Greg Jones, who served as dean of Duke Divinity School from 1997 to 2010, recently spoke to the Ministries Council of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. His presentation focused on “deep trends affecting Christian institutions from the ‘digital revolution’ and the growing lack of trust in institutions among Americans to ‘reconfiguring denominations and emerging forms of congregating.’” Michael Cheuk, chair of the Ministries Council, responded, “Very helpful to me was the concept of ‘traditioned innovation.’ Traditioned innovation honors the past but is not imprisoned by it. Neither does it innovate by making things up as we go along.” Cheuk’s comments remind us of the rich tradition of the church. When we study church history, we discover a multitude of ways to worship, teach, fellowship, ministry, and witness. Some are complementary while others are contradictory. Under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, God’s people have used varied approaches to be on mission w...
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