Dwight Longenecker's Blog, page 348

Combox

Just a reminder about the combox on this blog:



I keep it open to everyone. I don't monitor and pre-screen commenters. I don't make you register with me first. You can say what you want. You don't have to agree with me. You don't have to like me. If you make a nasty remark; if you are ugly and negative and spiteful I leave the comment there because ugliness bites you in the butt. Your comments say more about you than you think.



However, if you come to the combox and insult the Catholic faith, infest the combox with long, negative, irrational and poisonous comments about the faith; if you use it as your own soapbox, if you lurk there only to throw mud, then your comments will be deleted. Whether you are like that or not will be my call. It is, after all, my blog.



Just sayin'

Campus Crusade for Christ now CRU

This article tells us that the classic Evangelical campus ministry Campus Crusade for Christ has removed the words 'Crusade' and 'Christ' from it's name. It is now called CRU. You can read about the name change here. Funnily enough this comes just at the time that I am commenting on the 're-branding' that is going on within many Evangelical churches. In the comment box on that post one person said how difficult it was for him to find out just what 'Intervarsity' was when he went to college. I think this is the new name for what was Intervarsity Christian Fellowship--a Campus Crusade for Christ type ministry.



It does seem a pity that these groups drop out the 'Christian' or 'Christ' from their name. Is everything else being watered down too? The commenter said that the description of a mission trip to Egypt was, "we went there to help the people and talk with them." What? When I was growing up as an Evangelical the mission trips were all about 'Going out to the mission field to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with those who were dying in their trespasses and sins and therefore on their way to eternity in hell." That sort of language was clear and had some, well...bite. This current wishy washy stuff from the Evangelicals reminds me of old fashioned liberalism.



Which--of course it is. Essentially, whatever you see the radical Protestants like Episcopalians and Lutherans and Church of Christ people doing the rest of the Protestants will slowly drift into about ten or twenty years later. They will do so without the radical edge. It will simply become the default setting without anyone really noticing. So, for example, the Anglicans opened the door to artificial contraception in the 1930s. By the 1960s all Protestants had caved. The Episcopalians and other mainstream liberal Protestants 'adjusted their teaching' about divorce and remarriage and abortion and homosexuality and so forth. The rest of the Protestants are now spongy on remarriage and abortion and like to 'remain silent' about same sex issues.



So Campus Crusade for Christ have dropped 'Crusdae' and 'Christ' from their title. We should look on the bright side. If they had adopted CCC it would have been confused with 'Catechism of the Catholic Church' which we definitely wouldn't want. Also, it frees up the word 'Crusade' so that it might be used by a more radical American fundamentalist Christian group in the future when they want to pick up their guns and begin a genuine crusade against radical Islam.



Seriously now (...and lest I get lots of comments telling me that I shouldn't foment violence against Muslims...I was just kidding) I understand the need to 're-brand' sometimes, but I don't think you should take Christ out of your name. Christians should be clear about who they are and what their mission is. It makes things much easier for everyone.



I wear my clericals and tell people, "I'm Father Longenecker. I'm a Catholic priest." If they don't like it, well, that's what the gospel does. It sorts things out.

Poem

Some readers may not know that I grew up in Pennsylvania in an Evangelical home, went to Greenville, South Carolina to attend Bob Jones University, and then became an Anglican and went to Oxford to study for the Anglican priesthood. I was ordained and served ten years as an Anglican priest before coming into the Catholic Church. I then spent ten more years living in England and working for a Catholic charity as a layman. Then the call came for me to return to South Carolina to be ordained as a Catholic priest. This journey there and back again is at the heart of this poem.



I hope you like it. By the way, if you do like it, think about buying a copy of my book of poems--A Sudden Certainty. Click on the picture of the book in the sidebar to go to the purchase page.



Driving Home



"Save a half hour," my host said, "and leave town

driving North 'cross country on Highway One."

So on a balmy day in May I set off

to travel home across the rural south.



The road ran past broken farms, peach orchards,

Bar BQ joints, quaint old towns and junkyards;

trailer parks and dilapidated shacks--

the homes of poor white folks and poorer blacks.



With stenciled signs the country churches wore

their ignorance with pride and proclaimed their war

on the world, the flesh and the devil

in names wild and apocalyptical.



Almighty Fire Temple Missionary

New Testament Church of God Prophecy

Mount Pisgah Methodist Episcopal

Church of the Revival of Reverend Irascible.



Twenty five years ago I fled all this;

seeking sanity, refuge and release.

All I found were other forms of madness,

poverty, despair, anger, lust and stress.



Worst of all, after time, I woke to find

these terrors lodged deep in my own heart and mind.

Like a birth defect, they'd been there all along;

It wasn't my world, but my heart which was wrong.



So now, with a sense of humor and shame

I'm ready to accept my part of the blame.

In accepting this I can accept all things,

and in this freedom my heart stops and sings.



