Always Reforming

Of late my friend and I have been trying to answer the question, "What is church?"  We've not been discussing the nature of the universal, catholic Church of Jesus Christ, but of the local church--the experience of the average Christian in and with his Christian community.  What does it mean to go to church ?  To be a part or member of a church?  It seems like such a simple question, but there are profoundly different answers, many of which remain implicit.   Here is my shotgun answer.  Church is (or should be): 1. Local .  Driving an hour and a half to gather with a group of believers is less than desirable.  Everyone's options and experiences are different, so there certainly are no hard and fast rules ("local" is, of course, relative), but the general goal for a church is that it would be a local body where you can be present and plant roots.  Sometimes this will mean dealing with practices or doctrines you don't like, which is, in f...

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. (1 Cor 12:27) We are the body of Christ. Wait...what?  We are the body of Christ?!   Process this with me for a second.  This is not simply a metaphor.  We who are united to Jesus Christ by faith are mystically united to Him and are His body!  I fear we've heard these words too many times and meditated on them far too rarely!  We are the body of Christ!  What a privilege!  What a blessing!  What a call to holiness, to walk in a manner worthy of our Lord (Col 1:10)! You, Paul says, are the body.  The KJV retains the plural with it's Shakespearean "ye."  You--the church in Corinth; the Church universal--are collectively one body (I believe the letter to my forefathers in West Virginia renders it "all y'all") . In a real sense, we lose ourselves in our identity with Christ.  "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me," Paul says elsewhere (Gal 2...

I recently wrote an article on the woes of clericalism.  This article will continue the theme from a specifically liturgical perspective.  As I have been working through (read: struggling with) this topic, a few particulars have stuck out.  The epitome of the clericalism I am bemoaning is the concept known as in persona Christi . Now, like many concepts, this doctrine has been explained differently by the various traditions that hold some form of it, which can make it more difficult to define or examine.  In persona Christi , which literally means "in the person of Christ," essentially teaches that the priest stands in the place of Christ when officiating the sacraments.  As this First Things' article states it, "The priest stands in the place of Jesus within the Church's sacramental life."  When the sacraments are being administered, Christ is the one administering them through the agency of the priest.  When the Eucharist is being consecrated,...

Let love be genuine. (Rom 12:9a) True love, Paul tells us, is genuine.  It is sincere and unfeigned.  It is, more literally, without hypocrisy.   Hypocrisy is deceptive.  It leverages and manipulates the truth for it's own agenda.  It hides itself, as the Greek word originally implied, behind a mask. This is not what love does.  Love is honest.  Love is vulnerable.  Love seeks the benefit of others, even at the cost of self-exposure and self-sacrifice. We are often reminded that love is not just a feeling; it is not merely emotional.  This is good and true, but our love certainly should engage our emotions.  It should be heartfelt and genuine. If you are pretending to love, you are not loving.  Even if your actions are outwardly appropriate--even if you're abiding by the letter of the law--you're not truly loving if your heart is not properly oriented. If your love is manipulative, it's not real love.   If your love ...

What are the biggest issues facing the Church today?  Nominalism?  Licentiousness?  The human heart?  Yes, yes, and absolutely!   I would add another to this list: clericalism. What do I mean by clericalism?  Well, I certainly don't mean the existence of clerics, spiritual authority, leadership structures, etc.  The New Testament is clear that spiritual leadership is from God and is to be obeyed.  By clericalism I mean an unhealthy separation or distinction between the clergy and the laity.  This is sometimes institutional, but it is just as often cultural and unspoken.  Some denominations and churches restrict liturgical or pastoral duties to clergy as a matter of principle, while others do it as a matter of habit or practicality.  It is sometimes the fault of the clergy who seek to retain power, control, or money, but it is perhaps more often the preference of laymen who are perfectly satisfied with a consumeristic relations...

Having been raised in a Reformed Presbyterian microdenomination, my first impulse is to separate over secondary and even tertiary issues.  To put it another way, we made everything a primary issue.  I have spent the last 15 years of my life trying to retrain my instincts, which is why I heartily embraced the ecumenical attitude of the ACNA six years ago.  We agree on the fundamentals, but we can agree to disagree on secondary issues.   But... Where is the line?  How much latitude is too much?  What do we do when people insist that primary issues aren't primary issues?  Where do discipline and accountability come in, especially when a bishop is involved? The Anglican world has been on fire for the last few weeks.  A bishop was found guilty after a tumultuous trial.  Another bishop has come under fire for associating with a TEC bishop.  Meanwhile, debates have raged online over what Anglicans really believe about the Eucharist and ...