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“That’s the way we’ve always done it.”

“Well, we’ve never done it that way before.”

“I’m just saying, there will be lots of people that won’t like it.”

“Even though it’s not really working, I like the way things have always been.”

“Change doesn’t go over well here.”

Time and time again, we hear these statements being made. Whether it’s in the office, at school meetings, or church, traditions run strong. And there’s nothing wrong with traditions as long as they are accomplishing the mission.

But far too often, it becomes more about the tradition and less about the mission.

Right now, you’re probably thinking about a specific conversation or meeting you were a part of where this exact topic came up. Especially if you’ve been on any type of planning committee. People have been selected or voted to come up with new ideas and strategies but when they present their suggestions, they are shot down because of all the excuses we listed above.

People do not like change. We get it. They feel threatened by it. But is that enough to keep things the same?

Luke 5:33-39

“And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink? And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days. And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.”

The Pharisees, or religious leaders, felt threatened by Jesus and this new way. They were used to traditions and the law, but Jesus brought something new. And they didn’t like it at all.

They had forgotten their mission.

They were so focused on the way it had always been done that they couldn’t see the truth about Jesus.

He even gave them an example they would understand with the wineskins. These were leather pouches made of goatskins that were sewn together. If it was a new pouch, it still had room to expand and grow with the wine as it aged. But the old wineskins, they were tough, they would not expand with the wine and then they would break and the wine would spill.

He compared them to the old wineskins. They were too rigid to accept Jesus.

Even Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin, after asking Jesus many questions, just could not forsake his traditions for this new way of thinking.

What about us? What are we holding to? Our mission or tradition? If something was once a good thing, but it’s not working anymore, should we not explore new ideas to see what will work? Our mission stays the same, but our approach and method might need to change.