As I drive on and the sun sets into night,

each church and farm and face I see is filled with light,

and in my heart and mind a certainty begins to swell:

that, "All shall be well, and all things shall be well."

Truth in Advertising

I notice as I toot around Greenville how the local Protestant churches are shifting away from honest self description. It used to be that they put out a sign stating just exactly who they were so you knew what you were getting when you went church shopping.



The old way was often friendly and inviting so churches were called: Friendship Baptist Church, Fellowship Baptist Church, Welcome to All Bible Church. Other church names were linked with a locality making it homey and easy: Pebble Creek Baptist or Pumpkintown Presbyterian or Silver Falls Church of God or Reedy Fork Methodist or Hudson Road Bible Church. Even the old names of First Baptist, Second Presbyterian or Hortonville United Methodist had clarity, integrity and honesty in advertising. Furthermore the churches looked like churches. They had a porch with pillars and a steeple on top. Even if they were inexpensive warehouse type buildings they plopped a steeple on top and put a cross on the front and made it look like a church.



You also had the churches named with quaint, but obscure Biblical references. These made you feel a little bit confused or perhaps a bit happy because you recognized the Biblical reference and felt you might be privileged enough to be on the inside. Thus, Beulah Baptist Church or Mount Pisgah Church of God or Bethany Baptist or Church of the Nazarene or Zion United Church or Mount Moriah Church of God Prophecy.



Then there were the thunder and lightning sort of church names you'd spot in a drive across the American South. These were the church names that spoke of hellfire and brimstone and prophecy and tongues and weeping and wailing and being slain in the Spirit and maybe a touch of snake handling...Four Square Church of the Apostolic Faith, or Tabernacle of God Prophecy or Redemption Church of the End Times Ministry or Faith Healing Cathedral of God or African Methodist Episcopal Church of the Prophet Elijah or Full Gospel Church of the Heavenly Vision or Jerusalem Temple of the Tribulation Refuge or Full Rapture Church of Divine Punishment or Come to Jesus Church or Get Saved or You are Going to Hell When You Die Church. Again--there was honesty in advertising. You knew what you were getting.



Not anymore. Now the church buildings are indistinguishable from a retail shopping strip or a warehouse or a movie theater. The names are totally misleading. What if you went looking for a church with one of these 'creative' names? It could be a church. It could be something else. Furthermore, they not only don't call themselves a 'church' (that would be so alienating to the unchurched you know) they also don't tell you what denomination they are. The local community church named 'Heartrock' or some such might be Presbyterian or Baptist or Methodist or most anything. This is because most Evangelical Protestant theology is now post-modern eclectic (which is another words for relativistic cafeterianism) But that's the stuff of another post. Instead I'm observing the confusion that arises in their current penchant for creative groovy but goofy Protestant church names. Here's a list of 'community church' names which could lead the consumer to something totally different.

Marathon - turns out to be a store that sells running shoes
CrossWind -  sells charcoal tablets to ease flatulence
NewWine - Liquor Store
NewHorizons - Rock Climbing and hiking outdoor shop
HeartStone - Sells fireplace stuff
NewBirth - Gynecologist specializing in alternative birthing techniques
CrossRoads - New GPS system for your car
New Spring - Mattress Store
BedRock - ditto (specializing in extra firm mattresses)
RunningWater - Plumbing services
SonLight -  Solar electrical systems
SonRise - Yeast manufacturer
SonBurn - Ointment for post beach problems
The Vineyard - a vineyard
Eden.com - Gardening stuff and nursery
HolyGround   - Coffee Shop
Enough of those: maybe the Catholic Church should jump on the bandwagon, (or should I say 'brand wagon'?) and re-brand ourselves. We could take existing church names and make them more groovy and with it and thereby bring in large crowds. I guess we would have to add large screens, stage lighting, dry ice machines and attractive dancing girls, but that would not be too hard as we have a history of stained glass windows (which is sort of a medieval version of big screen TV), incense for smoke and good looking altar servers.

So here's a list of re-branded Catholic Churches:

St Peter's Church - The RockSt Paul's - SwordPlaySt Mary's - EveX2St Therese of Lisieux - SteelMagnoliaPrince of Peace - Prince of PeaceSt Mary Magdalene - Lady in RedHoly Apostles - TheTwelveSt Stephen's - We Will Rock YouOur Lady of the Rosary - Beads.comOur Lady Star of the Sea - StarFishSt Matthew's - DoorMattSt Mark's - RoadMarker

Any other re-branded Catholic Church titles to the combox please.



Contributions of two words that have a space between the two words will not be accepted.

Vezelay

The great abbey at Vezelay in France in which you can find the relics of St Mary Magdalene. More information here.

Catholic Church Growing

Bill Donohue writes that the Catholic Church is growing.



All we ever hear from the wild-eyed critics of the Catholic Church, including the dissidents within, is that the Church had better "get with it" and change its teachings on abortion, homosexuality and women's ordination. Yet it is precisely those religious institutions that are the most liberal on these issues—the mainline Protestant denominations—that are collapsing. Not so the Catholic Church. Indeed, its numbers are going north while the mainline denominations are going south.



