Dreaming of Churches Like ...

What kind of churches do we at Theopolis dream of? Churches like these:
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Lutheran pastors who teach obedience (as Luther did!), Anglicans who exercise discipline, jolly Presbyterians with a reputation for levity, Pentecostals attuned to the Christian tradition, Baptists who acknowledge hierarchy, liturgical Bible churches.

Source: Peter Leithart  -  Theopolis Institute blog, "Reformational Catholicism, A Wish List", 20 October 2016, https://theopolisinstitute.com/reformational-catholicism-a-wish-list/

Rhiannon, Wales

Rhiannon knows that her very appearance [white, Welsh] reminds many Africans of rejection and unjust dominance, but instead of disclaiming all association with the colonial past by such statements as … "It was all in a past generation" or "My people have been oppressed too", she volunteers to stand in the gap as an intercessor.  The Bible reveals that God is looking for such people.  Not just people who will stand in the gap before Him, but people who will repair the breeches in human relationships.   God does not put guilt on the intercessor.  We are not individually guilty for what our group or our parents did, but He is waiting for a "royal priesthood," which is the redeemed in Christ, to openly convess the truth of a matter before Him and before people, just as the ancient Hebrew priests did once over the sins of Israel.   You see, it is very difficult to forgive if you have never heard an open acknowledgment of the injustices that wounded you or your people.  On the other hand, such grace for forgiveness is released when we are asked for forgiveness by those who identify themselves in some way with the identity of those who contributed to our suffering.  Identification, as used in this sense, signifies the act of consciously including oneself within an identifiable category of human beings.

Source: John Dawson  -  What Every Christian Should Know About Reconciliation, p. 9

Vince Torres in New Mexico

Vince Torres, Executive Pastor at the Blaze Christian Fellowship, explains it this way, "What happened Sunday was nothing short of historic. Watching Catholics and Protestants come together in worship and prayer to our God was so powerful and unlike anything I have ever witnessed at our state capitol. The gathering served as proof that the gospel message of Jesus Christ has the power to transcend denominations and even politics. It was such an honor to be part of it. To God be all the glory." 

Source: Vince Torres  -  Vince Torres, Executive Pastor at the Blaze Christian Fellowship, quoted by Brian Alarid in "Christians Make History With Worship Event at New Mexico State Capitol", Charisma News, 7 March 2017, http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/63470-is-this-historic-worship-gathering-part-of-james-goll-s-prophesied-west-coast-rumble

The 24 Elders are In Agreement

And then the Lamb went and took the scroll from the right hand of the one sitting on the throne. When he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down in worship before the Lamb. Each of the 24 elders held a harp and gold bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s holy people. And they sang this new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe, language, people, and nation. You made them a kingdom and priests (a priestly kingdom) to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth!” 

Source: The 24 Elders  -  Quoted by John the Beloved in Revelation 5:7-10 (IEB)

Forgiveness between Pentecostals in S. Africa

Meanwhile, two other men in the congregation had entered into a feud over a different matter, spewing bitterness and wrath over everything they came in contact with.  I felt that the Lord wanted them to help minister to the devil-afflicted brother, so I went to them.  "Our brother needs you and I'm going to minister to him," I said, "but I can't permit you to come to his house because your attitude towards one another opens the door for the enemy to attack you.  You must make peace between yourselves or you may become the next victims."

Knowing the urgency of the situation, they agreed to do something about their problem.  One came to me and said, "I want to change, but I won't go to him because he'll say that I surrendered.  But he could say the same thing about coming to me.  Would it be fair if we met somewhere at a neutral spot and you could come and help us?  I'm willing to ask him for forgiveness and also to forgive."

The other man accepted this proposal, and I arranged for them to get together at a big, lovely old house with a garden on one side and a beautiful orchard of fruit trees.  It was a warm, sunny day and we stood together under a large apricot tree.  Immediately the two began to stammer things like, "Brother, forgive me; I've been wrong."  I urged them not to argue about who was wrong.  "Just forgive," I said, "and don't go into too many details."

Source: David du Plessis  -  From "A Man Called Mr. Pentecost", as told to Bob Slosser, Ch. 10, pp 83-84

July 5, 2017 in Wittenberg

“A new phase of friendship and cooperation, said Pope Francis, on welcoming the adherence of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) to the ecumenical consensus on the Doctrine of Justification, on July 5, 2017 at Wittenberg in Germany, where Luther’s Reformation began in 1517.
...
Monsignor Brian Farrell, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, represented the Catholic Church at the signing. He read a message of Pope Francis who welcomed it as “an eloquent sign of our commitment to continue together, as brothers and sisters in Christ, on the path from conflict to communion, from division to reconciliation.”

