"The positive relationship that has been established between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Church of Rome is one of the most stunning achievements of Benedict XVI's pontificate.
...To a question from www.chiesa on the factors that led to this extraordinary change, Metropolitan Hilarion responded by indicating three of these.
...the third reason is their mutual embrace of the grand Christian tradition, as the great highway of the new evangelization."
- "A Holy Alliance between Rome and Moscow Is Born," by Sandro Magister, published on www.chiesa at http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1343399?eng=y, accessed 25 May 2010.
A good discussion of the method and means of evangelism and outreach has been going on over on my friend Rick's blog. Rick, hailing from an Evangelical perspective, and I, hailing from a Catholic perspective, can tend to disagree over the role of Tradition in outreach and evangelism.
My argument runs along the same lines as that which is discussed in the article cited above: reasoned caution toward innovation for fear of borrowing and baptizing so many things in the name of relevancy that the baby becomes indistinguishable from the bathwater (a good question: would my Evangelical friends say it's all bathwater or all baby?), and a heavy reliance upon Tradition as a norm of faith, not merely contributing to, but foundational for the Church's missional existence.
As we become ever more aware of our inextricable human rooted-ness in history and tradition, it seems to me all the more important to embrace, explore, and yes, when necessary, reform, that tradition. Contrary to some popular thought, anchoring oneself in a tradition is more conducive to inter-traditional dialogue than claiming an autonomous distance from any tradition.
Hence, the Christian Tradition must needs be maintained--through study, through interaction, and through liturgical/sacramental practice--in order to continue to provide a "solid rock" on which to build our evangelistic efforts.
Thoughts?
About Me
- Patrick Conley
- I'm a self-identified ecclesiophile (lover of the Church). I enjoy reading about and reflecting upon this fascinating and integral part of the divine-human relationship. Hence, many of my posts get around to involving or addressing the Church in some way.
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7 comments:
I have begun to consider carefully the power of form and not just content. We have adopted the forms of rock concert and shopping mall in the mega-church world. What is lost when we abandon some of the forms of liturgy and ritual that were handed to us? When we no longer feast together or fast together? When the communion table is not central to a service or the life of worship, what happens to people? What do rock concerts create in people? How do shopping malls shape a soul? I don't have answers. I care deeply that American Christians are virtually indistinguishable from those not following Jesus in almost every way. Has it always been this way? Is it human nature or has our methodological pragmatism cost us something in our souls?
--Jonna
Wonderful, dangerous questions, Jonna. I look forward to hearing more about your careful considering!
I like this a lot. I posted part of it over at my blog and there should be some responses there too.
I think there is a real danger in getting caught up in the zeitgeist and becoming the church of the new. Some call it being relevant...but where does being relevant stop and losing your soul begin?
Have a strong foundation in Tradition, a sense of organic and institutional continuity with the past--these are essential. They are no less important here in the Muslim world in fact.
Patrick, I tend to pound on the theme of relevancy not because I value it in isolation from, say, tradition, but because I have difficulty writing holistically on- line. I would rather spend my limited capital awakening the church from dead traditionalism than cautioning innovation. In truth, both are necessary. I love tradition for the very reasons you cite, but when I look closely at both evangelical and Catholic churches (I'm closer to evangelical ones), uncontrolled innovation definitely is not the main problem.
That's not to say that some innovations don't need to be checked (they do). But I find the critics are often more rhetorical than substantive (lacking specific examples). So it's hard to know where to put the brakes on.
Additionally, I would ask you what you believe is the contribution of "non-compartmentalized" (non-religious, if you know what I mean) truth--in the arts, for example--in church practice. If I use a funny or poignant video clip to illustrate a biblical point, or if I ask a youth group to text me their answers (live) to a question we're dealing with, or if I use a painting to make a point about God's creation or a song about relationships, are those things selling out somehow?
Dear Rick,
Greetings from the Middle East.
I was interested in what you had to say until I reached the the two words 'dead traditionalism'. As if traditionalism could not be alive and evangelical and missionary? It is the tradition of the church that allows it to be missionary (and I say this as a guy living in a majority-Muslim city)! Really, you need to sharpen the precision of your language, if not your thinking. I don't say this to insult you, but as a friendly recommendation for the sake of God, his Church, and her mission.
Your evangelical brother,
Abu Daoud
Hi, Rick,
Thanks for taking the time to read and write. I realize you're a busy guy these days!
The first thing I'll pick up on is your phrase "church practice," as I see that as making all sorts of difference in what we are talking about. Are we talking about the church's evangelistic efforts? Or are we specifically addressing the weekly meeting of the faithful?
In the Catholic way of thinking, the Eucharist--that is, the faithful together being joined to the crucified Christ and nourished by him for ministry in the world--is the source and summit of the Christian faith. Hence, evangelistic efforts always have the Eucharist both as their foundation and as their ultimate goal.
This Eucharistic understanding, handed on by the Tradition, serves to inform attitudes about innovation. Innovation is much more strictly restrained (though not absent!) in the context of the liturgy, so as not to demean or detract (either by addition or subtraction) from that which is the source and summit of our faith. In conversations, presentations, lectures, debates, events, etc., however, utilization of innovative arts and technology is both necessary and encouraged, as the Pope himself said in January of 2009: http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0900327.htm.
So, my question back to you: what is the ultimate goal of the evangelistic efforts of the Evangelical? (Of course, I mean in existential/experiential form, not abstractions like "salvation.")
Hi Abu, By "dead traditionalism" I meant "when and where it is dead," not "it is always dead." I agree with your statement that tradition can be alive and missional and evangelical. In fact, I was careful to say that "I love tradition for the reasons you [Pat] cite."
Pat, my belief about the ultimate goal of evangelical evangelistic efforts is to unite people who don't know Christ, to Christ. While we probably differ on the specific meaning of the Eucharist, I actually see some significant similarities between your position and mine.
I appreciate your distinction between evangelism and weekly gatherings. I think for many evangelical churches the weekly service can function in a variety of roles, ranging from worship and discipleship for believers, to evangelism, to a mix of both. This flexibility is a real asset for evangelicals.
We have a creative team at my church that designs worship services 4-8 weeks in advance. This gives us the opportunity to design service elements that fit with the preaching theme, and the time to pull them off with some artistic quality. I never think of this process as commercialism or specifically "anti-traditional" per se, yet I think we are fairly innovative, which is one reason our church is growing.
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