John H Armstrong

Should the Church Gather for the Unchurched?

When I was in Phoenix in Arizona I met Rev. Matthew Marino. Matt is the Episcopal Canon of Arizona for Youth and Adult Ministries. He serves out of the diocesan office in Phoenix, where we met for the first time in November last year. We had a delightful time and connected very easily. 

Matt has 30 years experience leading youth ministry in a variety of contexts (rural, suburban and urban) and across the economic and ethnic continuum. He has developed a variety of training programs including the two-year Youth Ministry Apprenticeship training for full-time youth directors, curriculums for Young Life's multi-ethnic Student-Staff and volunteers, and the Remuda Ranch Center Aftercare Recovery Workbook. He has a Master’s in Educational Leadership from Arizona State University and was a member of Fuller Theological Seminary's first Urban Youth Ministry Cohort. Matt is Canon for Youth and Young Adults, leads the YMA training and a church plant team at St. Jude's, Phoenix. Matt's passion is developing a generation of Christian leaders in the Anglican tradition. Matt and Kari, his bride of 23 years, have two high school aged children. As a family they like to sail, read and eat. Preferably all at the same time . . . and in San Diego.

Matt began reading the ACT 3 Weekly shortly after we met up in November. He wrote this to me just a few days ago:

Dear John,

Thank  you for this ACT 3 Weekly series on "Churchless Christianity." I had a twitter conversation last night with a college kid who left my ordination service (in July of 2011) and got into it with three guys on his college campus who were arguing, "We don't need the church to follow Christ." It seems to me that if church is just a good pot of coffee, a message and a few songs, then those people might be right: they don't need a lot to be that attractive meeting place for a church that is trying so hard to attract them.

If the visible church is what it was originally: A gathering OF the body of Christ FOR the body of Christ, then this wouldn't even be a [serious] conversation. The church created it's own irrelevance when we made church into a meeting for the unchurched. Given the church they know, the "Jesus and me" group are right -- a Christian really doesn't much need the church. It is like my freshman son with Young Life: I wish he would go to the meetings in order to use it as a vehicle to reach his friends for Christ- but he feels zero NEED to go himself. 

However, when the faithful gather to participate in both the Word AND the Sacraments as Jesus taught us, drawing strength from His Spirit and from one another to go into the world to actually love the least, last and lost, then there is real spiritual power in the church meeting as the church. Let us follow the model of the earliest Christians and meet to spur one another on to love and good deeds in the sanctifying presence of the Word read, sung, preached and responded to and the mystery of the sanctifying presence of God in the family meal of the body of Christ -- the Eucharist. Then we will be propelled into the world as a multi-ethnic, multi-economic picture of the unifying power of God's grace to transform hearts, families and communities. 

You can't get that on TV or You Tube! 

Blessings,

Matt

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The Passing of the Peace

When I began to understand ancient liturgical practice some years ago one of the more beautiful discoveries was “The Passing of the Peace.” I had never heard the term until I was introduced to the practice in a liturgical context. Like everything else I encounter in the practice of worship I wanted to know what this term really meant and where the practice came from.

First, for those who do not know the term, it is used in many liturgical services after the reading of biblical texts, the sermon and The Lord’s Prayer. It always comes before the Eucharist or communion. The church will be led in prayer as a congregation and various ways of responding and praying are used. Following this the “passing of the peace” generally occurs. The leader says, “The peace of Christ be with you.” The congregation responds, “And also with you.” And then the leader urges the people to share the peace with one another.

Second, the “passing of the peace” occurs just before the Eucharist, for a very obvious biblical reason. In Paul’s extensive treatment of the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 11 he makes it clear that we are not to “eat the bread and drink the cup in an unworthy manner” (11:27). We are exhorted to self-examination (11:28) and “discerning the body” (11:29). Earlier Paul told the Corinthian congregation that “divisions” and “factions” in the church should not exist (11:18-19). The entire context says, in the clearest possible language, that we should make sure we are at peace with each other before we come to the Table. The “passing of the peace” is a liturgical reminder of this central truth. It is a time to search your own life and make sure that you are not communing with others in the congregation with whom you have unsettled disagreements that have created “division” and “faction.” Unity is the whole point.

