Tradition & Discipline: The "Oh Cr*p Bars" for Breakneck Sociological Change -- CHAPTER 5

“The Corinthians were introducing various self-destructive ethical practices and identity-damaging theological stances that were not in harmony with that received tradition. He wanted to call them back to the fixed tradition that gave the church its identity, an identity that in the early fifties of the first century had already taken a recognizable able shape. Again, Paul did not start a movement, he joined one. His method was to compliment his readers for their steadfastness in remembering and keeping the tradition, and at the same time slowly present larger and larger sections of that tradition. In essay five, the tradition is the climactic center of the opening homily.”

This paragraph from Bailey highlighted for me the idea that tradition can serve as a valuable filter when encountering ethical/sociological change.

Paul’s anchoring (pun intended) new ideas and new ethics with the “received tradition” brought to mind for me our culture point of Discipline.  Our writing in the Super Ultra on discipline is as follows:

9.  DISCIPLINE (I Cor. 10:26) - “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.”  When you realize that everything that you use or have is an undeserved gift from a gracious creator your countenance more clearly reflects joy, gratitude, and generosity.   Focusing on the fullness of your creator is a daily discipline.  The more you focus on your creator’s fullness, the more you perceive your own emptiness.  As the creator fills the secret, empty recesses of your soul your countenance reflects the creator’s fullness.  Leaders and followers are desperately seeking those who carry on them the fragrance of Christ. So why do so few seem to wear the person of Christ like a garment or perfume?  The challenge is that the fullness of your creator is not something that you acquire.  It is freely and extravagantly given.   What lacks is the discipline and resolve to commune intimately with the creator’s abundance.  

Bailey and Paul suggest to me that if I seek to engage the hyper speed current of sociological change while remaining fully alive to Christ then  I should at least consider tradition/discipline as the defining, climatic center of my focus/energy.  In other words, if I want to be “hip to the room” (but not too hip for the room of course) I should consider adding: scripture reading, fasting, extended solitude, blogging, Bailey books, solo worship experiences, prayer/contemplation etc. to my spiritual diet. 

When I was in high school we referred to the plastic strap or bar above the passenger’s door on the inside of the car as the “oh cr*p bar” or in “80’s highschool parlance” the “oh sh*t bar.” 

(Probably shouldn't put this on the interwebs but there may have been times where extremely foolish folks (not me of course) would take it as a challenge to see if they could unexpectedly swerve recklessly enough to get an unsuspecting passenger to grab the "oh cr*p bar" and then, of course mock them mercilessly if they did grab the bar.  -- Adolescents are so CRUEL!!!

This book and this particular paragraph have hammered home again to me that tradition and discipline in season and off season at Sonshine are the "oh cr*p bars" of faith that allow us to have the immediate, subconscious, impulse of love/freedom of Christ while living within fast and furious and at time reckless sociological change. 

Steve Mann

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