Probably many...certainly many, ideas that seemed good at the time have proven not to be good ideas for all times. We could compile a long list of such ideas. We would all be able to add to the list because we have all been the victims or the perpetrators of such ideas.

One such idea is this: that one religious format fits all people, in all places, and in all times. Cookie-cutter religion is sometimes laughable. It is sometimes dangerous. It is sometimes hurtful. My experience of Creator and Redeemer can never be your experience of Creator and Redeemer. And even if our experiences of Creator and Redeemer are similar, they cannot be expected to be every one's experiences.

It might seem like a good idea to reduce faith to a short list of simple rules but I would suggest that this does not allow for the personal experience of God (as Creator and Redeemer)by each man, woman, and child.

I hope that in my preaching and in my living I am leaving room for individual experiences of God that are similar to mine and different than mine. Probably, I do not do as good a job at this as I could. So it would be a good idea if I were to be more intentional about it.

That seems like a good idea.