reflections on a Christian life

I used to give the simple definition of an evangelical as “someone whose parents were fundamentalists”.  It seemed to fit at the time.  There were various flavors of church history that I’d picked up from sermons and Sunday school classes.  The one consistent theme was that we were the group that had persevered since Pentecost whereas other denominations have lost the true teaching or diluted their message with the social gospel.  Of course, this was church history according to the fundamentalists (Conservative Baptists in my case).  The denominational splits were always necessary in order to preserve true Biblical belief and practice.  That seemed to be how things progressed through the mid 60s.  It was during the late 60s and 70s with the explosion of the boomer young adults that the relevance of denominations declined dramatically.  Churches sprang up around a pastor and those churches spawned their own clones so we now have Calvary Chapels, Willow Creek Associates, Vineyards, etc.  The denominational churches, feeling left behind by this trend gradually deemphasized their affiliations and many have dropped the name “Baptist” or “Presbyterian” from their title.  The idea, I think, is to disassociate from the negative stereotype non- Christians in particular might connect with the name.

Now if I walk into a church and ask about its history, I’ll hear about a legacy that counts back a couple years to a home Bible study or splinter group from some other local church.  The church will be defined by the style of the pastor, the style of worship, the quality of the youth group, and the range of “help” programs.  I’m lost looking for rootedness in organizations that are peddling relevance.

Maybe that’s why my kids are now Anglicans- they concluded that it would be better to align with a historical faith and practice rather than try to build a foundation under the latest pop “American Christian” trend.  Although I wince under the ecclesiastical hierarchy, I am thankful for the way it has preserved the God centered practice of worship.  Spiritual significance is infused in every activity of the service and through the church calendar. 

 The contrasts abound:

There, supplicants receive communion.  Here, we take communion.  There, the word of God is held up before the congregation and read.   Here, it is flashed on a video projector to supplement the points the pastor intends to make.  There, prayers are offered from the book of common prayer- intercessory pleas that have been poured over and refined to so that one may come before God in a theologically correct posture and conversation.   Here, the prayer is impromptu or a recap of the sermon – an opportunity to make sure that after 40 minutes of lecture we might come away with something useful.   Which is to say that here, the sermon is definitely the main event- in spite of any protestations otherwise.  Part standup comedy, part pep talk, with video or audience participation thrown in, the pastor does his darndest to keep our attention- as opposed to a homily that focuses briefly and earnestly on a single Biblical truth or passage and on many Sundays is connected to the proscribed plan in the church calendar.   For them, the main event is receiving communion which is certainly the climax of the worship rather than a supplemental monthly ritual the either forces an extended service or a shortened pastoral message.  And the calendar: well- we do the advent wreath during December and we do Palm Sunday (an opportunity to parade the children’s program into the auditorium with fronds) and Easter.  Ascension Sunday? Pentecost? What are those? And Lent? That’s a Catholic thing- we’re under grace!   If I hear about how the good Friday Service is going to be “fun” again next year I think I’ll just skip it an stay home to watch “The Passion”.

What keeps me here?

The Church.  The Church is the body of Christ and I can’t just decide that I want to hang out with others.  Our unity is in Christ, not in our zip code, economic status, life stage, or worship style preferences.  Yes, I have switched churches on occasion – usually associated with relocations.  When, after one relocation, I moved back to a community and didn’t resume attendance in our old church, I lost something as a result- a connection to brothers and sisters who would walk with me and worship with me in spite of differences or past hurts.

So I continue to worship and fellowship where I am.  If there is opportunity to encourage change or call people to a different way, I’ll try to do it gently.