Traditional vs. Radical . . .

I read a lot of Blogs each week. It is fascinating to me to read about churches that are growing, especially those that are growing in different ways from the norm. This week alone I have read about churches with incredible growth over the last year, a church that had a meeting in a bar, churches that are expanding to other campuses to better reach the world around us.
I have also seen the words radical and traditional used in some of the posts that I have read. Traditional is usually used in a negative connotation and radical used in a positive connotation. I have had a friend point out to me, in the past couple of months, that no matter how radical something seems today, if it is done that same way for the next weeks, months or years it becomes traditional.
I am sure that most churches that consider themselves traditional today, at one time seemed radical in some way to either the people that were attending the church or the community around them. We need to remember that want seems radical may be right in line with what the bible says that we are to do to fulfill what God has called us, at this time and place, to accomplish.
The message should never change. The gospel should always be front and center. Yet, we need to realize that we serve, by today’s definition of radical, a radical Savior and Lord. All through the gospels and into the balance of the New Testament, Jesus changed things in new and exciting ways. The tradition of the Pharisees had bound up the people in the practices of the law. Jesus did not change the law, but He sure changed the way it was viewed. His teachings were different. What He said was said with authority. Almost everything that Jesus did, He did different than anyone had done before.
If we are going to label ourselves as traditional, my prayer is that label will mean that the gospel will be at the forefront of everything that we do as followers of Christ. Yet, since we live in a constantly changing world, we will radically do whatever it takes to reach the world around us with the gospel.
Until next time – keep your eyes on Jesus and remember – you can’t roller skate in a buffalo herd.