Men Talking
I am proud to call Michael Spencer my friend. From Michael, through the years, I have learned that I am not the only one who feels like he is in the post-evangelical wilderness. There are others like me, and Michael is chief among them.
You may or may not now that Michael is ordained in the Southern Baptist Church. (I am not a Baptist, so I may have some of the terminology wrong.) You may or may not know that his wife, Denise, has made a journey to Roman Catholicism. Michael has not gone on that journey with her, though there marriage remains strong. I think that makes Michael’s voice a fairly unique one in evangelicalism.
Living where he does, Michael regularly explores the issues with Catholic doctrine. His recent post is the record of one of those explorations.
But as he drives on, he hits some issues that resonate with me. In line with the postconservative agenda detailed by Roger Olsen, Michael is a critic of the evangelical church, while remaining part of it. That’s the best way to criticize, I think.
We’ve passed Reformation day, and what have we done? Come 500 years and we need a Reformation as much as Rome ever did.
We are a movement of strutting preachers. When Bryan Cross says he grew tired of “man-talk” and “men-talking,” my stomach goes nauseous with familiarity. A friend asked me today what was “with you and this liturgy.” My answer: men talking, on and on and on. Truly. If nothing else describes us, it is that: a movement of talking, talking, talking; preachers talking about whatever they have decided I need to hear. Some better, most worse, some painful, some edifying, but in the main, unimpressive and tediously mundane.
We traded the errors of Rome for what we have now. I can be glad we do not believe in the assumption of Mary or in indulgences, but from there, I’m left sad that I can go weeks without hearing the Gospel, but never a day without moralism, culture war idolatry and consumer church.
It’s about the gospel. We have good news to share.
Can we do any better with this reformation heritage of ours? Is this the best we can do? The endless cacophony of division? The constant tyranny of celebrity spirituality? The Jesus-less culture war that is meant to show us a kingdom without a cross presided over by the disciples of a savior deeply concerned about elections and referendums.
Is this the best we can do? Contemporary evangelicalism’s hour of praise music? Extreme youth ministries? Addiction to the Prosperity cancer? Or the new fad of criticizing the critics. Let’s all say the church is fine, doing fine, just fine, oh fine, she’s fine…….
Where has all this being right in comparisons Catholics gotten us? In my own “most evangelistic” of denominations the chances of hearing the Gospel on a Sunday morning in half of our churches is a crap shoot.
While I watch Catholics have serious worship and serious spiritual formation in scripture and the virtues of deep spirituality, I’ll keep asking: is this the best we can do?
Right answers only go so far. With us, it seems that after 500 years, we don’t know where we are going. The ship feels listless, but the ever-talking crew assures us that all is well.
via Honest Thoughts On The Catholic Discussion: Is This The Best We Can Do? | internetmonk.com
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