WARNING: I don’t mean this to be incendiary, but I recognize that many Catholics and
Protestants will take issue with this post.
Why I Went
One of the primary
reasons I was open to visiting a Catholic church was because of the ministry of
Catholic radio and websites. For a few years, I’ve enjoyed listening to
different radio programs and podcasts and reading articles on Catholic
websites. They’ve helped me see that, as a Protestant, I don’t have much to
protest. When I hear what Catholics believe from Catholics (not the distorted
message from Martin Luther and contemporary Protestants), I realize that the
Church has very good reasons for believing what it does. While some practices might seem strange to me (such as
praying to the saints), the motives behind those practices strike me as being
perfectly Christian. I often think of myself as a Protestant who’s ended
his protest.
Another reason why I
wanted to go is that I’ve been getting bored at my church. That’s not a slam on
my church. I simply get bored easily. Listening to the same person with the
same perspective speak every week gets old. Singing the same songs gets old.
Watching the same people perform on stage gets old. So, to a certain degree, I
wanted something new.
I’m also a student of
Christian history. I enjoy reading the documents of first and second century
Christians. My thought is that those who were closer in time to Jesus and the
Apostles probably have a better understanding of the faith than those who came
later. The Catholic Church claims to preserve the historical teaching and
authority of the Apostles. It would seem only
natural, then, to follow its teaching.
I’ve attended a variety
of Protestant churches for the past 33 years. I have a degree from a Protestant
seminary. I’ve served as a minister in three Protestant denominations. I know
what Protestants believe. I also sense that there’s another side of
Christianity that I don’t know much about.
Is it possible that the Catholic Church has something to teach me? If Jesus
wants to show me something from this branch of the faith, I don’t want to miss
it.
So, boredom, respect
for the historical Church, and an openness to a new revelation of Christ are
why I visited a Catholic church.
What I Found
It was fine.
Okay, I guess I should
elaborate on that statement.
It was a church
service. I had no problems with anything said or done and I especially appreciated
some of the aspects of the service. For instance, whenever someone approached or
left the platform, they bowed as a sign of respect for Christ. Even the children, when they entered the sanctuary
bowed before taking their seat.
But with only a few
minor exceptions, the service wasn’t much different from a high church
Protestant service. If you’ve been to a Presbyterian, Lutheran, or United
Methodist church, you would recognize and feel at home with most of what was
happening.
My one complaint was
that the service wasn’t very newcomer-friendly. The congregation responded to the
liturgy from memory. They sat and stood
and kneeled without instruction to do so. I leaned into the hand of the woman
behind me once because she and everyone else were going from standing to
kneeling while I misinterpreted the movement and started to sit. I felt her pry
her hand from behind my back before I could lean forward again.
Now, I’m confident that
anyone would have been glad to guide me with printed resources and an
explanation of the movements, but the people leading the service didn’t give me
any cues.
About halfway through
the service, I wanted to leave. It wasn’t that I felt uncomfortable. It was
simply that I didn’t see anything special about the service. Was Jesus being
glorified? Yes. Was the Holy Spirit present in the service? Yes.
But no more so than in
my very casual Protestant church.
What Jesus Said
I came home a little
disgruntled because I was expecting more from the “one, true, Apostolic Church.”
That night, I gave my frustration to Jesus in prayer. I said something like, “Lord,
I want to be a part of Your Church, the real Church, where people serve You as
You intended.”
He then interrupted my
thought process (Jesus gets to do that) by saying, “You’re My Church.”
He didn’t mean that all
I needed was Him and me or that I already know everything I need to. Rather, He
impressed in my spirit that the Church really
is all Christians, no matter where they attend to worship Him or what labels
they use to describe their doctrine. If people are honestly seeking to know and
serve Christ, they are the Church.
Why I’ll Continue Listening to the Catholic Church
The Catholic Church
still has a lot of history and tradition that I can learn from. It has a very thoroughly thought-out
theology. I believe that Catholic teachers can still help widen my view of
Jesus with a different perspective than I’m used to.
So, I’ll keep listening to Catholic radio and reading books and articles
sanctioned by the Catholic Church.
And I wouldn’t mind
going to a Catholic service again. I simply don’t have a reason to.
http://www.thepapalvisit.org.uk/The-Catholic-Faith/FAQ-on-Faith/1-10/What-is-a-Catholic-Mass
ReplyDeleteThank you for the link!
DeleteI Like the website, and will visit regular. I found that some denominations have a tendency to misrepresent other denominations beliefs and practices. Check out the Rule of Benedict, the Benedictine way of living in community. Great stuff.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mark! I'll look it up.
Delete