With our journey of visiting fifty-two churches over, I can reflect more on the complete experience. Today, I’ll add to my thoughts about Church #18.
We’ve now been to three churches with liturgical services (Church #5, 17, and 18), two of them Roman Catholic. I’ve struggled with the liturgy at all three.
I’m quite sure God is present, but we don’t connect. I could blame the church, the priest, or their tradition, but it’s no one’s fault but my own.
I appreciate that others are drawn to the tradition and find comfort in the ritual. I’m glad for them, but the rhythm of this practice evades me. I’m yet to find spiritual significance in liturgical services, but I’m willing to continue working at it.
Another struggle, a more critical concern is that the people arrive silently, worship subtly, and exit quickly. Without interaction, connection, or community, I leave feeling alone and isolated.
The ritual and rhythm of Catholic practices intrigue me, but the impersonal nature of their gathering discourages me.
God, may I learn how to connect with you in all settings and circumstances, including liturgical services. May my worship be sincere and true, regardless of the style of church service.
My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
We park a block from church. As we hike to where we hope the entrance is, we engage in conversation with a woman, seeming to make a good connection.
I consider asking if we can sit with her, so we may follow her lead during the service. But she breezes inside and scurries away—so much for our connection.
The facility is smartly contemporary: open and airy. The altar is in the center of the sanctuary, with chairs (not pews—and no kneeling rails) positioned around it.
I estimate it seats over four hundred, with about 240 present, mostly middle age and older. Though a college parish, I don’t see many students.
The worship team is vastly different then our past two Roman Catholic experiences, consisting of a guitar, bass guitar, drum set, and piano.
Along with four vocalists, three of the instrumentalists also have mikes. Their songs are likewise contemporary, albeit unfamiliar.
For the Eucharist, I realize I can still have the spiritual experience of Holy Communion without actually going forward to physically receive the elements.
Even so, their process distracts me, and I miss connecting with God during the ceremony.
Afterwards I spot a friend, lingering to talk to her. Candy and I also chat briefly with the priest; he recognizes we’re visitors but makes no effort to learn our names. T
his might be because he’s distracted by a member hovering about, impatient to talk to him.
Given time, I suspect I could find a comfortable and meaningful rhythm in Catholic services.
However, even though this parish was friendlier than the other two, I still feel that making personal connections at Catholic churches presents a challenge.
This is troublesome, since the community aspect of church is important to me.
My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
The sanctuary of this Roman Catholic Church is grand without being ostentatious. Modern and airy, it seats several hundred, with pews arrayed in four sections, each group angled to face the front.
Behind the platform is an impressive marble wall with a large crucifix at its center.
To one side, at floor level, is a statue of Mary.
As people enter, most dip their fingers in a vessel of water mounted by each door and touch their foreheads. Some then turn towards the crucifix, bowing slightly.
Many, upon reaching their desired pew, quickly drop to one knee (genuflect) in the aisle. Once seated, about half flip down the kneeling rail.
Some kneel as a quick ritual, while others linger in pious contemplation. For each of these actions, making the sign of the cross is a common conclusion.
Perhaps my memories of Church #5 have faded, but this Roman Catholic gathering seems more steeped in ritual, with a service that’s harder to follow. While the hymns are announced, the rest of the liturgy proceeds without direction. We think we’re prepared, but we aren’t.
Some of the service uses a “Mass Prayer and Response” card and other parts use “Today’s Missal,” while much of the service follows neither, though perhaps we aren’t looking in the right place at the right time.
Much ritual surrounds the presentation of the Eucharist. Once again, I’m so fixated on the process that I miss contemplating its meaning. Then the service ends.
My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
When I tell people we’re visiting Christian churches, they often assume Protestant and are surprised our plan includes Catholic gatherings. That’s where we head today, to our first Mass.
The most noticeable difference is an ornate crucifix in the sanctuary. I’m pleased to see many lay people helping lead the service. There’s a nice range of ages present, including children who remain with us the entire time.
I struggle to follow along. There’s many times for the congregation to respond, but we don’t know what to say. Their service is not friendly to the uninitiated.
Music
The lone musical instrument is a keyboard and the keyboardist leads the singing. There’s also a choir. Both the singers and musician are behind us.