Source: Pope Francis  -  Quoted by Anne Kurian in "Pope Welcomes Adherence of the Reformed Churches to the Declaration on Justification", Zenit, 14 July 2017, https://zenit.org/articles/pope-welcomes-adherence-of-the-reformed-churches-to-the-declaration-on-justification/

Ann Cogdell asks Amy Cogdell

Trying to better understand what identificational repentance is, I asked Thomas' wife Amy, who's very much involved with him in the work, how she might describe it and here's what she said:  "Identificational repentance recognizes the grave sin of one's people, either past or present.  It grieves the sin, recognizes its consequences at least in part (only God sees the full consequences of our sin), and then pleads for mercy, conviction, and justice to right any remaining wrongs.  Identificational repentance acknowledges our connection to our past, our own proclivity to sin, and the great mercy of God in helping us grieve over things which grieve His heart."

Source: Amy Cogdell  -  As quoted by Ann Cogdell in her report to Christ Church Anglican in Waco, 4 Sept. 2016

Pope John Paul II

Concerning the different Christian traditions, Pope JP II said: "All of them in fact have martyrs for the Christian faith. Despite the tragedy of our divisions, these brothers and sisters have preserved an attachment to Christ and to the Father so radical and absolute as to lead even to the shedding of blood. . . In a theocentric vision, we Christians already have a common martyrology. . . . I have already remarked, and with deep joy, how an imperfect but real communion is preserved, and is growing at many levels of ecclesial life. I now add that this communion is already perfect in what we all consider the highest point of the life of grace, martyria unto death, the truest communion possible with Christ who shed his Blood, and by that sacrifice brings near those who were far off (cf. Eph 2:13).

Source: Pope John Paul II  -  Ut Unum Sint, 83-84

Dramatic Reconciliation in France

A miracle of sorts took place in France five years ago. For generations, French denominations were at odds with one another, full of suspicion, bad-talking, and division. This all changed when leading evangelical denominational leaders began to see their sin, publicly repent, and ask for forgiveness.

This dramatic reconciliation paved the way for a new era of deep collaboration. Currently, nine of France’s leading evangelical denominations are sending teams of evangelists and church planters to learn from and encourage one another in a process that will lead to one evangelical church in France for every 10,000 people (currently, there is one church for every 30,000 people).

For evangelism and church planting to move to a higher plane, we must break out of our denominational (and even networkational) silos and collaborate. After all, the Kingdom of God is bigger than any one church or group.

Source: Dr. Dietrich Schindler  -  As quoted in Christianity Today, Evangelism in Post-Christian Europe, http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2016/august/evangelism-in-post-christian-western-europe-six-insights.html?utm_source=ctdirect-html

President Carter & the New Baptist Covenant

Achieving racial reconciliation can be hard work and often slow, but Christians are called to pursue it relentlessly, said speakers at a summit of Baptists seeking to bridge a racial divide that continues to bedevil the nation.

Former President Jimmy Carter joined national religious leaders in Atlanta for the New Baptist Covenant summit Sept. 14-16, urging participants to challenge a “resurgence of racism.”

“The New Baptist Covenant can be a powerful potential weapon to set an example not just among Baptists and among churches, but in communities and among people of all faiths,” said Carter, who lent his support to the organization’s beginning in 2007 and convened its first meeting. “I hope that we can set an example to the world. Accept my personal thanks for what you are doing to maintain momentum that exists and increase its impact.”

The NBC was created to unite Baptists of different races, which it has fostered with a series of gatherings and summits. The three-day meeting in Atlanta highlighted emerging partnerships between predominantly black and white congregations working in their communities to address racial and social justice.

Source: Robert Dilday  -  "Racial reconciliation tough but essential, say leaders at New Baptist Covenant summit", Baptist News Global, 19 September 2016, https://baptistnews.com/article/racial-reconciliation-tough-but-essential-say-leaders-at-new-baptist-covenant-summit/#.V-VcYZMrI0q

Ezra's Identificational Repentance

Similarly, Ezra's identificational repentance in Ezra 9:6-15 on behalf of the fifth century B.C. Jewish community of Jerusalem led, in Ezra 10:1-4, to the people being moved more freely to repent of their sins. Nehemiah's confessing his people's sins before God and asking God to forgive them on a corporate level in Neh. 1:6 along with Ezra's identificational repentance in Ezra 9:6-15 also seems to have released God's grace on a corporate level to move the community to weep openly and repent of their sins in Neh. 8:9-11 and 9:1-2, when Ezra read the Law.

Source: Dr. Gary S. Greig  -  The Biblical Foundations of Identificational Repentance as One Prayer Pattern Useful to Advance God's Kingdom and Evangelism, April 2001

Lesson Learned from Visiting ... Heaven!

