Wednesday, August 4. 2010
The City of Springfield has an astounding history. It once was a major industrial and transportation center. The manufacture of automobiles, airplanes, ice skates, rubber tires, motorcycles and guns were major industries. And it was a major cultural center for the theater and performing arts.
It was also a major center of anti-slavery activism. The underground railway for escaping slaves on their way to Canada and elsewhere went through downtown. Thousands of local men fought for the Union in the Civil War.
Artifacts (including many beautiful antique cars) and memorabilia illustrating all this fascinating history is displayed in the new Museum of the History of Springfield. Together they offer major lessons for Christians. All that dynamic industry is long gone. But the City is currently undergoing major urban renewal and there are newer and thriving businesses here. The future looks promising for Springfield. The new industry is service oriented (insurance companies) and educational (5 growing colleges) and medical (hospitals) and coming soon- biotechnology research and communication centers.
Continue reading "LESSONS FROM OUR CITY'S HISTORY"
Saturday, March 20. 2010
We received a letter today from our Pastor inviting everyone on the mailing list to Services for Holy Week and Easter Day. His list of reasons why folks should attend are exactly the reasons why many Christians do not attend.The Pastor uses Jesus promise: "where two or three are gathered together, there I am in the midst". He mentions the reasons for attending include Christian fellowship and support- worshiping together in the presence of Christ who will be with us. There is no substitute, he says, for the blessings and encouragement that comes when Christians gather together.Yes, we agree, say the dechurched, Believers who have dropped out of church. And we find, they say, exactly all of that in our small groups or house fellowship- but without all the nonsense and stress that goes with having a building and maintaining a Church organization. Read more HERE
What can be said to the dechurched? What does the institutional church offer?
Continue reading "DECHURCHED CHRISTIANS"
Wednesday, February 3. 2010
This article from the Christian Post adds more material about the stand that Central Florida Episcopal churches have taken vis-a-vis the National Church. Many of the quoted words were originally spoken by our son (see the post below this one).
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20100202/
Meanwhile here in Western Mass, these troubling issues are never discussed in our Parish and seem to be ignored by most folks in the Diocese. I would guess there are two main reasons: to keep the peace and unity we have and lack of interest in much of anything beyond the local church or at least indifference about whether TEC "walks apart" from the rest of the world-wide Anglican Communion. In our area, many would be glad to have all the "trouble-making" conservatives just leave TEC and allow the National Church to go on its own chosen way.
Where does anyone who wants to be faithful to the Historic Faith, draw the line in any denomination or church that has departed from it and say, "No more!" ((That last statement can be taken two ways. Which is right?)
Monday, February 1. 2010
This article should be of interest to many of our conservative friends who think the Episcopal Church is hopelessly liberal and that there are no conservative, orthodox Believers or Clergy in the Denomination.
The Bishop of The Diocese of Central Florida is a friend of ours from our college days, when he was active, as we were, in Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship. He is a solid Evangelical. So is one of our sons who is a Priest in that Diocese and is the one who made the resolution about the Bishop-elect of LA. There are many others who believe God wants them to remain in the Church as a faithful witness. It is where He called them to be and to serve Him. They struggle daily with the issues and challenges involved. The National Leadership is definitely working against them and The Faith, but they are, by God's grace, standing firm and faithful. Thye need much courage and great wisdom. They need our prayers.
http://www.theledger.com/article/20100130/NEWS/1305035?p=2&tc=pg
I should add that we know orthodox, evangelical Pastors who are also seeking to be witnesses for the Lord and His Word in the Presbyterian USA, the United Methodist Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and even in the United Church of Christ. Most Clergy and Laypeople do not seem to have this calling and have have abandoned these Mainline Denominations. I once was the Pastor of a Congregational Church where I faithfully preached the Gospel for 4 years. I paid a very heavy price and left there a broken man. Some 50 people I know of came to saving faith during that time. Almost all of them left to go to a non-denominational evangelical church in town. I have wondered what it could have been like at the Congregational church if they had remained and supported me and what the Lord was doing there.
