And that's why it's important for us, again, when we're thinking of ecumenism, when we're thinking of reconciliation, that's why it's so important not to start with theology, but to start with biography. That's why we enter into the story. Because the biography tells how the theology forms.
Source: Daniel Malawkowsky - Daniel Malakowsky, The History and Nature of Church Divisions, Lesson 6, http://www.churchdivisions.com
Fr. Martin Magill
Fr Magill’s determination to push the boundaries in terms of ecumenical outreach is evident from his practice of what the late Michael Hurley SJ called “ecumenical tithing”.
This means that part of his time each week, usually on a Sunday afternoon or evening is devoted to worshipping in another Christian denomination, sometimes St George’s Church of Ireland in Belfast “a very beautiful very high church”.
He believes this commitment comes from “the imperative I get from Jesus Christ in John 17”.
Fr Magill reveals that it is “only a matter of time before I will worship in a Free Presbyterian church as part of ecumenical tithing”.
He is also working on a list of ten things that Catholics can learn from other denominations and “top of the list is welcoming because 90% of churches do welcoming better then we Catholics”, followed by singing.
Source: Martin O'Brien - "A Quiet Peacemaker", The Irish Catholic, 11 Dec 2014, http://www.irishcatholic.ie/article/quiet-peacemaker
Without vision, the people perish
I see Hutu and Tutsi, Serb and Croat, Mongol and Han Chinese, African-American and Anglo, Latino and Native American all sharing and caring and loving one another.
Source: Richard Foster - Streams of Living Water, p. 275
Thomas Campbell’s Declaration and Address (1809)
Many Presbyterians, such as Thomas Campbell, his son Alexander Campbell, and Barton W. Stone, were fed up with the divisive spirit. This frustration is evident in Thomas Campbell’s Declaration and Address (1809), a sort of manifesto for unity in the church. Campbell insists: "that division among christians is a horrid evil, fraught with many evils. It is anti-christian, as it destroys the visible unity of the body of Christ; as if he were divided against himself, excluding and excommunicating a part of himself. It is anti-scriptural, as being strictly prohibited by his sovereign authority; a direct violation of his express command."
Source: Keith D. Stanglin - "The Restoration Movement, the Habit of Schism, and a Proposal for Unity", by Dr. Keith D. Stanglin, in Christian Studies, Volume 28, August 2016, http://austingrad.edu/Christian%20Studies/CS%2028/Proposal%20for%20Unity.pdf
George on Packer
Packer recognized that the deep division that had separated Protestants and Catholics since the time of the Reformation had changed in a significant way. The most important fault line today, he argued, was between “conservationists,” who honor the Christ of the Bible and of the historic creeds and confessions, on the one hand, and the theological liberals and radicals who do not, on the other. In this new situation, Packer argued that ECT has a vital role to play: “ECT … must be viewed as fuel for a fire that is already alight. The grassroots coalition at which the document aims is already growing. It can be argued that, so far from running ahead of God, as some fear, ECT is playing catch-up to the Holy Spirit.”
Source: Timothy George - "Packer at Ninety", First Things, October 2016, https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2016/10/packer-at-ninety
Vatican II - 3 Important Changes
True Significance [of Vatican II] IS
That it was fundamentally altering three convictions central to historic Evangelical objections, which understood (whether accurately or not) Roman Catholicism to hold:
1. an exaggerated exaltation of the Catholic Church as an institution whereby it communicated that the institutional Catholic Church was in itself a salvific agency serving, in an exaggerated way, as a continuation of the ministry of Jesus;
2. an exaggerated view of its sacramental ministry, seen to be the key to ministering salvation (either in baptism or in penance (described as “necessary”, D. 839, 894-896, albeit with the usual emergency alternative of the “desire of the sacrament,” D 898) or in the Eucharist);
3. “Rome never changes” and hence, until the Council of Trent’s decrees are explicitly renounced, all appearances of change are superficial at best.