Removing our focus from them, makes it less like a performance and more worshipful.
The priest leads us in the Apostle’s Creed. I thought this was a Protestant proclamation, but obviously not.
We also pray the Lord’s Prayer. I’m aware Catholics don’t say the final line that Protestants do, but I almost say it anyway.
Message
The priest begins his Mother’s Day message with a series of anecdotes about moms, segueing into love: reciprocal love, romantic love, and love-your-enemies as exemplified by Jesus.
I wonder how a priest can address the complexities of romantic love, but he does a great job at it.
I also appreciate him mentioning Jesus’s death as a love-your-enemies example.
The message is short, followed by communion, what many refer to as the celebration of the Eucharist. The priest calls it “a memorial service” for Jesus.
We don’t partake, and I attempt to spend this time in quiet contemplation of Jesus’ sacrifice. However, I’m too distracted to do so.
The priest announces Mass is over. The service lasted one hour, and we head home with much to contemplate.
My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Many Christians Include the Books of the Apocrypha as Part of Their Scripture
The book of Revelation ends with a severe threat to anyone who would add to it, that God will afflict that person with the plagues mentioned therein.
Interpretation Error
Though the warning clearly applies to the book of Revelation—“the words of the prophecy of this scroll”—some people, even preachers who should know better, wrongly apply this omen to the words of the entire Bible instead of just Revelation.
Adding to their error, they proceed to criticize the Roman Catholic Church (as well as other streams of Christianity) for “adding to the Bible.” Shame on these preachers. They don’t know their history.
Removing Books from the Bible
It was Protestants who removed content from the Bible, but this didn’t happen five hundred years ago during the beginning of the Protestant Reformation but more recently: about two centuries ago. Until then the books of the Apocrypha were part of the King James Version, the venerable KJV.
Yes, you may be shocked to know the original King James Version of the Bible (1611) included the Apocrypha. About two hundred years later the books of the Apocrypha were removed from the KJV. (This officially started in 1796 but took until the mid-1800s to effectively occur).
This news stunned me. I’m angry that people removed part of the Bible, lessening my ability to more fully comprehend God in the process.
The Silent Years
Fundamentalists call the four hundred year gap in their Bible, between the Old and New Testaments, “the silent years” because they believe God had nothing to say or do.
In reality, the Apocrypha clearly shows God at work during this time, but these fundamentalists don’t know this truth because they’re unwilling to consider what God had to say.
I’ve read and appreciate the seven books, along with additional text for two others, that Catholics have in their Bible and Protestants don’t. I wish I had encountered these amazing words much sooner.
More Books in the Bible
I recently received a copy of the text removed from the KJV Bible (Apocrypha, Authorized King James Version). I expected it to include seven books. Instead there were fourteen. Now I’m twice as mad about what was taken away from today’s Protestant Bible and its sixty-six books.
But that’s not all. The canon of the Ethiopia Bible (The Apocrypha: Including Books from the Ethiopic Bible) contains even more. I’m currently reading these books of the greater Bible. Though I’m not ready to fully embrace them, I am intrigued.
This will help me better understand God, just as other parts of the greater church of Jesus are able to do.
What about Nonbiblical Texts?
There are also other historical writings, contemporary to the contents of the Bible, but since no stream of Christianity has included them in their canon of scripture, I’m content to follow their lead.
Though I’m a bit curious about what these nonbiblical texts have to say, I’ll ignore them and hide only God’s word in my heart, Psalm 119:11.
The Bible as the Foundation of Faith
The Bible provides the foundation of my faith. As a Christian, part of the universal church of Jesus, I contend we should consider all of the words any part of Christianity includes in their canon of scripture.
As I do this, I don’t expect my core theology to change, but I do expect it to expand into a more holistic comprehension of God.
Don’t dismiss the words of the Apocrypha. If you’re a serious student of the Bible, then you need to consider the whole Bible and not just part of it.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
The Practicing Congregation: Imagining a New Old Church
By Diana Butler Bass (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)
If you follow the media at all, you have likely heard of the demise of interest and attendance at mainline churches in the United States and abroad.
Although there may be some truth in that assessment, it is only part of the truth. There is also occurring numerical growth and spiritual success among some mainline congregations.
