At seminary, my Old Testament professor Robert Wilson summarized the interpretation of The Song of Songs as follows: It means what it says. Now, in the face of the deconstruction of the Scriptures that generally obtained at Yale Divinity School, this was a refreshingly simple reflection on God's Word Written.
A reminder that, even for the most rigorous student of the Scriptures, the plain sense of Scripture must be taken seriously - even when it's inconvenient to do so. This is a pertinent reminder for the Anglican Communion in the current kerfuffle - and the quote below from Kierkegaard is timeless (thanks Christopher Johnson for the excerpt:
"The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly. Take any words in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly. My God, you will say, if I do that my whole life will be ruined. How would I ever get on in the world? Herein lies the real place of Christian scholarship. Christian scholarship is the Church’s prodigious invention to defend itself against the Bible, to ensure that we can continue to be good Christians without the Bible coming too close. Oh, priceless scholarship, what would we do without you? Dreadful it is to fall into the hands of the living God. Yes it is even dreadful to be alone with the New Testament."
AMEN!
Darin+
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Milestone
Frank Lockwood (Bible Belt Blogger) has posted an absolutely fascinating note. The Assemblies of God has eclipsed the Episcopal Church in membership and (by a significant amount) Sunday attendance. In fact, there are more people worshiping at AoG churches on WEEKDAY nights than on Sunday mornings in TEC. Amazing.
http://biblebeltblogger.com/index.php/religion/assemblies-of-god-eclipses-episcopal-church
Darin+
http://biblebeltblogger.com/index.php/religion/assemblies-of-god-eclipses-episcopal-church
Darin+
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Aftermath
Well, the 76th General Convention of TEC is over. Having left TEC just before Easter this year, I observed this event from "outside". As someone not directly invested in the outcome(s) of this gathering, I nonetheless found myself following the developments with some interest and not a little emotional attachmment.
As I was reflecting on the scriptures for this past Sunday morning, I couldn't help being moved by the timeliness of Jeremiah's words and the gospel lesson from Mark. The clear challenge to faithful shepherding that Jeremiah gives, and the compassion that Jesus shows on the crowd because "they seemed as sheep without a shepherd" both awakened a sense of sadness in me for the people of TEC. The prophet utters words of condemnation and woe to shepherds who lead God's people astray - my mind quickly went to those bishops who (perhaps out of what they view as genuine faithfulness...) are leading people away from Christ's reconciling love. Jesus shares the compassion of God's heart for those who are lost and wandering - my mind quickly went to the people of Nineveh, who didn't know their right hand from their left (another prophet, Jonah, tells us). While others opine about TEC from a place of bitterness or anger (and maybe due to very real personal experiences, mind you), I find myself speaking from a place of compassion. And, yes, sadness.
You see, I still love the Episcopal Church. The Episcopal Church became a home for me, a real welcome place, as a graduate student seeking a deepening of faith in Jesus Christ. The Episcopal Church, as an Anglican expression of Catholic faith, was a connection to the wider family of Christian people that I didn't clearly have a sense of in my youth or childhood. The local church was the Church, as far as I knew or was concerned. Trinity Church in Iowa City became my connection to the Anglican Communion, which I also grew to love in time. Though I have left TEC, my heart still aches for what I found there. Not least of which gifts I received would be my wife - without whom I cannot imagine life continuing. I still love the Episcopal Church. And I definitely love the people in it. Many of my friends are still there, and seeking to be faithful.
At this General Convention, I saw the church and the people that I love take more steps away from the worldwide family of Anglican Christians. More than that, steps away from Scripture, Tradition, and even Reason as Richard Hooker articulates it. I heard the Presiding Bishop equate heresy with the individual's confessional faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. I saw the church eliminate the Evangelism Office while funding litigation against men, women, and parishes seeking to follow the Lord. I heard bishops speak out of both sides of their mouths, rather than speaking clearly about the Gospel. I witnessed a church expressing complete theological incoherence (thanks, Kendall Harmon for the term), rather than genuine comprehensiveness within the boundaries of Christian teaching. And all that I saw, heard, and witnessed increased my sadness for the future of TEC as a faithful expositor of the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. There may continue to be faithful outposts of true hope in Christ, but these will certainly become few and far between.
As the outworkings of this General Convention begin to become clear(er), my prayer is that Jesus Christ will become known, worshiped, and adored by more people because of the witness of faithful disciples of His. Perhaps some who cannot in conscience remain in TEC will find an ACNA parish nearby. Perhaps some who leave will find another faithful family of Christian believers. Perhaps some will stay in TEC, as Jeremiah was called to stay in Jerusalem, and preach "no peace" while others cry "peace." May God add His blessing to all who genuinely seek obedience to His will and purposes, as they have been revealed completely and finally in the person of Jesus Christ His only Son.