All three points are implicated in one single decision taken at Vatican II: its acceptance that Protestants who had no membership in and no sacramental ministry from the Catholic Church were yet regenerated Christians. When one considers the change in the first point alone – termed by some as the Catholic “tendency most suspect to Protestants” – this is a sea change of huge proportion. With this change the focus has been removed from the institution itself as a salvific institution and switched back to the underlying Gospel message.
Source: Paul Miller - "Evangelicals Cooperatively Evangelising & Discipling with Catholics in Faithfulness to Evangelical Distinctives", by Paul Miller
Engle & Calisi in Azusa
The music quieted while the constantly boisterous crowd fell to a noticeable hush as the “men-in-black,” collared Catholic priests and their friends, who were incidentally wearing black, took center-stage. Standing with my right foot about one inch from the stage drop, I looked out on the crowd to see trepidation on faces and looks of curiosity, and even a noticeable pause of breath.
Matteo Calisi, former president of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, was introduced and began to address the crowd in Italian with Dr. Bruno Ierullo translating:
“We are a delegation, a Catholic delegation. … I come from Italy. And, I bring you a salute from 150 million Charismatic Catholics.” As the crowd cheered, Calisi then spoke to the crowd about the influence of the Asuza Street Revival on the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.
Following these remarks, he ceremoniously laid prostrate on the stage and kissed Lou Engle’s feet in an act of reconciliatory love. “We are just in a holy moment right here,” Engle emotionally cried out. Then he continued to call out the other church elders onto the stage while he fell to his knees reciprocally kissing Matteo’s feet.
“Jesus, I thank you!” cried out Calisi while Engle kneeled before his feet, “because you are breaking the spirit of division! You are preparing a great revival in the event of this call, like you did 100 years ago. Do it again! Do it again! Holy Spirit let your Spirit come again for a billion Catholics.”
Source: Jennifer Wing Atencio - "Christians pack Coliseum for revival: Catholics join thousands of believers to mark 110th anniversary of Pentecostal Azuza revival", Angelus News, 13 April 2016
https://angelusnews.com/news/christians-pack-coliseum-for-revival-catholics-join-thousands-of-believers-to-mark-110th-anniversary-of-pentecostal-azuza-revival
Can the US learn from Europe?
And frankly, I think the church in the United States, the more it embeds with politics… Europeans understand where that goes. When the church and the state are seen like this [joins hands], and then the state proves what it is - a flawed and sometimes corrupt system - then the church is judged by this, and rejected. There are countries in Europe where the church is set back for decades and decades, because they have been stained by how they sold their soul for power, I would say. As the United States grows more and more secular, I tell the people there: ‘We are becoming more like the fertile soil in which the early church did best’. Like the Roman Empire, this was a pagan and hostile society in which Christians stood out by being different. When you are in a place like the United States or Europe in its recent past, where the majority will claim to be Christians, but then they look like everyone else, then the people do not understand what the gospel is. But when Christians look radically different from the world around them, then the people can see the difference.
Source: Philip Yancey - "Philip Yancey: US evangelicals should learn from Europe’s history of religion and power", Evangelical Focus Newsletter, 23 September 2016, http://evangelicalfocus.com/world/1951/Philip_Yancey_US_evangelicals_should_learn_from_Europes_history_of_religion_and_power_
Where is our repentance?
We sinned, but where is our repentance as Christians? The Lord expects us to face up to facts. ... We Christians need to face our catalogue of failures squarely. The scandal of division. Impenitenace for our crime against Israel. Complacency and self-righteousness.
Source: M. Basilea Schlink - Repentance: The Joy-Filled Life, p. 35
Matt Maher in KC
I think what I've come to realize in the past couple of years is that times of worship where no one knows what it is, it's because we're all together. It's just that simple. I mean, you could bring Christians from different denominations together and not say anything, and it would be the most powerful expression of worship - because it's a fulfillment of Jesus' prayer in John 17. God's not a liar. The things that He says, His word won't return null adn void. So when Jesus prays before Calvary that we would be one, whenever that happens, we are agreeing with the Lord, and whenever we agree with the Lord, there's a goodness about it, we're in right relationship. And so I think whenever the church worships together, it's going to be palpable ... it's not about the gifts and the talents, it's about the fact that we're all together. That's the gift. That's the anointing. The anointing isn't in a person, it's in the body of Christ, and when the body of Christ is reconciled by worshipping together, that's where the anointing is.
