Honor Meaningful Traditions

I can still hear it ringing in my ears—the lyrics of a song from one of my favorite musicals, Fiddler on the Roof. Tradition, tradition! Tradition!, sung by (who else?) the Papa—Tevye. It was a comic and, at the same time, touching cry for keeping life the same, honoring the past and not messing with it, so to speak. What became plain from the song and served as the storyline’s principle conflict, was that what was meaningful to Tevye was not necessarily a universally held view.

For Papa, his role was clear: scramble for a living, say his daily prayers. And, as master of the house, his word was final. After all, it was tradition.

What about Mama? Her assignment? Know how to make a proper home (a quiet, kosher home), raise the family and run the home. Why? So Papa could be free to read the holy books. After all, it’s tradition.

As for the sons, pretty simple stuff: start school early, learn a trade, hope those who pick your bride for you find someone who is easy on the eyes. And for the daughters, the formula couldn’t be simpler: learn to mend and tend and fix while you wait for the bloke that Papa picks.

It all made for a humorous tug of war between two generations, but in the end the tension wasn’t so much about having traditions, but what makes them meaningful?

So it is with the family of faith when we seek to pass on what experiences should be universally treasured, as opposed to what is valued by certain individuals. In some churches, traditions are maintained that were, at one time, valued by the vast majority, but now are recycled simply because “we’ve always done it that way.” Contrast that with the fellowships which never do the same thing the same way twice, simply because of the fear that “if it’s not new, it’s irrelevant.”

Coming from a very traditional, ritualistic even, church background, I understand this concern. There is a commonly held axiom in communication that to the extent that something is familiar, it loses its impact. Said another way, the more we know what’s coming, the less intently or expectantly we receive or anticipate it. I still recall singing portions of the liturgy (the repetitious and routine parts of the worship service) as a child while, at the same time, looking around the room, waving to late-comers, or wondering why I had worn one brown shoe and one black. Imagine the impact of the words, Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, on my heart, while I am simultaneously winking at the cute girl across the aisle. Talk about your multi-tasker!

But let’s not throw the proverbial baby out with the bath water. While Jesus warns us against vain repetition (Matthew 6:7), he does not advocate never repeating anything. Indeed, that is what traditions are: determining those events, occurrences, and corporate experiences which are repeated, whether it is weekly, monthly, annually or otherwise. This is suggested in the Old Testament in the book of Numbers: “Also at your times of rejoicing—your appointed feasts and New Moon festivals—you are to sound the trumpets over your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, and they will be a memorial for you before your God.” Numbers 10:10 This wasn’t just a Hebrew thing, it was a people of God thing, suggesting that part of trusting God for our future was remembering our past. And part of retaining the identity as a unique work of God’s hand was to replay, occasionally, our unique story.

In watching other faith communities on TV (actually I t-vo them since I am usually indisposed on Sunday mornings), I notice various traditions, not all of which are meaningful to me personally, but which have found value in their local settings. One famous TV church encourages its members to turn and greet each other with the phrase “God loves you, and so do I.” The cynical side of me quickly goes to the bumper sticker I once saw that admitted, perhaps more honestly, “God loves you, and I’m trying.” Another televised megachurch begins its program with everyone holding up their bibles and making a pledge to its authority.

Some churches enshrine everything from passion plays, Christmas musicals, last supper reenactments, foot-washing ceremonies, July 4^th blow-outs, to Boar’s Head festivals (OK, you may have to google it), Easter vigils, or church picnics. Regardless, the point is that honoring meaningful traditions helps keep us, as the transforming people of God, anchored in our spiritual and cultural roots.

If we find, in this contemporary American culture which seems addicted to the new, that nothing we do seems worthy of repeating, then maybe it wasn’t worth doing in the first place. And the day we allow the priority of our fellowship to become the mere perpetuation of empty traditions, we may as well join the cast of Fiddler on the Roof as Tevye’s backup singers.

Dream a dream with me that, in Hope’s future, there will always be those times of the year and commemorations which are part of our DNA as a unique people of God. My question to you, especially those with some history with Hope: could you name a few? If not, let’s begin to create them…together.

-tad

Blend the Generations

True confessions? I’m a big believer in inter-generational

worship. But I’m also a big believer in intergenerational life. I am highly suspicious of the trend in American culture to isolate us into age-appropriate groupings, niches, interest groups and musical styles, and I fear this trait has strongly seeped its way into the church. Truth is, I have served in churches where the worship service was ADULTS ONLY while the kids and youth were farmed off to some other place on campus to experience age-appropriate worship.