The Practicing Congregation looks at those churches, encouraging and enlightening us along the way. This sentiment is succinctly summed up in the subtitle: “Imaging a New Old Church” and as such it becomes a primer for tomorrow’s church.
The contents of this book are applicable to all who follow the God revealed in the Bible, but is focused especially on mainline churches.
As a bonus there is a compelling afterword by Brian McLaren that extends Butler Bass’s mainline principles to evangelical, Roman Catholic, and Orthodox perspectives.
For the academic minded, this work is heavily and thoughtfully footnoted.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing and Why
By Phyllis Tickle (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)
The subtitle to The Great Emergence provides a concise summary of this book’s content: “How Christianity is Changing and Why.”
To respond to this statement, Tickle first explains what emergence is, then how we arrived at this point, and concludes with where it is going.
Along the way, Tickle provides a succinct and insightful history lesson of Christianity, complete with Protestantism and Catholicism (Western Christianity) Eastern (Greek) Orthodoxy, and Oriental Orthodoxy.
She notes 500 year cycles at which point major changes, or “Great Transformations,” occur.
We are currently at that point of great transformation.
She introduces the “The Quadrilateral,” a matrix that effectively portrays the distinctions within North American Christianity. As readers progress through the book, the diagram morphs as additional detail is added and future trends are projected.
This aptly serves to provide a clear graphical summary of the text’s detailed explanations.
This book offers a cogent summary the emergent and emerging church, as well as offering a clear and compelling glimpse into the future.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
I understand the Apocrypha books were part of the original King James translation of the Bible, but they were later deleted.
Furthermore, the Apocrypha was part of the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, which was in use during Jesus’ time.
So, why were these books expunged from the Bible? The justification is that since they aren’t in the Hebrew Bible and there are no versions of them written in Hebrew, they were removed.
I think that was a bad call. These books contain some epic stories and can add flavor and depth to our understanding of God. We should embrace them rather than reject them.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
Between Two Worlds: The Spiritual Journey of an Evangelical Catholic
By Mike Timmis (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)
The subtitle of Between Two Worlds serves as an apt and accurate summary of what the book is about: “The Spiritual Journey of an Evangelical Catholic.”
At first consideration, the phrase “Evangelical Catholic” seems to be a contradiction of terms. However, author Mike Timmis shows autobiographically how these two seemingly enigmatic thoughts are not mutually exclusive.
He deftly demonstrates how they comfortably coexist in his life and ensued through an understandable series of events.
Though faithfully and firmly Catholic, Timmis is also Evangelical. He sees the two as a desirable outcome and points to increased activity and acceptance of Catholics who are also Evangelical.
In addition to providing insight into what it means to be both Catholic and Evangelical, Timmis shares his journey, with its joys and sorrows, success and failures, in an interesting and compelling manner.
This book serves nicely as both an interesting memoir of an amazing man and as a Catholic-Evangelical primer.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
A guy who ponders deep theological thoughts recently shared two concepts with me: intentional Protestantism and accidental Protestantism.
Both relate to the Reformation of the Christian church, some five hundred years ago. What about accidental Christianity or intentional Christianity?
Back then, a group of people saw problems in the church and broke from it, forming something new; they became Protestant by intention.
The other group desired to foment change from within the church, but when that didn’t happen, they became Protestant by accident. (Later the Catholic Church did indeed make most of these needed changes, but it took a few more years.)
What if there was no intentional effort to break away? What if the other group had been successful at reforming the church from within? Then, today Christianity would look much different and we would be more unified, just as Jesus wanted.
Now, take this concept back two thousand years. For a time, the early followers of Jesus existed within the Jewish church of the day.
They were emerging as a sect of Judaism, potentially a third element, along with the Pharisees and Sadducees (two groups who didn’t agree on much but found a way to mostly coexist anyway).
Some of Jesus’ first followers wanted to remain within the Jewish culture but became accidental Christians, while others were intentional Christians.
What if Christianity didn’t form that way? What if Jesus’ followers found a way to coexist within Judaism? The thought intrigues me. I already feel an affinity for our Jewish forebears, and this would connect us even more.
We all do serve the same God, so would it really matter? Of course, this is all hypothetical, but I think God would be okay with it.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