Because I am deeply committed to practicing the unity of the church this practice has profound significance in my own life. And because of what I now know about “passing the peace” I find the evangelical substitute: “Greet the person next to you and say hello” to be a very weak substitute for this ancient liturgical practice. The most non-liturgical church I know could introduce this practice and it would profoundly help people to grasp the actual point of 1 Corinthians 11 in the process. Liturgical churches need a better understanding of the reason for this ancient practice if it is to have its intended purpose in the lives of their people. Next time you “pass the peace” do it with a heart that is right with God and your brothers and sisters. If your heart is not right with your brother or sister deal with that before you partake of the bread and the wine.

Forms of Prayer

I have been reading an old book that bears the title The Prayers of the Early Church (1930), written by Dom Fernand Cabrol, a Benedictine. It is a study of how the early church developed prayer within the context of liturgy. There is much to like in this treatment but some things to pursue that will not gain universal acclaim for sure. The flavor is quite Roman Catholic.

In a chapter titled “Forms of Prayer” the author writes: “From the very outset one of the distinguishing features of liturgical prayer is the element of spontaneity or improvisation in its utterance.” He adds, “Thus we learn from Justin, Tertullian, and most of the writers of this period . . . even the most solemn formulas were extemporized.” Variety and free-form were normative but in time more was written down. He rightly concludes: “However, this freedom of improvisation was not anarchy. Prayer was subject to certain rules; in some instances the theme was necessarily used, for instance in the name of the three divine persons in the administration of Baptism and the words of institution in the celebration of the Eucharist. All liturgies bear out this fact, for notwithstanding their variety all have preserved these traditional formulas.”

The distinguishing feature of these early gathered prayers was spontaneity. There are forms we can discover, for sure, but people were allowed to speak and pray in public. This does not argue against read (liturgical) prayers at all. After all, the New Testament provides such prayers. But it does argue against limiting all prayer in worship to one or two leaders. The church must pray when it gathers, all of it. Some will speak. Some will not. But the Spirit must not be limited to forms. Forms have their place but freedom is a mark of congregational life in worship.

How to Cope with Changing Forms of Worship: A Guest Blog

Karen Anderson, a visitor to this blog spot, offered a guest post that I feel can be helpful to some of you who struggle with public worship on the Lord’s Day. Since today is the first day of the week, the time when Christians routinely gather to remember their resurrected Lord in corporate worship, Karen’s words have particular meaning for some readers on this day. While I do not agree with everything Karen writes I believe the value of “hearing” her voice outweighs the perspective that only my voice should be heard on this site. Here is Karen’s story:

I was born and raised a Catholic; I went to schools that were Catholic and so, that is the only way I know how to worship and pray. And until a certain age, I had no idea that Christianity was a broad umbrella which encompassed various forms of worshipping Christ. It was only when I moved out of my small hometown and went to college that my experiences broadened, and with this new awakening, I discovered that although the God we all worshipped was one and the same, the manner in which each Christian worshipped him was very different.

For a while, it bothered me that I could not find a Catholic church nearby where I could at least attend Sunday mass. I was not comfortable at the local church because their ways of worship seemed strange to me. Also, since I didn’t know anyone personally, I found it hard to fit in. But then, as I sat with my Bible in my room one day and looked to God for a solution, I realized that the best way to cope with changing forms of worship was to:

· Be yourself: I am a Catholic and proud to be one. I don’t need to change my faith in order to worship Christ the way I know. So if going to the local church made me uncomfortable, I chose not to go. Instead, I would kneel down in my room and spend an hour or so of quiet time with Jesus. To me, these times were infinitely precious and more soul-stirring than any service I could have attended.

· Do your own thing: I also made the effort to widen my search and scout out locals who were Catholic. They were few and far between, but I did manage to befriend a few families who invited me to worship with them whenever time permitted. So we would have services at their home or travel together to the next town for the Sabbath service. This allowed me to do my own thing without feeling guilty that I wasn’t going to church.

· Know what you want: And finally, when you know what you want out of prayer and church, it’s easy enough to find a way to worship. So if it’s mental peace you’re looking for, it’s enough if you pray from wherever you are. But if it’s the camaraderie and combined worship you’re looking for, then be prepared to find a church you’re comfortable with and visit once in a while.

By-line:

This guest post is contributed by Karen Anderson, who writes on the topic of online christian colleges . She welcomes your comments at: [email protected]