Tradition is a system of beliefs or expected behaviors passed down within a group of people with symbolic meaning or special significance…customs, ethics, values, norms, heritage and culture are nearly synonymous terms.

Traditionalism refers to a profound distrust of anything that would alter or interfere with maintaining traditions. In the extreme, this behavior becomes “reactionary,” that is, an opposition to (and rejection of) any and all innovations that cause traditions to be modified or lost.

Anabaptist commitment to a cultural heritage has been a two-edged sword. It has been a tremendous blessing… insulating our churches from many damaging societal influences… “a friend to grace to help us on to God.”

Clearly, though, an unhealthy preoccupation with the past can diminish our ability to portray the glory of Christ. It can distract us (and the watching world) from His Gospel. It can damage our compelling portrayal of His kingdom.

This sermon will attempt to consider an answer to Francis Schaeffer’s pressing question: “How, then, shall we live?”

As the focus of this conference will include the inspiring history of some courageous young men in the 1500s who took a tough stand for clear principles of the Word of God, this message for youth will jump back a few centuries earlier and gain courage and inspiration from a boy in the Bible. This boy stood firmly with faith in his God in a very absorbing and challenging cultural setting that was not entirely unlike ours today. Will you?

What would come to be called the “Radical Reformation or Anabaptism” began in a time of unrest and upheaval. The medieval traditions and the authority of the established church were being challenged by many voices and ideas.

How could someone know the truth in such a chaotic and confusing time? If the traditional medieval church model was corrupted, should it be reformed or completely rebuilt? How should the Scriptures be interpreted and applied to give the right direction? By what process would believers determine God’s direction for their lives and how would they counsel other believers?

Those decisions were important, because they would live, and perhaps die, by what they believed and by whose voice they chose to follow.