Wednesday, October 14. 2009
A week does not go by without my hearing from young adults explaining why they have no use for most churches. It is always the same complaint: as they see it, churches are irrelevant to today's world. They do not engage in community activism and promote social and economic justice, particularly among Poor and marginalized people. As corallary to that, these predominately white, (liberal) college educated, privileged and idealistic young adults fault evangelical churches for being legalistic and judgemental and thus unloving and devoid of grace, which makes these churches hypocritical, because they are not open, welcoming and affirming of all kinds of people, including overt homosexuals, addicts, the homeless and the mentally ill.
Read the full article on my website HERE
Tuesday, July 21. 2009
Like many others, I was greatly disturbed by the remarks made last week by the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church at the General Convention last, including repudiation of what she called, "the great Western heresy: that we can be saved as individuals, that any of us alone can be in right relationship with God.' She continued, "That heresy is one reason for the theme of this Convention. Ubuntu. That word doesn't have any 'I' in it."
Many outraged evangelicals were quick to denounce the PB and her remarks. But I think there is more involved here than meets the eye. She continued, "That heresy is one reason for the theme of this Convention. Ubuntu. That word doesn't have any 'I' in it." Her critics have not taken "Ubuntu" seriously enough. "Ubuntu" is the key to what she said and to much else happening in many churches today, including Evangelical ones and it is the "true" Heresy.
READ MY FULL ESSAY ABOUT UBUNTU HERE
Tuesday, June 16. 2009
Many if not all of the members of the Episcopal Church I belong to do not know or care and some even deny that historically the Church was a Reformed, Calvinist church which had a very high view of Scripture and required its Clergy to subscribe to both the 39 (Reformed) Articles of Religion in order to be ordained all as well as promise to make preaching of the Word of God to be their first responsiblity as Clergy. This gradually changed over the years. Such changes usually take at least a generation, maybe two. The Church officially was Calvinist until a mere 30 years ago when, in 1979, it adopted a new Book of Common Prayer which dropped the Articles and now contains a very different Religion in many aspects. The folks who joined our church in the last 30 years or who came from other Denominations do not know this. Some even deny it. None of our members, to my knowledge, including our Pastor, are Calvinists today. Indeed, they like to "tease" me about the fact that I am. Certainly the Episcopal Church as a Denomination is far from Biblical, let alone Reformed or Calvinist. Its 500 year old Reformation Heritage has been utterly lost. When I tried being a Pastor of a Congregational Church in the 1970's, I learned that they too had long lost their Reformed Heritage and the Faith of their Pilgrim forefathers and they could care less. They were interested in only the history and story of their local congregation. Actually, Doctrine and History stand and fall together. Churches that are atheological are also ahistorical. Its a sorry state of affairs. Both Doctrine and History matter!
Monday, April 27. 2009
People heard me preach yesterday. What they heard as individuals, probably varied greatly, depending on what they brought to church with them, i.e.- in their heads and hearts and their life experience. I am always amazed how different film reviewers demonstrate this point. Christy Lemire and Josh Hurst both watched the same film, "The Soloist", but each saw a very different movie. Compare their reviews. One saw it as almost a bomb while the other could not say enough good about it. One couldn't wait 'til it was over, the other wants to see it again. Same film, different reactions. Just like sermons.
http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2009/04/21/2714382-review-the-soloist-hits-notes-that-clang
http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/reviews/2009/soloist.html
Saturday, April 4. 2009
I have completely revised two Essays:
- The Eucharist
- Eucharistic Worship
I hope you will find them informative and helpful.
Tuesday, March 3. 2009
I did not grow up with liturgical worship- far from it! Most of my meaningful experience in Worship has been in the free, simple Protestant style, in a casual and informal setting where the emphasis is on preaching and extemporaneous praying. As a small child I attended a Methodist Church but later worshipped in Congregational and Baptist type churches. I was almost 40 when I was introduced to Liturgical Worship. During the last 30 years, even though I have worshiped (and have been a Pastor) in non-liturgical churches during part of this time, I have experienced a growing appreciation for Liturgical Worship. This has been accompanied (and strengthened) by a growing unhappiness with worship trends in many evangelical churches. But, is my appreciation of Liturgical Worship only a matter of personal preference and needs? Are there good Scriptural and Theological reasons for Liturgical Worship. Can it be defended and supported on ground more solid than personal temperament or “what works for me“? It should be and can be!
You can read the entire Essay on my website
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