[2:06:12]
Omoye Agbontaen:
Do you have any recommendations for how people can experience and cultivate an atmosphere where they can  experience a portion of the love that you experienced in heaven? ...
Dr. Mary Neal:
... I'm going to go back to doing the work of transformation. ...
[2:09:01]
I mean, we're all broken. And you have to get to the point where you recognize that, and realize, like "OK." I mean, like a good friend, they can be jerks one day, but you're not going to stop being their friend. But it's sort of a snowball, that as you begin to walk that walk, and express that love to yourself and to others, the intensity of it does build.
One little trick, for example. (I'm not going to pretend that I like every person I meet. But, having said that ...) If I meet someone that they just bug me, and my initial reaction to them is not one of love, it's really interesting, because I can, first of all, consciously remind myself that this person in front of me is an incredibly beloved child of God, I remind myself of that.
And then I find one thing about them that I like or that I appreciate, it can be anything so silly
the color of their shirt, any little thing. It's amazing, if I can pick out that first thing, and then I start feeling love for that, it grows, and very rapidly, I'm amazed at myself, now it happens almost instantaneously, I can go from meeting someone and thinking, "Uh, I don't like this person", to feeling incredible love for them, very quickly, and it's all because you just have to practice love, you have to practice love, and then it becomes second nature.

Source: Dr. Mary Neal  -  Q&A during Rez Week 2020, 2 April 2020
https://youtu.be/SN-B8sN7BKc?t=7567

Pope Invites Pentecostals & Evangelicals

Pope Francis has invited thousands of Catholic charismatics and members of Pentecostal and Evangelical churches to Rome to celebrate Pentecost and mark the 50th anniversary of what became the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.

Source: Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service  -  "Pope plans Pentecost celebrations with charismatics and Pentecostals", Crux, 2 May 2017, https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2017/05/02/pope-plans-pentecost-celebrations-charismatics-pentecostals/

The Worst of Sinners - Our Hero in the Faith

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Source: Bible  -  1 Timothy 1:12-17

"To our most bitter opponents we say:"

To our most bitter opponents we say: We shall match your capacity to inflict suffering by our capacity to endure suffering.  We shall meet your physical force with soul force.  Do to us what you will, we will continue to love you … Throw us in jail, and we shall still love you.  Send your hooded perpetrators of violence into our community at teh midnight hour and beat us and leave us half dead, and we shall still love you.  But be ye assured that we will wear you down by our capacity to suffer.

Source: Johann Christoph Arnold  -  Why Forgive?, pp.51-52

"A beautiful work of reconciliation wrought by the Holy Spirit"

What was the point of this tour? It was not just an informative trip for history buffs; the idea was for today’s Christians to identify with those who have gone before us; for us as Austrians to identify with the guilt and sin of our forefathers in the manner they treated these believers whose only crime was that they believed in God in a manner not authorized by the state and the church. Like Daniel and others in the Bible we wanted to bring these sins before God and say, „We and our people have sinned.“ While we realize that no-one can repent of sins for another, the effects of sinful acts excert an influence for many generations, especially if the original sin and the attitudes that led to it have not been dealt with, and our burden was to bring these effects to God and, so to speak, lift the curse that still lies over parts of our country because of this history.

In the process we truly became brothers and sisters in Christ: Lutherans seeing Catholics expressing sorrow over their Church’s past misdeeds; Catholics and Lutherans being accepted by Free Church Christians who normally feel that they are the only real game in town; both Lutherans and Catholics expressing regret for the treatment of the Anabaptists whom Free Church Christians consider their spiritual ancestors: it was a beautiful work of reconciliation wrought by the Holy Spirit.

Source: Austrian Round Table  -  Report on the Reformation Commemoration Tour of Austria, August 16-26, 2016, http://versoehnung.net/Story/Gedenkfahrtblog/

Epaphras

Epaphras (who started the church in Colossae; see Colossians 1:7), who is a servant of Jesus Christ from Colossae, sends his greetings. He is always wrestling (fighting) in prayer for you, so that you will stand strong in God’s will, mature and full of assurance. I can tell you that Epaphras is working hard for you in Colossae and for the believers in the neighboring cities of Laodicea and Hierapolis (modern Pemukkale). (Colossae, Laodicea, and Hierapolis are all located in the Lycus Valley of modern Turkey).

Source: The Apostle Paul  -  Colossians 4:12-13
Quotation from the International English Bible (IEB), in which Dr. Andrew Jackson embeds fantastic inline notes to help those new to the Bible to better understand the context of each passage

Would the Great Catholics Have Been Protestant?

When I was younger, I used to believe that all the great Catholic Christians of history would have been Protestants if they had only had the opportunity or sound teaching.  The more I read of their writing, the more I understand that they were truly Catholic with all the particular quirks of Catholic spirituality .  Many of my favorite writers are from the Counter-Reformation and they spoke out strongly against the reformers. I often like to think of them in heaven, singing next to the Wesley brothers.

Source: Amy Cogdell  -  Personal correspondence