The challenges of the frontier have vanquished the claims of tradition. Let's build one. In our evangelism we preach the truth and expect a decision. That is typically American. But in Scotland we learned a thing or two about tradition.
Grocery shopping provides a good example.
Americans like to buy in bulk, but the Scots prefer smaller daily purchases. Our desire to buy apples by the box dumbfounded the Scottish shopkeepers. And when we finally found one who would sell in bulk, the other customers were convinced we were running a boarding house. Numerous such experiences helped us understand tradition and its impact on the work of the church. We loved the land and its people, but the force of tradition made it extremely difficult to share our faith.