Always Reforming

Prayer.  Scripture.  Baptism and the Eucharist.  Fellowship. These are means of grace . What does that mean?  Does that rustle your feathers a little?  Does it sound too Roman Catholic for you?  I assure you that there is nothing magical about this concept of the means of grace.  We do not believe in  ex opere operato .  Nevertheless, God has prescribed specific acts--many of them physical--to which He has attached promises.  The Church has long known these as the means of grace. Let's be clear about one thing-- God can (and does) work however He pleases. He can work directly, miraculously, etc. when He so chooses (see the Conversion of St. Paul). However, He has ordained to use certain, concrete activities to convert and sanctify His people. As Christians, if we wish to grow in holiness and intimacy with God, we are called to utilize these spiritual gardening tools. The primary means of grace have traditionally been identified as ...

Why do you go to church on Sunday?  I would assume there are many reasons, but what is the primary reason that you get up on a cold, snowy Sunday morning and get your butt to church?  Further, why has the Church of Jesus Christ consistently gathered together on Sundays (among other days) for the last 2000 years? Throughout my 34 years of church attendance I would have proffered a variety of answers to that question.  As a child I'm sure I went to church because I had to, to see my cousins (who happened to be my best friends), to get bread and wine (weekly communion for the win), etc.  As my faith matured in adulthood these reasons remained, hopefully deepening, but to them were added concepts like rest and theological training. As I moved into Anglicanism I was struck by the deliberate focus on worship .  Why do Christians gather on Sunday morning?  To worship God!  Are teaching and fellowship important?  Absolutely!  Are they aspects of wor...

As an adherent to Paedocommunion  (hereafter PC), I have always found it painfully ironic that Credocommunionists use 1 Corinthians 11 to withhold children (among others) from the Table.  One can imagine St. Paul shaking his head as he watches theologians using his discussion of unity at the Table to divide the body at the Table.  You're missing the point! he would say in exasperation.  Not only does 1 Corinthians 11 not forbid PC; I would go so far as to say that there is no better defense of PC in the New Testament than the epistle of 1 Corinthians. Credocommunionist logic is pretty straightforward.  1 Corinthians 11:28 says, "Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup."  If, they argue, one is unable to fulfill the exhortation to examine himself, then he may not eat of the bread and drink of the cup.  This is a pretty logical deduction, right? Credobaptists would adamantly agree.  Acts 2:38 says, "Repe...