I have been privileged, I think you can call it that, to have a front-row seat, or at least a behind-the-scenes look, at the inner workings of many Reformed denominations, including the founding of two Presbyterian denominations.
Thank you for making these necessary points, Michael.
It's just me observation-based opinion, but I believe the root of all these issues—the nitpicking, the piling on of rules, the general lack of focus, the detours from our Great Commission, etc., etc., etc.—is a body of fallen image-bearers who believe that the simplicity of the gospel is too simple to be fully trusted.
I think a lot of these issues were on Paul's mind when he wrote to the church in Corinth:
"And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." (1 Corinthians 2:1-5 ESV)
Thank you for the well-reasoned article. Your account is far more temperate than mine, alas, would be, were I to detail similar experiences.
So here goes!
I served a term as senior warden in an Episcopal Church. That lasted until being woke became suddenly fashionable. (An exciting new gay bishop and a divorced, Subaru-driving priestess who explained to us that the miracle of feeding the 5,000 was in fact a meal catered by The People who, of course, had brought food with them and were only too willingly to share).
I then became an Anglican — the more authentic, old-gansta, Oxford Movement, T.S. Eliot flavor of Episcopalianism. (I was an English major. That all mattered to me in my 30s and 40s.)
So I soon ended up again as senior warden in an ACNA Church. That lasted until the bishop insisted on replacing our fabulous pastor, when he left, with a retired funeral director-turned-priest whose previous two churches had closed.
I soon found myself senior warden at an AMIA Anglican Church — same church, different church association. That lasted until our bright and sure-of-himself new young priest told us it was time we started to interpret the Bible from the standpoint of our sophisticated modern ways of thinking men and women and worshipping (less and less liturgy, more and more praise music).
I tried an evangelical Vineyard Church for two years after that. Lots of Holy Spirit, great coffee, great sermons, lots rock-and-roll praise music — and precious little theology and formation. What you got in an hour on Sunday was good stuff, but that was all you got.
Then came the day the pastor told me our church had no doctrine or dogma. He picked up his Bible and gestured with it. “We have the Bible. That’s all we need.” I had to ask: “So do we believe in the Trinity?” “Of course.” “But isn’t that doctrine? There’s nothing in the Bible about the Trinity.” Blank stare.
It was then that I began to understand on a visceral level why there are something like 40,000 Protestant denominations. It’s as you say above: We’re all referees bickering among ourselves exactly what the rules are. Don’t like this Presbyterian church? Find a slightly different flavor of Presbyterian church. Or rent a store front, recruit a dozen like-minded friends, and start your own church!
The finale:
I became a Catholic last Easter. Is the Church Jesus founded perfect? No. Is it a whole lot more stable, rational and — perhaps surprisingly to Protestants — Scripture based? Yes! (And no, Catholics do not worship statues of Mary. What my parents told me turns out to be wrong)
Brief coda: No doubt the Reformation made perfect sense at the time. The Catholic Church, run by humans, had its issues. As did some of the early cheerleaders for the Protestant church(es). Think: Henry VIII. But what the reformers threw out the window was 1,500 years of prayerful and deeply reasoned theology and tradition. Think: Trinity. Who came up with that? Think: Bible. Who put that together?
The Catholic Church is not perfect, but Catholics don’t spend a lot of time arguing about whether it is permissible for a gay pastor to have a polyamorous marriage with two other people of his/her sex. Seriously. Think about that.
Good article. I see myself in there somewhere, and not in a flattering way.
I do wish you had included some specific examples. Care to share any in the comments?
It seems to me that this is related to the fact that many, if not most, reformed churches are what C. John Miller would call ingrown. I would like to see more how discussions about evangelism verses discussions of the content of the gospel or the theories. We need living examples from our preachers of how evangelism is done and fewer classes on the theory.
As a member of one of these reformed denominations myself, this puts solid words to my experience as of late. At some point the BCO work, amendments, overtures, and position papers detract from the work of the church. Opportunity cost is a real thing. Let the players play.
