By “traditions,” I am referring to those extra-biblical customs that become a way of life for many congregations. A tradition is neither inherently good nor bad. Its value or its distraction in a given church really depends on how members treat the traditions.

I recently embarked on a major research project for a new resource I will soon be offering. Part of my research included a long review of thousands of comments made on this site over the past few years. Though my research had another purpose, I became intrigued by the comments related to church traditions.

Of course, by “traditions,” I am referring to those extra-biblical customs that become a way of life for many congregations. A tradition is neither inherently good nor bad. Its value or its distraction in a given church really depends on how members treat the traditions.

With that in mind, I began noting the most frequently defended traditions in churches. As a corollary, these traditions can also be a potential source of divisiveness. They are ranked here according to the frequency of the comments.

1. Worship and music style. Though I have noted elsewhere that this issue is not as pervasive as it once was, it is still number one.
2. Order of worship service. Thou shalt not change any items in the order of worship.
3. Times of worship service(s). The first three most frequently defended traditions are related to worship services.

[Editor’s note: This article is incomplete. The link (URL) to the original article at Church Answers is unavailable and has been removed.]