The latest findings by the "Emerging Models of Pastoral Leadership" project, a collaborative effort with Georgetown University's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, are illuminating. In the last 40 years, the Catholic population has increased by 75 percent; it has grown by 50 percent since 1990. More

important, Catholic attendance at Mass is up 15 percent since 2000. And in the last five years, contributions have increased by 14 percent. It is also important to note that there has been a 40 percent increase in Latinos in the Church over the past five years.... Read the rest of the article here.

St Mary Magdalene

Homosexual Episcopal Priests Ordered to Marry

I remember when the idea of 'homosexual marriage' was first mooted, my father in law (the dry Englishman that he is) commented, "I suppose it is okay as long as they don't make it mandatory."



Now that it is legal in New York for two people of the same gender to 'marry' each other the Episcopal bishop has ordered his homosexual and lesbian priests who are cohabiting to marry their 'partner'. Whaat so they won't be living in sin??



Thus the lunacy continues. You can read about it (if you have the stomach) here.  When things get this crazy the only thing to do is laugh. A good piece to help you do this which is about same sex marriage can be found over at Acts of the Apostacy. Go here.

Tradition or Tron

A reader sent me a link to a 'church' in Oklahoma City that has an annual 'at the movies' sermon series. As part of this event they transform their lobby into a sort of movie theme park. Go here to learn more about the American blend of Universal Studio's Island of Adventure and church.



This is an extreme example of the increasing trend in American Protestantism to turn religion into entertainment. I wish I could say that Catholic parishes were immune, but alas, too many Catholic pastors, liturgists and music directors follow the same philosophy. The intent is sincere: "We want to break down the barriers people have about 'church' and help them realize that we are here to help them find a good life and hear the gospel and find Christ." Sure. We also want to grow our church (and its budget) as big as possible, have the greatest, biggest, slickest church possible. We want a TV ministry, a radio station, franchises branch churches with the preacher appearing on hologram. Although we would ever say it we also want to beat the competition. Has Pastor Bob been serving his little Baptist congregation faithfully for the last twenty five years? It's okay if we put him out of business by stealing all his young people, young families and middle aged earners with teens who like our cool approach to church.



After living in UK for twenty five years, and now back in the USA for five years--what disgusts me most about American Christians (and this includes most Catholics too) is how they have swallowed the culture in which they live totally uncritically, and they have then adapted their religion to reflect it. The epistle to the Romans says, "Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed" and yet American Christians have gobbled down what I call the "Alpha American Achievement Culture" hook, line and sinker. It's all about getting straight As, and getting into the 'good college' where we can get a 'good job' and find a 'good spouse' and make lots of money and beat the competition and have a life that is bigger and better than everybody else and we can be fit and have fake tans and fake boobs and fake smiles and perfect teeth and the perfect little family with perfect little children.



Tron Church is simply a symptom of the same illness. Christians busy everywhere conforming to the world. They turn worship into entertainment. They turn the gospel of repentance into a self help message to boost self esteem. They turn their ministry into a business and they neglect the cross of Christ in favor of a feel good religion that fortifies their comfort zone and excludes all those outside.



Well, it's a false religion folks. It's a counterfeit. I'd like to say that it is a good counterfeit--that it looks a lot like the religion of Jesus Christ, but I can't even pay it that compliment. It looks about as much like Jesus Christ as Dolly Parton looks like Mother Teresa. This sort of religion is all hype and fakery and an artificiality as plastic as Dolly Parton's wigs, smile and chest measurement.



What's the answer? Not Tron but Tradition. It is the Tradition of the church down through the ages which helps us to avoid the temptation to turn it all into entertainment and self help and practical, sincere good ideas that are actually tacky, ephemeral and shallow. I was surprised when I read in The Spirit of the Liturgy when Ratzinger said that the liturgy was not a place to be creative. Then I understood what he meant--it is not up to me to fiddle about with the liturgy or the teachings of the church in order to make it all attractive and easy. Instead we observe the teachings of the church as best we can. We preach the precepts of the church and the old time religion of repentance, forgiveness and grace. We try to celebrate the liturgy as it has been done down through the ages. We respect an renew and admire and love the age old devotions and prayers of the church.



American Tron religion is like one of those big, plastic yachts you see moored in Palm Beach or Charleston. Big, tacky, showy and glitzy. The Catholic faith is like one of those big old fashioned cruise liners. It may be a bit rusty and shabby in places, but it's got ancient splendor, a crew who may be old and cranky at times, but who know their stuff, an engine that thumps away slow but sure, and most of all, a captain who knows how to bring the boat and her passengers through a storm to home and safe haven.

Chust for Nice

A series on Romanesque Churches...Don't ask me where they are. I just scrounge through the internet looking for nice pics. I very much like the multiple apses and extending chapels. It gives the whole thing a nice complexity and randomness. The tower was probably added in the Gothic period.