Pax et bonum,
Darin+
As I was reflecting on the scriptures for this past Sunday morning, I couldn't help being moved by the timeliness of Jeremiah's words and the gospel lesson from Mark. The clear challenge to faithful shepherding that Jeremiah gives, and the compassion that Jesus shows on the crowd because "they seemed as sheep without a shepherd" both awakened a sense of sadness in me for the people of TEC. The prophet utters words of condemnation and woe to shepherds who lead God's people astray - my mind quickly went to those bishops who (perhaps out of what they view as genuine faithfulness...) are leading people away from Christ's reconciling love. Jesus shares the compassion of God's heart for those who are lost and wandering - my mind quickly went to the people of Nineveh, who didn't know their right hand from their left (another prophet, Jonah, tells us). While others opine about TEC from a place of bitterness or anger (and maybe due to very real personal experiences, mind you), I find myself speaking from a place of compassion. And, yes, sadness.
You see, I still love the Episcopal Church. The Episcopal Church became a home for me, a real welcome place, as a graduate student seeking a deepening of faith in Jesus Christ. The Episcopal Church, as an Anglican expression of Catholic faith, was a connection to the wider family of Christian people that I didn't clearly have a sense of in my youth or childhood. The local church was the Church, as far as I knew or was concerned. Trinity Church in Iowa City became my connection to the Anglican Communion, which I also grew to love in time. Though I have left TEC, my heart still aches for what I found there. Not least of which gifts I received would be my wife - without whom I cannot imagine life continuing. I still love the Episcopal Church. And I definitely love the people in it. Many of my friends are still there, and seeking to be faithful.
At this General Convention, I saw the church and the people that I love take more steps away from the worldwide family of Anglican Christians. More than that, steps away from Scripture, Tradition, and even Reason as Richard Hooker articulates it. I heard the Presiding Bishop equate heresy with the individual's confessional faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. I saw the church eliminate the Evangelism Office while funding litigation against men, women, and parishes seeking to follow the Lord. I heard bishops speak out of both sides of their mouths, rather than speaking clearly about the Gospel. I witnessed a church expressing complete theological incoherence (thanks, Kendall Harmon for the term), rather than genuine comprehensiveness within the boundaries of Christian teaching. And all that I saw, heard, and witnessed increased my sadness for the future of TEC as a faithful expositor of the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. There may continue to be faithful outposts of true hope in Christ, but these will certainly become few and far between.
As the outworkings of this General Convention begin to become clear(er), my prayer is that Jesus Christ will become known, worshiped, and adored by more people because of the witness of faithful disciples of His. Perhaps some who cannot in conscience remain in TEC will find an ACNA parish nearby. Perhaps some who leave will find another faithful family of Christian believers. Perhaps some will stay in TEC, as Jeremiah was called to stay in Jerusalem, and preach "no peace" while others cry "peace." May God add His blessing to all who genuinely seek obedience to His will and purposes, as they have been revealed completely and finally in the person of Jesus Christ His only Son.
Pax et bonum,
Darin+
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
A Fresh Start
A long time ago, a priest started a blog... That would be last November, and the priest would be me. Guess I'm not really good at keeping up with this kind of thing, but am going to try and do better. I've entitled this posting "A Fresh Start" for a few reasons.
First, it is the first of a renewed effort to keep up on my postings. There aren't too many folks who even know I've started this, so it won't mean much to anyone but me for now. Anyway, I'm going to try and be a regular poster. I'm going to try and be fairly regular in posting sermons from Sunday services at St. David's, and occasional reflections on things going on in the world - nearby and far away.
Second, this effort begins shortly after my return from the ACNA Provincial Assembly in late June. The experience was transformative - prayer and worship overflowed as GOd brought new life to the Anglican mission for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in North America! I'll not soon forget the feeding I received there, and hope to be a vessel of the grace God is pouring out through this new fellowship of faithful Christians on the continent.
Stay tuned for my reflections on the soon-to-be-concluded General Convention of TEC. Purely an outsider's point of view.
Pax et bonum
Darin+
First, it is the first of a renewed effort to keep up on my postings. There aren't too many folks who even know I've started this, so it won't mean much to anyone but me for now. Anyway, I'm going to try and be a regular poster. I'm going to try and be fairly regular in posting sermons from Sunday services at St. David's, and occasional reflections on things going on in the world - nearby and far away.
Second, this effort begins shortly after my return from the ACNA Provincial Assembly in late June. The experience was transformative - prayer and worship overflowed as GOd brought new life to the Anglican mission for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in North America! I'll not soon forget the feeding I received there, and hope to be a vessel of the grace God is pouring out through this new fellowship of faithful Christians on the continent.
Stay tuned for my reflections on the soon-to-be-concluded General Convention of TEC. Purely an outsider's point of view.
Pax et bonum
Darin+
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