The Purpose of the Church and the Traditions of Men

"You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men." Mark 7:8, NIV

"Thus you nullify the the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that." Mark 7:13

In their context, these words come from Jesus addressing the Pharisees who had just criticized some of Jesus' followers for not following a particular tradition of the law by ceremonial washing of their hands before eating. The disciples didn't have dirty hands, from a sanitary perspective. They simply hadn't gone through the ceremonial hand washing that was part of the Jewish ritual to signify that they weren't "tainted" because they had come into physical contact with something that wasn't, for lack of a better word, kosher to touch.

The general message here is that the Christian faith is not one in which you can be spiritually cleaned or purified simply by doing something symbolic to erase what makes you "unclean." In fact, thinking that you have been spiritually cleansed by some outward act, such as handwashing in the case of the Pharisees, or perhaps even baptism in the case of Christians, may be an obstacle to true purification and cleansing. Jesus was pretty clear when he said that it is not what goes into a person which makes them unclean, but what comes out.

When I first became a student at Grand Canyon University many years ago, there were some things on that Baptist college campus that I had to get used to, coming from a public school environment. One was the novelty of having the professor lead the class in prayer before each meeting. Another was the ritual of praying before meals in the cafeteria. Generally, it was an accepted practice for students to sit down with their tray, bow their heads, close their eyes for a few seconds, and then commence eating. Essentially, long before I had arrived there, this behavior had become a way for some people to make a determination about the spirituality of others. One day, I determined that I wouldn't bow or close my eyes, but that I would simply pray in my mind prior to being seated, and avoid the tradition, just to see what happened. Sure enough, after a couple of days of doing this, a fellow student asked me if there was anything wrong in my spiritual life, since he had noticed I no longer prayed before I ate. My response was something like "How do you know I am not praying?" The lecture I got following that question, a long, self-justifying speech complete with prooftexts for why, as a "good" Christian I should set an example for others by bowing my head and closing my eyes(neither of which are mentioned as postures for prayer in the New Testament) while I was praying in the cafeteria convinced me to do one thing. From that moment on, I resolved not to bow my head or close my eyes at the table in the cafeteria. For me, prayer is to happen "in my closet," in whatever context that implies related to the situation I am in at the time.

The church, the local body of believers in Christ, has many traditions which have become part of its ritual and practice, but which are not really part of its purpose. Though it should be led by the Spirit, it is still a human institution, subject to the same influences to which all flesh is subject. Frank Viola and George Barna have a great book out on the subject called Pagan Christianity, which explores the roots of many of the practices that the church, as a whole, universal body, considers essential to the practice of faith, but which are not found in scripture. I've learned, from many years of experience in vocational ministry, that people tend to do what they want to do with regard to the practice of their faith, and they are more than willing to impose their perspectives and traditions on the church, in spite of whether or not they are scriptural, if they have the influence or the power to do so. When that happens in a church, and it happens in all of them at some point, then it ceases to follow the leadership of the Spirit, and it is following the traditions of humanity.

At Garden Oaks, people are involved in a conscious, genuine effort to move forward. There has been a genuine, heartfelt movement to do so, and it is happening as we speak. But we must be careful to make certain that everything we do is at the prompting and leadership of the Holy Spirit, and not as a result of our own preferences or traditions. This will include changing the way we do some things, even things that may have worked at some point in the past, not as a result of someone's initiative, but under the leading of the Spirit, by consensus.

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up, according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." Ephesians 4:29

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than youselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but to the interests of others." Philippians 2:3-4 NIV

"Do everything without complaining or arguing," Philippians 2:14

Garden Oaks Baptist Church must look forward and follow the Spirit into the future. We cannot be bound by tradition or hobbled by our own preferences.