Source: Matt Maher - Worship Leader Q&A Panel, Catholic/Ecumentical Track, Onething 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_pesyj1nVo
Civil War
I believe this is urgent, my brothers and sisters. We have had one civil war in our history that the Church made no effort to stop but in fact aided and abetted by our conflicting messages and inflammatory rhetoric. Another may take a different form where our political factions take up arms (Lord knows we have enough of them) in our cities if they cannot resolve their differences or be heard in the halls of Congress and the office of the President. We could fall into anarchy or tyranny. I like to say that children who play with matches inside the house often do not realize they can burn the house down until they do. Our incendiary and inflammatory speech may not stop there. It didn’t before the Civil War. Church, I’m asking, is it time to say “we must reconcile our differences and lead our country in doing the same?”
Source: Robert C Trube - rtrube54, "The Scandal of the Church in America: Part One", Bob on Books, 13 Feb 2017, https://bobonbooks.com/2017/02/13/the-scandal-of-the-church-in-america-part-one/
All Catholics Exhorted To Be Active In Ecumenism!
At the second Vatican Council, in its decree on ecumenism the Catholic Church officially embraced the ecumenical movement in its goal of restoring the full visible unity of the one body of Jesus Christ:
"Today, in many parts of the world, under the influence of the grace of the Holy Spirit, many efforts are being made in prayer, word, and action to attain the fullness of unity which Jesus Christ desires. This sacred council, therefore, exhorts all the Catholic faithful to recognize the signs of the times and to take an active and intelligent part in the work of ecumenism."
Source: Fr. Peter Hocken - Pentecost and Parousia, Peter Hocken - p. 19 [Unitatis Redintegratio 4 Decree on ecumenism of the second Vatican Council]
Good Answer, Gideon!
22 The Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you, your son and your grandson—because you have saved us from the hand of Midian.”
23 But Gideon told them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.”
Source: Samuel - Judges 8:22-23 (NIV)
Should Children Represent The Parent's Anger To Each Other?
As a father I'm thrilled beyond words when my kids tell each other how much I love them, because in representing me they're just representing themselves. Imagine if one of your children told the other, "Dad loves you so much. Dad talks about you all the time. Every time Dad looks at your picture a genuine smile crosses his face and there's so much love in his eyes. Dad can't wait to see you. Dad is so proud of you and his face lights up whenever he hears your name."
But I would be rocked to my core if any of my children presumed to represent my anger, because in representing me they're just representing themselves. Imagine if one of your kids ever told the other, "Dad is so mad at you. Dad is going to punish you. Dad hates you. Dad is furious with you. Dad is going to disown you and send you away because he never wants to see you again. Dad can't even stand to look at you."
God is our Father, and we are His children. How you want your children to treat one another should give you great revelation into the Father's heart.
Source: Bill Vanderbush - Posted on FB 4 Feb 2017
"You Shouldn't Leave Like This"
A colleague (we’ll call him “Andrew”) told me this story while we were working together on a project.
It was Andrew's first year of marriage. He was due to leave ~ 10:30 pm to drive to Louisiana and go offshore for a long work assignment. That evening, he and his wife had an argument. As Andrew related it, “I didn’t respond as well as I could have” … and he left the house around 10 pm, 30 minutes early, while they were still arguing. He drove away angry and unresolved with his wife.
As per his usual habit, he first headed to a nearby gas station to fill up the car for the trip. As he was pumping the gas, another vehicle pulled up on the other side of the pump. A man got out and started also filling up his car. Suddenly, the man spoke to Andrew: “You shouldn’t leave like this.” “What?” Andrew replied. The man said again, “I felt led to say to you - you shouldn’t leave like this.”
