The church that I’m part of is non-denominational. It’s part of a wider network of churches so there are the benefits of accountability and oversight that come with that, but we’re not tied down to a particular order of service or what-have-you.
When you’re part of a church like mine it’s easy to attend a more tightly-controlled church (say, Church of England) and feel that the joy and freedom of Christianity has been lost in ritual and tradition, but that ease to judge just goes to show the legalism that can so easily grow out of the good news of grace. When you love grace to the point that you judge other people for not getting it you realise that you don’t really get it yourself.
It turns out that there is value in ritual and tradition. Every single day I leave my office at a time that enables me to get home, play with my son, give him a bath, and eat with my wife. That time’s valuable and important, and doesn’t lose any of its value simply by being repeated every day – on the contrary, the more it happens consistently, the more value it gets!
But the danger is always when the ritual begins to outshine the reason (if I might go so far as to use alliteration). I met a Muslim a year or two ago who was fasting for Ramadan but didn’t know why – I’m not even a Muslim and I think that’s a shame.
So, long story short, I’m going to introduce a bit of ritual to this here blog. I’m not going to tie myself down to this, but I think I’m going to give each day a bit of a theme. I’d be glad to hear your thoughts and/or other ideas!
- Faith Monday (reasons why Christians believe what we do)
- Others Tuesday (encouraging us to be more aware of human rights/mission)
- Wednesday Rewind (looking at what I wrote on this date last year)
- Thursday Humour (because Thursdays are just annoying and need brightening up, don’t they?)
- Challenge Friday (seeking a deeper relationship with God)
What do you think I should or shouldn’t include here?
I’ll ignore my dislike of the term “non-denominational” to save for the next time I hear it, as there’s a more contentious issue in the first couple of paragraphs!
To say the “joy and freedom of Christianity has been lost in ritual and tradition”, after citing the Church of England as an example, is highly inaccurate.
I attended a small range of CofE churches throughout my teen years, and can testify that some of the most joyful and free times of my life were during services at a CofE church.
Note the “range” involved as well – some services were much akin to something you might find in New Frontiers, which was what drew me to Crown. Others were more liturgical, and were also very useful to my walk with God.
For example, many “modern” Christians find a liturgical confession stupid. However, I found it made a good reminder to confess – structure doesn’t imply godlessness
Hi Toby, thanks for the comment! I hope you caught from the tone of my post that I am a fan of ritual, so I certainly agree with you
I did, but just wanted to make sure the CofE was spoken for properly – it’s a tone that seems somewhat lacking amongst the more liberal churches at times.
I’m not sure I’d particularly endorse your use of the word ‘liberal’ (some of the most liberal churches out there are part of the CofE) but I know exactly what you mean, and am definitely in agreement with you – I think the important thing is to recognise that grace is most powerful when we realise that it brings us freedom to observe ritual!