Church Traditions and Programs can be good. They can even be really good. But they can also be stinkers that keep God from doing what He wants in your midst. Scripture makes it clear that there are two kinds of traditions: godly traditions that should be kept, and ungodly traditions that should be abandoned.
Whether any tradition or program is good, bad, or indifferent, He is never encompassed by it. One may line up nicely with what He's doing. Another may box you in and keep you from His best. But whether a way of doing things is good, bad, or simply mediocre, He is never boxed-in by it. Never!
So here's the warning: Beware of a man's ideas masquerading as what God says or wants to do. Just because a church tradition or program is treated as if it always has been and always will be God's idea doesn't make it so.
God may choose for a season or even longer to do His work alongside a church’s program, but that doesn't automatically mean He's endorsing the program; He might be, and He might not be. What if He's moving in spite of the program?
Here’s something I’ve seen many times: Leaders come up with a plan that sounds good to them, then expect God to join them in it. That sounds harsh, but over the years I've seen some stuff that's left me scratching my head. If He shows up in these circumstances, it's not because the plan is His idea; He shows up because He is gracious and merciful and wants so much to help His people.
Face it: coming up with something and expecting God to join in is not the same as finding out what God wants to do and joining Him.
Over time, bit by bit, even a tradition that started out good can take on a life of its own, slowly squeezing out God's free hand and active presence. The tradition that once fit so well may gradually become a straight-jacket, one with which the wearers become so comfortable that they don't see it for what it is.
In all churches, traditions and programs tend to grow their very own comfort zone. Once institutionalized, they become an easy, settled pattern, requiring little thought, no longer on the list of things that leaders seek God’s mind about. But is that right? Maybe yes, maybe no. I’m not trying to offend a church leader who manages a nice box full of comfortable traditions and programs. I am saying Question What You're Doing! I am saying Seek God! Seek Him with all your heart!
What does He want to do in your midst? Most of the time, people like it when things are nice and stable. But God loves change. He LOVES change! Not just change for change's sake, but change that turns us more and more to Him and His rule in our lives.
What if – just what if—He wants to move in ways that are outside of your box? What if His anointing has moved away from what once worked well? Isn’t it time to have a fresh encounter with Him? If you're still working off of an old encounter with Him or -- have mercy! -- someone else's centuries old encounter with Him, don't you think He might want to do something fresh? It's at least worth giving it serious prayer, isn't it?
Some of the most crippling traditions I've seen are the ones that push the activity of the Holy Spirit out of the churches. It's Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, right? The Holy Spirit is just as much a part of the god-head as the Father and Son are. Legitimate moves of the Holy Spirit are desperately needed in our churches! Let Him in!
Never forget that everything changes when God steps into the room, doing what only He can do. If things didn't change, it wasn't Him.
Seek His face! Seek His will! Don’t hem the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in. Study the Scriptures and let Him speak to you. You need both Logos and Rhema. Let God be God. Find what He wants to do and join Him there.
Let Him speak! Let Him move!
Whether any tradition or program is good, bad, or indifferent, He is never encompassed by it. One may line up nicely with what He's doing. Another may box you in and keep you from His best. But whether a way of doing things is good, bad, or simply mediocre, He is never boxed-in by it. Never!
So here's the warning: Beware of a man's ideas masquerading as what God says or wants to do. Just because a church tradition or program is treated as if it always has been and always will be God's idea doesn't make it so.
God may choose for a season or even longer to do His work alongside a church’s program, but that doesn't automatically mean He's endorsing the program; He might be, and He might not be. What if He's moving in spite of the program?
Here’s something I’ve seen many times: Leaders come up with a plan that sounds good to them, then expect God to join them in it. That sounds harsh, but over the years I've seen some stuff that's left me scratching my head. If He shows up in these circumstances, it's not because the plan is His idea; He shows up because He is gracious and merciful and wants so much to help His people.
Face it: coming up with something and expecting God to join in is not the same as finding out what God wants to do and joining Him.
Over time, bit by bit, even a tradition that started out good can take on a life of its own, slowly squeezing out God's free hand and active presence. The tradition that once fit so well may gradually become a straight-jacket, one with which the wearers become so comfortable that they don't see it for what it is.
In all churches, traditions and programs tend to grow their very own comfort zone. Once institutionalized, they become an easy, settled pattern, requiring little thought, no longer on the list of things that leaders seek God’s mind about. But is that right? Maybe yes, maybe no. I’m not trying to offend a church leader who manages a nice box full of comfortable traditions and programs. I am saying Question What You're Doing! I am saying Seek God! Seek Him with all your heart!
What does He want to do in your midst? Most of the time, people like it when things are nice and stable. But God loves change. He LOVES change! Not just change for change's sake, but change that turns us more and more to Him and His rule in our lives.
What if – just what if—He wants to move in ways that are outside of your box? What if His anointing has moved away from what once worked well? Isn’t it time to have a fresh encounter with Him? If you're still working off of an old encounter with Him or -- have mercy! -- someone else's centuries old encounter with Him, don't you think He might want to do something fresh? It's at least worth giving it serious prayer, isn't it?
Some of the most crippling traditions I've seen are the ones that push the activity of the Holy Spirit out of the churches. It's Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, right? The Holy Spirit is just as much a part of the god-head as the Father and Son are. Legitimate moves of the Holy Spirit are desperately needed in our churches! Let Him in!
Never forget that everything changes when God steps into the room, doing what only He can do. If things didn't change, it wasn't Him.
Seek His face! Seek His will! Don’t hem the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in. Study the Scriptures and let Him speak to you. You need both Logos and Rhema. Let God be God. Find what He wants to do and join Him there.
Let Him speak! Let Him move!
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