The continuing saga...
I knew I'd get some interesting comments on the last blog, if I dared to publish is. I think I will send this on to the priest in Albuquerque when it's done...but until then, if anyone is interested...here is part 2
We were married on New Year’s Eve, by a Baptist minister in Colorado Springs, and 8 months later our first son was born. We were self-proclaimed Christians, but did not belong to any church. We prayed, read scripture, listened to Christian radio and watched Bob Schuler on Sunday Mornings. Eventually the LORD led us back to my home town, Rochester, NY, where we became members of the United Methodist Church my father and his third wife were attending. It was a wonderful Church, where we grew in faith and knowledge. It was a multicultural and intergenerational Church with an old time preacher, a classically trained choir director, and plenty of old saints who took us under their wing, teaching us to pray, understand the Bible, and to seek first the Kingdom of God. Our two sons were baptized there, as was my husband. My little family grew up there. Spiritually and emotionally. The church was our family, our purpose in life. It was there that Art heard the call of the LORD to go into ministry. In 1988 we both graduated from Roberts Wesleyan College, Art with a degree in Religion and Philosophy and me with a degree in Elementary Education. But the United Methodist Denomination was becoming more and more liberal in their beliefs. And Art, who had been seeking ordination as a UM minister was told he could not continue in the process, when he blatantly declared to the ordination board that he believed homosexuality and abortion was a sin. For the next few years, I taught first grade at an interdenominational Christian school, and Art worked at a homeless shelter, attending a Free Methodist Church and seeking the will of the LORD for our lives. More than once Art had conflicts with Pastors and leaders of Para-church organizations because he would call them on certain Biblical issues. God language, tolerance of sin, letting a Jehovah Witness teach Sunday school in a Christian church, not allowing the use of the Bible when counseling people in an agency that called itself Christian but was funded by state funds. One time, a guest speaker at a Church we were visiting spoke a word of prophesy over us. Something about refiner’s fire. That we would be rejected by people we trusted, and hurt by pastors and friends alike, but that these trials would actually be coming from God who was preparing us for a great work.
His words rang true when we heard them, and have proved pretty true over the years.
Once, when the Pope was visiting Denver, Colorado Art watched all the pomp on TV and llistened intently to his speech to the youth. He commented how refreshing it would be to belong to a Church where the leader wasn’t compromising on basic issues. Who called sin sin and Jesus LORD - the only Way. But, still there was the issue of Mary and the Saints and the idea that the Church was infallible. At least Art conceded that Catholics were indeed Christians. And this idea led to several heated discussions with other Christians who believed that the Roman Church was the great Harlot, and anyone within her walls was deceived. Should they actually find Jesus there, they would surely be led by the Holy Spirit to leave, and expose its faults to the world.
Art is quite a scholar. Although he only has a BA, he has kept up his Greek and Hebrew, and has continued to study, reading everything from Augustine to Wesley. At Roberts we had several excellent professors, mostly Wesleyan, one Messianic Rabbi, and at one of the Churches we attended, we took college level classes in Bible and Theology. Seeking earnestly Wisdom and Knowledge and the Will of the LORD in our lives.
I think now, perhaps we took some wrong turns along the way. I know now we made some mistakes in the rearing of our sons, in the career choices we made, in the risks we took and the paths we didn’t follow. But as we prayed our way through our lives, we did sincerely try to “seek first the kingdom of God” and “ trust in the LORD with all our hearts, lean not on our own understanding, and believe that He would make our paths straight” Be not wise in your own eyes.
We’ve been married 27 years. Over the years we have lived in Rochester, NY (13 years), Denver Colorado (Aurora and Littleton specifically - 5 years), New Mexico (the four corners region - 9 years). We’ve been active members of the United Methodist Church, Free Methodist churches in NY and Colorado, and Assemblies of God. Art has been an assistant pastor in a United Methodist Church, Free Methodist Church, and senior pastor in a Free Methodist Church and Open Bible Standard Church. We’ve taught Sunday School, workshops on the dangers of the Occult, I’ve coordinated VBSs, Children’s Church, Summer Camp Programs for the Salvation Army and Free Methodist
I’m not writing a resume, or blowing my own horn. None of our “ministries” have been very successful or long lasting. Art’s emphasis has been prayer, study and worship. My emphasis has always been children and youth. The last 5 years have been the darkest, most hopeless years of our lives. And the only light I see in the distance is burning in the Roman Catholic church. Could it be possible after all this, Catholicism is where I’ll end up? One of my sons, who is cynical and claims the Jewish blood that my German ancestors and Art’s Russian ancestors denied for many years, while still believing in Jesus and the Holy Bible, can hold his own in any debate, argues that Catholics are just as Christian as any other so called Christian group, but all have strayed far from the 1st Century Church and Jewish understanding of the Gospel. The other of my sons, an ex-con, registered felon, who has strong faith in the Jesus of the Bible, had some bad experience with the Catholic ministry in the prison system and says he can’t trust any church that says it’s the one True Church, also knows it to be true, that Catholics can be just as Christian as any other Christian in any other church. Funny how that one statement gets a rise out of so many non-Catholic believers. I was once told by a Christian friend that the Catholic Church teaches a false Christ. Yet the Jesus I believe in now is the very same Jesus, born of a virgin, worker of miracles, second Person of the Blessed Trinity, Died on a Cross, Resurrected on the third day, coming again (soon LORD please) to judge the living and the dead…the same Jesus every teacher in my Catholic schools taught me about. Well, you may read on if you are holding these many pages in your hand. If I blog this, you’ll have to take a break - as I must make an early morning run to the LaundryMatt. I think I’ll take my “Catholic” Bible with me and read some psalms while I wash my clothes and wait for the sun to rise.
