If we are not careful, some of these expectations become full-fledged traditions. They take on a significance far greater than simply being a convenient routine. Some things become almost holy and unchangeable. When that happens they have moved from being a routine to become a sacred cow. Then, when someone tampers with a sacred cow, people become very upset.
Every church has such traditions that have become sacred cows.
In one church I pastored, the color of the carpet had become the sacred cow. We had always had red carpet, but now the property committee was going to change it to blue. At another church, we had the Great Hymnbook Controversy of 1975. For twenty years, the 1956 version of the hymnal had been used and cherished in that church, but now the music committee wanted to purchase the newly updated 1975 version. This decision sparked a major debate on the quality of music in each hymnal.