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Tradition, is it a good thing, or is it a bad thing? According to Webster, Tradition is: an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior. From this definition, we can conclude that "tradition" is in and of itself neither good or bad, but is whatever we make of it. At Christmas, we have several family traditions. When we are putting up the Christmas tree, we always play Christmas music and drink eggnog (non-alcoholic, of course). Until recent years when Amy decided to have an active voice and do most of the work in putting up the tree and decorations, the tradition was we put it up on December 15th. Well, Amy changed that tradition for us, now we put the tree up the day after Thanksgiving. Of course some of us old-timers objected to this changing of our "tradition" and we argued and fussed about it, but the "tradition" still changed. We still play the Christmas CDs and drink the eggnog, so that part of the tradition remains. Was the change of our tradition good or bad? Well, it was neither good nor bad, but as out lifestyle had changed it fit more into the pattern of our current life. Even in church we have traditions that we seem to assume are laws, and when they get changed it seems to ruffle our feathers. Let’s look at our worship. We used to sing solely from opening the Hymnal and only used a piano and/or an organ. Somewhere along the line some Pastors, Music Ministers, or someone decided that people could worship better if they didn’t have their eyes looking downward at the Hymnal, so they broke the "tradition" of using Hymnals and went to using overhead projectors and putting the songs on the wall. At the same time they broke the tradition of singing solely out of the Hymnal and started using "Praise and Worship" songs. This change of "tradition" was met with opposition by many of the old-timers, but by and large if you go into a church of any size today, the "tradition" has changed, and songs are put on large screens with fancy digital projectors. Does any one remember back in the 70s when men wearing hair over the ears was change in "tradition" that met with lots of resistance? We were told in one church that our Bass player couldn’t play in the church because his hair was over his ears. This was at a time when such heroes of our genre like JD Sumner and Ben Speer were breaking that "tradition" by wearing their hair over their ears as well. Does anyone remember when EVERYONE at church wore a suit and tie? Why even at 4 and 5 years old, our parents were dressing us up in suits and ties to go to church. Somewhere back in the 70s, people started changing that "tradition", and young people started attending church in casual clothes. By the 90s, the tradition of EVERYBODY wearing suits to church had changed. Of course we didn’t just drop those "traditional" suits all at once. Remember those great Leisure suits? It was officially still a suit. I still have pictures of many of those great Gospel groups of the 70s wearing those Leisure suits with those wide open neck collars. Of course there was some resistance to wearing those suits, because it was changing our tradition. Fortunately those Leisure suits weren’t a "tradition" that lasted too long. Do you remember the Turtle necks? Once again the heroes of our genre were breaking the "tradition" and actually wearing turtle necks and no ties. Then we went to the smaller ribbed shirts that had no collar, but we wore them under jackets. There has been a lot of discussion in our industry about our "traditional" dress. Here we are facing some of the most troubling times our nation has ever faced, and we are discussing, not Bible, but religious Tradition. We are not focusing on getting our message to the hurting of the world, but rather on how our contemporaries are dressing. Are they living up to our "tradition"? Please take notice, our TRADITION is not our MESSAGE. There is another religious culture out there that is trying to take over our nation, and we are focusing on "tradition". More ridiculous than that, we are focusing on our tradition of "dress". Our message will change this world, not the "tradition" of our dress. If the tradition of our dress would change the world, and be the light that the hurting could see and judge us by, then we would still be wearing robes and riding donkeys. Let’s stop as an industry, bickering over if we should wear a suit on stage or not, and start concentrating on the message that we have to offer. We can offer a Savior to this nation and world that will give them peace and comfort like they have been longing for. We can offer them a God who cares enough about them that he gave His only Son as a sacrifice for them. We can offer them a message of hope and love and a life that will last through eternity. I was just reading about David, a man after God’s own heart. When he was called to "minister" to Saul who was being tormented by an evil spirit, David was brought in to Saul in his grungy shepherds outfit, not a nicely pressed suit and tie. It is time that we realized the seriousness of the battle that we are in. We are not battling forces who care if we are in a suit or not. We are battling spiritual forces who are affected by what we have inside us, not by what we have on the outside. I say to the leaders of this great genre of ours, stop this petty fussing over how artists are dressed while singing, and be concerned about doing all we can to get this message to those who so desperately need it. Traditions change, but truth does not change. The Word of God does not change. Let's be concerned that the "dress" we put on is the one that will equip us for the battle. Let's be concerned about being dressed with the ARMOUR of GOD. Ephesians 6:10-20 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,[3] against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints-- 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. (New King James Version)
Reader Comments
Amen, Dion, thanks for a great article. It's time we were more concerned about what is on the inside rather than the package it is in.
God is good all the time & all the time God is good.
Elaine Harcourt
Excellent article Deon. Though I am "somewhat" of a young traditionalist, I see the point, and in many ways agree with you. For me, I prefer wearing a suit when singing in most instances, but that is for me...it's not for everyone. We all need to do what we feel we need to do to get our message across. Like Mike Warnke once said, "God didn't come to change my shirt, He came to change my life." 
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Written: 10/31/2003 
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