Wow! A word from the Lord.
Andrew finished filling up his tank, and instead of heading down the road, returned to the house. His wife met him at the door, weeping, and they embraced and reconciled before Andrew left the second time for his work assignment.
My friend later said, “That could have been the end of the relationship if I hadn’t come back” - at the very least, it would have caused a wound in the relationship that would have caused strife and tension for months / years, until resolved. But God saw, God cared, and God intervened!
Source: Thomas Cogdell - Personal story
The Question of a Young Calvinist
The first independent idea about religion I ever remember thinking was a question I asked my father, an elder in the church, a good and wise and holy man. I was amazed that he couldn't answer it. "Why do we Calvinists have the whole truth and no one else? We're so few. How could God leave the rest of the world in error? Especially the rest of the Christian churches?" Since no good answer seemed forthcoming, I then came to the explosive conclusion that the truth about God was more mysterious—more wonderfully and uncomfortably mysterious—than anything any of us could ever fully comprehend. (Calvinists would not deny that, but they do not usually teach it either. They are strong on God's "sovereignty," but weak on the richness of God's mystery.) That conviction, that the truth is always infinitely more than anyone can have, has not diminished. Not even all the infallible creeds are a container for all that is God.
Source: Peter Kreeft - Hauled aboard the Ark, http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics/hauled-aboard.htm
Church & State
And frankly, I think the church in the United States, the more it embeds with politics… Europeans understand where that goes. When the church and the state are seen like this [joins hands], and then the state proves what it is - a flawed and sometimes corrupt system - then the church is judged by this, and rejected. There are countries in Europe where the church is set back for decades and decades, because they have been stained by how they sold their soul for power, I would say. As the United States grows more and more secular, I tell the people there: ‘We are becoming more like the fertile soil in which the early church did best’. Like the Roman Empire, this was a pagan and hostile society in which Christians stood out by being different. When you are in a place like the United States or Europe in its recent past, where the majority will claim to be Christians, but then they look like everyone else, then the people do not understand what the gospel is. But when Christians look radically different from the world around them, then the people can see the difference.
Source: Philip Yancey - "Philip Yancey: US evangelicals should learn from Europe’s history of religion and power", Evangelical Focus Newsletter, 23 September 2016, http://evangelicalfocus.com/world/1951/Philip_Yancey_US_evangelicals_should_learn_from_Europes_history_of_religion_and_power_
A New Thing is Coming!
Right now we remain largely a scattered people. This has been the condition of the Church of Jesus Christ for a good many years. But a new thing is coming. God is gathering his people once again, creating of them an all-inclusive community of loving persons with Jesus Christ as the community's prime sustainer and most glorious inhabitant. This community is breaking forth in multiple ways and varied forms.
Source: Richard Foster - Streams of Living Water, p. 273
He Must Become Greater; I Must Become Less
23 At this time John the Baptist was baptizing at Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there; and people kept coming to him for baptism. 24 (This was before John was thrown into prison.) 25 A debate broke out between John’s disciples and a certain Jew over ceremonial cleansing. 26 So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Rabbi, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you identified as the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going to him instead of coming to us.”
27 John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven. 28 You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’ 29 It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the bridegroom’s friend is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. 30 He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.
Source: John - John 3:26, 29-30 (NLT)
Cross-Racial Relationships
Morrison’s mission was to enable racial reconciliation within local churches and develop resources for Christians who want to build cross-racial relationships.
Since then, Be the Bridge has exploded in size and now serves the local church by providing curricula and other tools that encourage bridge builders to “[foster and develop] vision, skills, and heart for racial unity.”
Source: Christianity Today - "Latasha Morrison: The Church Is the ‘Only Place Equipped to Do Racial Reconciliation Well’", interview by Morgan Lee, January 2017, http://www.christianitytoday.com/women/2017/january/latasha-morrison-church-is-only-place-equipped-to-do.html