Tradition

“Christian tradition can …be a resource for the revitalization of the church in our time,
but we have to be very caution, for the sake of honesty,
about the extent to which we can idealize the past and our relationship to it.
 We face the temptation of constructing fictive, idealized cultures to satisfy our longing for deeper roots.
 Methodist people can take  (John) Wesley as one bridge to the whole Christian past,
but we cannot find in (John) Wesley a hidden path that leads to a secret garden …..
This would require an extensive denial of the complexity of Wesley’s own roots, and an equally
extensive fantasy about the relevance of Wesley’s roots to us two hundred years later.”

 (Ted A. Campbell, from Wesley and the Quadrilateral p 74)

What is a church tradition that prevents you from practicing your faith? 

What are the shifts in church tradition that have help you to grow in faith?