Christian Traditions

One doesn’t have to look far to find a dead tradition. They lie around churches like the old tombstones of a church burial ground: rotting, crumbling, and yet too memory-filled to just dump over the hill somewhere.

But what about live traditions? Like faithful apple trees in the graveyard fencerow that bear fruit with the regularity of a ... tradition, they bless souls time and time again.

How do you turn a crumbling tombstone into a live apple tree? At this point my analogy sort of breaks down ...Yet for some people, those old, dead, dry traditions can never be revived: they HAVE to go! They have experienced traditions for years—dead, dry, hollow, and starting to stink—and they KNOW that church life never prospers if it is clogged with the tombstones of centuries gone by.

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The Church Fire

Dear reader: Please consider this parable. Jesus spoke in His day with parables to bring forth a truth, and I have attempted to do the same. Remember, though, to take these earthly symbols and compare them to heavenly or spiritual things. May God enlighten your heart with this story.

Somewhere, in a sleepy vale that lies betwixt Israel and Shinar, was a church. Things were going along quite smoothly and the day was progressing rather normally when the cry arose.

“FIRE!”

“The church is on fire!”

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How Shall We Preach?

There are two types of preaching coming from pulpits, stemming from differing views of what constitutes the Gospel message. The one is often referred to as being “spiritual” and the other as “legalistic.” Although they should complement each other, they are often seen as contradicting one another. To make it as clear and simple as the Holy Spirit enables me to make it, please consider the following description of the two.

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