Webster's Dictionary defines a box as "a container, usually lidded, made of a stiff material such as pasteboard, wood, metal, etc." In a spiritual sense, a box can also be tradition. Tradition is, according to Webster's, "a cultural continuity transmitted in the form of social attitudes, beliefs, principles and conventions of behavior, etc. deriving from past experience and helping to shape the present."

How many people, churches and organizations today are boxed in by tradition and a fear of how it would look, or what people would think, if they truly stepped out in faith and preached, taught, and lived the Gospel according to the bible - not the gospel set down as law by the people who came before them?

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. (Col. 2:8)

If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations-- "Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch" (referring to things that all perish as they are used)--according to human precepts and teachings? (Col. 2: 20-22)

For some who have spent years (or even their entire lives) in tiny boxes, when they say "I'm stepping out of the box" they really are … but they're stepping from a ring sized box to a shoe box - slightly larger quarters, but boxed in all the same. Stepping out of the box does not mean stepping sideways to an area considered "acceptable" by the masses, because, let's face it, the majority of the masses are bound by tradition. Stepping out of the box means going against the grain at times. It's not doing ministry work from an "acceptable list", approved by a board or another group of people, like nursing homes, prisons and food banks. Anymore, starting a food bank or a prison ministry can hardly be called stepping out of the box. While there is a definite need for these particular ministries, those areas have been covered, recovered and covered some more by hundreds of churches in America today. It's as if many denominations have come up with lists of who is "acceptable" to help, who is "redeemable" and worthy of their time and energy. But what about the rest of the lost? What about those folks that tradition won't reach? Who is ministering to them?

We're a nation of pre-conceived notions and our ideas of ministry rarely seem to cover all of the classes of "undesirables". If someone sees a Christian coming out of a nursing home, they won't think twice about it. But if the same person is seen coming out of a bar, brothel, or other place of "ill repute", they are automatically condemned and no longer approved of. Paul spoke of how what we approve of may be what condemns us in Romans 14:22 (Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves.) He was speaking about foods, and which ones were acceptable and which weren't, but the principle is the same. You can not be "made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some" (1 Cor. 9:22) if you're automatically thinking the worst about anyone outside of your box. If you only approve of reaching out to those on the "A list", you can condemn yourself quickly by ignoring the rest. If the suggestion of doing whatever is necessary to redeem people is something you consider to be absurd or offensive, then prepare to be offended. We're in good company because Jesus himself was "a stone to make people stumble and fall" in Romans 9:33 .

Folks stuck in a box find it to be a comfortable place to be after a time. In a comfort zone, you will rarely find people speaking truth in the face of adversity. After all, being unpopular is uncomfortable. Just look at the recent headlines for a perfect example. Homosexual marriages are becoming legal all over the world and you find more and more denominations ordaining gay and lesbian ministers (United Church of Christ , United Methodists , Episcopal , Lutheran ) in churches worldwide. The Old Testament is very clear on God's view on homosexuality and it's referred to as one of the things "worthy of death" in Romans 1:24 - 32. I Corinthians 6:9 says "do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals"

Another common box or comfort zone can be found in preachers and music ministers that "go with the flow" instead of speaking openly to their flocks when God gives them something because it may offend the people that are paying the bills. This is partial obedience, not what Peter spoke of in Acts 5:29 when he said "We ought to obey God rather than men". The truth that makes people uncomfortable may not be politically correct, but, as John 8:32 says, "the truth will set you free". While we're looking at church and religious bodies of today, let's look at what is considered to be acceptable for music in worship. We have Scripture for musical instruments in worship, but none for the other equipment commonly found in churches today like church buildings with nice stained glass windows, pews, pulpits, song books, etc. We call these things perfectly acceptable, but argue about instruments and the styles/types of music played - too loud, too hard, too urban, too of this world. Genesis tells us that in the beginning God created everything. No where in the bible does it say that God created certain musical notes or styles and that the devil came up with the rest. Christ was passionate in his life and in his ministry. Music that glorifies God and fills us with a passion for the Lord is not a bad thing. So why do so many church services today present lackluster music to lackluster congregations? Because tradition demands it? This is a new day … not the church of 50 years ago. The battle is as old as time itself, but as the world changes, the front line changes too. The devil is an old hand at using popular culture in his campaign to damn as many souls as possible. Where else would "sex, drugs and rock and roll" and "gangsta rap" come from? But it's not the music itself that speaks of every imaginable sin … it's the lyrics. Condemning a style of music with Godly lyrics just because the style or the beat doesn't personally appeal to you or because it goes against tradition is wrong. The Bible is pretty clear on music…

Ephesians 5:19 - ...speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, (Notice that Paul doesn't define what spiritual songs are … each generation seems to do that on their own.)

Psalm 96:1 - Sing a new song to the Lord. All you people of the earth, sing to the Lord.

Psalm 33:3 - Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.

Psalm 98:4 - Shout for joy to the LORD , all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music;

In other words, let your music glorify the Lord. As you can see, no specific style or genre' is mentioned in the Bible. So condemnation of a style or beat comes from man, not from God. I like the way that L. Spenser Smith & Testament put it in their song "That's Our Praise" … ©2003 Flowythm Pub.

"We may not praise Him
Like you praised Him
When you praised Him long ago
For we are God's new generation
And we've come to let you know
That the old way of praise and worship
May have worked for you
But behold all things are passed away
And all things become new."

Let's get a little more personal here. A good example of individual boxes is Christians who have had God lay things on their hearts about things that are wrong, but they refuse to speak out if it's against someone in ministry. Somewhere along the line the idea was formed that because a person goes to Bible college he or she has a direct line from God's mouth to their ear. The truth is that they are just as human as you and me. Paul himself spoke of his own humanity in Romans 7:7-25 . Maybe you know someone like that … or perhaps you yourself are someone like that.

Road to Revelation, the ministry and the members, are out of the box. Though we have not condemned those who feel most comfortable worshipping in a corporate setting, unfortunately, some who do have automatically condemned us for not being affiliated with a church. Due to the fact that we don't feel like our only communication with our Lord has to come to us via a preacher, we have been labeled by some as radicals and our mission, our faith and our very walks have been questioned. Like Paul, we "...have been pure. We have known what to do. We have suffered long. We have been kind. The Holy Spirit has worked in us. We have had true love. We have spoken the truth. We have God's power. We have the sword of being right with God in the right hand and in the left hand. Some men respect us and some do not. Some men speak bad against us and some thank us. They say we lie, but we speak the truth." (2 Cor. 6:6-8) We're not afraid of being outside of the box. We're not fearful of going against the grain. We stand firm with the belt of truth buckled around our waists, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, with our feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, with the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Eph. 6:14-17)

By stepping outside of the box, we have opened ourselves up to receiving directly from God. There is no "filter" held over us by the church and we're not controlled by the politically correct agenda of today.

God has given us an assignment … Stay out of the box. Don't teach a watered down, socially acceptable version of the Gospel. Call it like it is; don't dress it up with a nice pair of rose colored glasses. Lead my people to a true road to revelation. So buyer beware, as they say, this ain't the oatmeal that the world has been feeding you. This is the fire and the passion of the Lord. We're taking it to a new level and stepping out in faith to be new warriors for and in Christ.