Black church traditions we need to kick to the curb now

Tradition can be a good, powerful, beautiful thing. Honoring and keeping traditions can allow values to pass on from one generation to the next, so that those children, grandchildren, and their children will be able to benefit from ancient knowledge and learn lessons from past triumphs and mistakes. But keeping traditions for tradition’s sake, without determining if said tradition is still meeting its purpose amid a newer context, can be harmful. In fact, one of humanity’s most powerful traditions is the tradition of challenging traditions when new knowledge, new information, and/or new realities make the once-empowering old ways now modern-day death traps. It’s literally the tradition of making sure that our traditions are still serving us, rather that us serving them – merely for tradition’s sake. On that note, here are a few Black Church traditions I believe we need to retire. Here me out saints, before damning me to hell. I’m saying we need to get rid of the Bible Class tradition that doesn’t make geography, history, and cultural context part of the lessons. Why geography? Because far too many faithful church-goers don’t realize that the vast majority of the Old Testament and New Testament (and Intertestamental Period) stories...