice committees
be holy majority voting
be an example steeples
paid staff
denominational hierarchy
Now, let's have some fun with these lists and ask some probing questions. In the leader's guide, Chan asks questions in response to these lists that I want you to think through personally and for our church. What do you give more time, money, and energy toward? Do you get more upset if we aren't taking things on the command side seriously or if we aren't taking things on the tradition side seriously? By the way, let's be honest in our response.
I don't want to share everything that was said in our staff meeting, but I want to highlight a couple of comments that were made and some of my personal thoughts. Also, remember that the traditions are not inherently bad. However, they are not commands either. First, we felt like our church spends more of its time, money, and energy towards the traditions. One person commented that maybe we do the traditional things in an attempt to fulfill the commands. I can buy that. For example, Sunday School was created as a tool for evangelism. Potlucks are an attempt at creating fellowship. But we need to remember that it is the command that is the most important; not the tradition.
This leads to the second thing I want to discuss. People get more upset with the traditions being messed with. Does it personally bother you that you haven't intentionally made a disciple? Are you convicted that you haven't shared the gospel with anyone lately? What about ministering to orphans and widows? How does your life model "going"? When was the last time we baptized someone? Does that really bother you and make you upset?
Now, let me ask how you would respond if we, the leadership in the church, announced that we were going to cancel your favorite program? Would you be upset? What if we said we were not going have a choir anymore? What if we said we were going to change our governmental structure and not allow members to vote anymore? (By the way, when they voted in Scripture they got it wrong.) What if we quit printing bulletins? Let's be honest. People are more passionate about traditions. Someone posted on social media a couple of weeks ago that it wasn't right that our church had Pancakes and PJs for kids on time change Sunday. Wow! I wonder if they are as upset with the fact that lost people are dying without Jesus?
In my years in ministry, I have had people get upset with me about changes. Keep in mind the changes are about tradition and not commands. I have even had individuals make attacking, harmful comments about me on social media. I always wonder why people are not upset with our disobedience to the direct commands of Jesus. Things like going, making disciples, forgiving, abiding in Christ, serving, and using my spiritual gifts. Maybe we are not growing because our traditions mean more to us than the commands of Jesus. What do you think?
Let me leave you with a question by Jesus in Matthew 15:3. "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?"
In Christ,
Mark Smith, Pastor of FBC Jacksonville, AR
