Bren Hughes, of Gallatin, TN, has written a thoughtful post entitled Formality in Worship. In it he references Bill Gnade's Informed Formality in his discussion of CofC worship. He also makes reference to us.
Click the link above to check it out. Bren shares some ideas that continue to challenge our thinking as we seek to be more relevant.
Please share your thoughts.
Saturday, March 11, 2006
A little more on formality and relevance
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4 comments:
I finally got the chance to go to this link and read. I found it interesting and I especially enjoyed the comment made by the guy named James. Bren said he was planning to write more about this subject the following morning, but I havn't read it yet. I'll read it as soon as I can and comment here if something grabs me.
Ok. I just read "part 2" and I really enjoyed the last paragraph. I find it very interesting to think of how things might be alot different today concerning "fru-fru" if the early Christians weren't poor and persecuted. Very interesting to think about.
Taylor,
I am glad you took the opportunity to read Bill's series. It seems that you found it stimulating. I hope you are doing well in Columbus.
Dear Taylor,
I am honored that you should have read my series from beginning to end. That's a huge compliment to me, even if you had not find it worthwhile. I hope being "thought provoking" is a good thing.
Now, I must say that I disagree with you, adamantly: You are not one messed up person at all. I think everyone struggles to find his or her place in the Body of Christ. Sometimes I even think God wants it that way, so that we might not get too cozy within our churches, content that church is all there is.
Can I share with you a question that came zooming into my head one night during my evening prayers? It is a rhetorical question, so you need not answer it.
Here it is: Has Jesus Christ Himself told you not to be a Roman Catholic? Now, just to be perfectly clear, this is exactly how I heard the question -- with the pronoun you (and not I).
I've struggled with this particular question for over 20 years. And I have in fact answered it (for myself): "Christ has not told me not to be a Catholic." But even though I've answered the question, it does not follow that I am now a Catholic. I am not.
Of course, there are many things I do (or don't do) that are not a result of following a direct order from Christ. I am not wondering if Christ told me to write this comment. Nor have I had a golden and glowing visitor in my house at night telling me in Aramaic that I must study philosophy or drink Earl Grey tea at breakfast (I do both). But the Protestant/Catholic question is really not only of a different scale, it's almost of a different order: it's a gigantic question. Though I've struggled with that massive question, I remain Protestant, though barely.
In all candor, the question has defined my spiritual struggle since I first heard it. And I am glad of that. For it has pushed me to ask other questions as to where, when, and how I became a non-Catholic (other than by accident of birth). Who told me that Catholicism was bad, even VERY bad? Who told me to distrust hierarchy or tradition or formality or Mass or statues of Mary? If not my Lord, then who? Are they right?
Anyhow, I thought I'd share with you how my own sense of being a mis-fit began.
Peace to you,
Bill Gnade
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