My conclusion was that in such an approach, each generation was the loser. Gone was the creative energy and boundary-pushing excitement of the youth, as well as the simple, trusting, and sometimes noisier responses to God of little children. Oh, the services were more orderly, more predictable. z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z. You get the point. Worse, the kids and youth were off somewhere learning to have a fun time with God, but only if it was done in their style and their way. They rarely got to see Mom or Dad lost in the presence of God, with eyes closed or hands upraised. I wondered if Paul might not have been speaking to this kind of trend when he warned in Romans 12, "do not let the world squeeze you into its own mold."

If the value of bringing generations together is to be embraced not only as a nice option but also an actual mandate from God, we must first start with the Owner’s manual—the Word of God. Before it mentions a word about how to pass on the theology and practice of worship, it clearly speaks to

sharing life itself between generations. God, through the prophet Moses, commands His people to "fix these words of Mine in your hearts and minds. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." (Deut. 11:18, 19) To paraphrase James Dobson, our life values are more caught than taught, but, in fact, we need to do both. And, surprisingly, this process is not just the older to the younger. At times it works vice versa (are you listeing, parents and grandparents?).

The apostle Paul wrote to his young protégé, "[Timothy,] command and teach these things. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." (1Timothy 4: 11, 12) In other words, Tim—let them, older and younger alike, catch what you have. And don’t stop teaching the truth simply because you lack life experience. What’s the point? We need each other!

When it comes to the specific area of worship and music ministry, again the scriptures give good examples of the heart of God. Let the generations learn along side each other. Consider the reference I used just a few weeks ago in regard to developing skills for leadership. 1 Chronicles 25:6 describes a musical family which was assigned responsibilities for worship leadership, with this interesting emphasis:

"They were all under the direction of their father in the

music in the house of the Lord with cymbals, harps,

and lyres for the service of the house of God.

The number of them along with their brothers, who were trained in singing to the Lord, all were skillful, was 288.

And they cast lots of their duties, small and great,

teacher and pupil alike."

I can think of many of you in our ministry who learned your craft or love of the arts from your parents, some of which still play or sing with you today. Similarly, some of you have had the rare pleasure of watching your own kids and grandkids grow to use their gifts in ministry, perhaps primarily as a result of your example, coaching, or encouragement.

On a personal note, it has not only been a joy for Debby and me to see all three of our children involved in worship ministry on some level, but as they grew in skill and creativity, we have also sought to learn from them. We have discovered what God’s word suggests.

Those with open hearts to God and transferable life experience have much to give to the younger generation. And we as an older generation must come to appreciate the energy, creativity (think about technology alone), and new thing that God is bringing to the church through the young.

Isaiah 42:10 reminds us to Sing unto the Lord a new song, and 43:18,19 says: "Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!" What is implicit in these verses is the need for discernment. Learn how to major in the majors. But know that God is both faithful, consistent and constant, and at the same time dynamic, creative, and even, sometimes, unpredictable.

The Word says that each of us—young and old alike—has been made in the image of God. It also says that all who have called upon the name of the Lord are, in fact, the light of the world. Want a big dream? Then imagine Hope church being known as a place where young and old alike worship together, demonstrate a growing love for each other and an increasing respect for one another’s life view. It definitely is not the way of the world. But it is, I truly believe, the way of the Word. -tad

*THE SNOWMAGEDDON EDITION*

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

I figure if you live up north and have to endure the cold weather anyway, why not at least enjoy some of the thrill of a whitened landscape on occasion? Everything looks more beautiful by contrast- even the dead trees stretching toward the heavens. There are several references to snow in both the Old and New Testament, and most of them are used to describe purity, sinlessness, and brilliance. King David is confident in Psalm 51, that if God washes him through His mercy and forgiveness, he (David)

will be "white as snow." In Isaiah 1:18, God (speaking through the prophet) encourages us to reason with Him: "Though your sings be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow." In Matthew 28:3, the garments of the resurrected Christ are described as "white as snow." True confessions? As one with a blackened heart and far too familiar with sin than I care to admit, a visual reminder of the transforming power of Christ to cleanse me is very encouraging indeed. Also, I am reminded that God’s destiny for me is not to remain so familiar with sin but to be made more like Him! Paul says it like this: "We, who…reflect the Lord’s glory, are being

transformed into this likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord" (2 Cor. 3:18) So I say, "let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!" -tad