4 comments:
Interesting that the son who argued so vehemently against the possibility of "several paths" (although he did claim I said all paths were valid) would equally take issue with someone who said they were the only path.
I must admit I have difficulty understanding this movement from denomination to denomination that you mention. Is there really such a vast difference between them that you have to keep switching until you find the right one? Do you not see what parts of their teachings you agree with or disagree with from the start? And if there is no vast difference, why so many shifts?
Excellent question Wanderer and it sort of claified what I was trying to say in my rushed comment on the last post.
Moving from denomination to denomination is usually seen as church hopping, and not healthy. The old "you'll never find a perfect Church, and if you do, don't join it or it won't be perfect anymore..." sort of thing.
I indicated why we left the UM. We might still be Free Methodist, if the Free Methodist hadn't closed the Church here in the Farmington Area. Mostly though, it was more personal. Issues arose, and when Art felt he could not longer submit to the authority of the pastor, rather then make a sceene, we just went away. Not that we didn't try to work out these differences privately. Not that we didn't fervently pray through these issues. Some times it felt as if we were be driven away, sometimes it felt we were running away...never the less...
Is there really such a vast difference between denominations? Do we not see what parts of their teachings we agree with or disagree with from the start?
Not really.
So much depends on the senior pastor. That is because there is no ultimate authority. Doctrine is said to be determined by the Bible, but then we have so many different people trying to tell us what the Bible means. I know some Assemblies of God churches, that teach rapture and say you're not saved unless you speak in tongues on a regular basis. In others, neither doctrine is a big one. In Open Bible, at anual conference, there was a debate on rather Tongues was the first, the only, or just one possible sign that you had been baptised by the Holy Spirit. There was no consensous, no official statement. Now, obviously there are some renegade Catholics, who insist on ordaining women or letting priests marry, or take a liberal stand on birth control. But as far as doctrine goes, what is sin and what is not sin, most of the Catholic Churches submit to the authority of the Church. One might switch churches because of style of worship - guitars and drums vs organs or chanting...but basically truth is truth, and the is a Spiritual Authority to settle the serious matters. Funny, I just thought of how some people bemoan the apparent wealth of the Catholic Church. Yet, I once had pastor tell me I couldn't teach Sunday School if didn't tithe, and my tithing had to be proved on the books, so I should stop putting in cash and start writing checks. To be continued...
So one of the issues behind looking back at the Catholic church is the existance of a uniform authority? Kind of a where is my church type question?
Does it not occur that the higher authority of man may mean nothing? After all, with men misinterpreting things or interpreting them differently all over the place, what's to say that the hierarchy to which you submit would in fact be right?
I would think that the bigger questions would be answered in your heart rather than by any church structure.
BTW, I have always found this "requirement" of speaking in tongues to be amusing. My daughter does so now, but we are working on teaching her english.
Hi my friend,
Sorry I've been away for so long. I have been catching up on your past few posts and I'm so sorry to hear that things have been a struggle lately or confusing to say the least. For whatever it's worth, I, too went to Catholic school growing up, although I was not raised Catholic. I have found that it is very possible to be Christian and to be Catholic, but I find the statement that "Catholics are Christian" hard to swallow. Here is the reason: In order to be Christian, what is required? A personal relationship with the Lord as well as the belief that the only way to heaven is through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. I know there have been some changes occuring in the Catholic church, but as a whole, the Catholic Church is missing the relationship part of being Christian. It is true that the Church has many similar beliefs but there are a few of their sacraments that are a little hard to swallow if one has a personal relationship with the Lord. Confession being one of them. Who is a priest to tell me that they have, for lack of better words," a better connection with God" and that only they can tell me what to do to who I'm "truly sorry" for my sins. Only God knows the condition of my heart and whether or not I'm sincere, therefore no middle man is necessary and to me is sort of an insult to God, thinking that He can't love us enough to talk to us directly, when clearly the Bible says otherwise.
And for the issue you ran across with Tongues...big issue. Again, another issue that I think has been blown out of proportion in the Christian Church. I hate when churches put this unnecessary emphasis on Tongues. It's so silly to me. Tongues is one of the gifts from God and I believe it still exists, but not nearly to the extent that it is in the Bible. And furthermore, in the Bible, Tongues is not used as a means to communicate with God, which is how it iscommonly referred to, but rather a way for God speak through us to help us evangilize to someone that speaks a different language than us. Does that make sense? It's more like if I was in Africa and didn't know the language there, but God really needed me to talk to a specific person He could use the Holy Spirit to speak through me so that the otehr person could understand me. That is what it means when it says when you speak tongues that one or more will hear and understand and that is how you know you are speaking in tongues. I think all this gibberish about people sounding like they are mumbling, yet these tongue believing pastors can understand them is a big hoax.
Anyway, like I said for whatever it is worth, I just wanted to throw some things out there for you. Take them or leave them. I think you know me well enough to know that none of it is meant as an attack or in malice. I just want to try to help and if it helps great, if not, than it was just my thoughts written down.
How is teaching going this year? I miss it terribly. I am not in the classroom this year and it's been hard. We moved to Virginia and won't be here, but four more months and I didn't feel right taking a job that I knew I'd be leaving part way through the school year. Anyway, I'd love to hear from you if not through your blog than in email. :)
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