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Living in the past 

“One thing that tells me a company is in trouble is when they tell me how good they were in the past.  Same with countries.  You don’t want to forget your identity.  I’m glad you were great in the fourteenth century, but that was then and this is now.  When memories exceed dreams, the end is near.  The hallmark of a truly successful organization is the willingness to abandon what made it successful and start fresh.“

 -Michael Hammer  The World is Flat

 While I can certainly agree with the above statement, there are worthy and good things from the 14th Century that are worth keeping. I suspect what Hammer is getting at is what we might describe as “Tradition” as opposed to “traditionalism.”

“Traditionalism” tends to be the clinging to ways of doing, being, or thinking as they have “always been” even when it is evident that those things, those traditions, no longer effectively engage the emerging culture and the emerging generations.

“Tradition” tends to be those things that endure from generation to generation and through multiple cultures and through trial and persecution. Those things or aspects as part of the Tradition prove their worth and pertinence through such challenge.

Within the Imago Dei Society, I and we continue to investigate emerging generations and culture because we need to understand how to translate the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how to pass on the Tradition to those who come after us. What we don’t need to attempt to hold on to or pass on are those things that are tied closely to traditionalism.  The “fresh start” is something we need to be about, always.