I was helping someone playtest a WW I game 2 nights ago, and one person started talking about how Russia had just three arms factories and they were at X, Y, and Z, and ... The designer had to point out that in this game a country's factories consisted of a rectangle labelled "Factories" and we needed to get on with the game.
I was waiting to hear about parliamentary procedure, though. Some people get very picky about it. Others are ignorant, and don't realize that the rules make meetings go much faster and let quiet people have a chance to talk. And a chairman has to know ho to deal with both kinds.
Thank you for making these necessary points, Michael.
It's just me observation-based opinion, but I believe the root of all these issues—the nitpicking, the piling on of rules, the general lack of focus, the detours from our Great Commission, etc., etc., etc.—is a body of fallen image-bearers who believe that the simplicity of the gospel is too simple to be fully trusted.
I think a lot of these issues were on Paul's mind when he wrote to the church in Corinth:
"And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." (1 Corinthians 2:1-5 ESV)
And then Paul wrote Romans. Just to muddy up the waters 😆
Thank you for the well-reasoned article. Your account is far more temperate than mine, alas, would be, were I to detail similar experiences.
So here goes!
I served a term as senior warden in an Episcopal Church. That lasted until being woke became suddenly fashionable. (An exciting new gay bishop and a divorced, Subaru-driving priestess who explained to us that the miracle of feeding the 5,000 was in fact a meal catered by The People who, of course, had brought food with them and were only too willingly to share).
I then became an Anglican — the more authentic, old-gansta, Oxford Movement, T.S. Eliot flavor of Episcopalianism. (I was an English major. That all mattered to me in my 30s and 40s.)
So I soon ended up again as senior warden in an ACNA Church. That lasted until the bishop insisted on replacing our fabulous pastor, when he left, with a retired funeral director-turned-priest whose previous two churches had closed.
I soon found myself senior warden at an AMIA Anglican Church — same church, different church association. That lasted until our bright and sure-of-himself new young priest told us it was time we started to interpret the Bible from the standpoint of our sophisticated modern ways of thinking men and women and worshipping (less and less liturgy, more and more praise music).
I tried an evangelical Vineyard Church for two years after that. Lots of Holy Spirit, great coffee, great sermons, lots rock-and-roll praise music — and precious little theology and formation. What you got in an hour on Sunday was good stuff, but that was all you got.
Then came the day the pastor told me our church had no doctrine or dogma. He picked up his Bible and gestured with it. “We have the Bible. That’s all we need.” I had to ask: “So do we believe in the Trinity?” “Of course.” “But isn’t that doctrine? There’s nothing in the Bible about the Trinity.” Blank stare.
It was then that I began to understand on a visceral level why there are something like 40,000 Protestant denominations. It’s as you say above: We’re all referees bickering among ourselves exactly what the rules are. Don’t like this Presbyterian church? Find a slightly different flavor of Presbyterian church. Or rent a store front, recruit a dozen like-minded friends, and start your own church!
The finale:
I became a Catholic last Easter. Is the Church Jesus founded perfect? No. Is it a whole lot more stable, rational and — perhaps surprisingly to Protestants — Scripture based? Yes! (And no, Catholics do not worship statues of Mary. What my parents told me turns out to be wrong)
Brief coda: No doubt the Reformation made perfect sense at the time. The Catholic Church, run by humans, had its issues. As did some of the early cheerleaders for the Protestant church(es). Think: Henry VIII. But what the reformers threw out the window was 1,500 years of prayerful and deeply reasoned theology and tradition. Think: Trinity. Who came up with that? Think: Bible. Who put that together?
The Catholic Church is not perfect, but Catholics don’t spend a lot of time arguing about whether it is permissible for a gay pastor to have a polyamorous marriage with two other people of his/her sex. Seriously. Think about that.
Oh man you didn’t just figure it out, your story proves the point so well. Congrats.
Good article. I see myself in there somewhere, and not in a flattering way.
I do wish you had included some specific examples. Care to share any in the comments?
It seems to me that this is related to the fact that many, if not most, reformed churches are what C. John Miller would call ingrown. I would like to see more how discussions about evangelism verses discussions of the content of the gospel or the theories. We need living examples from our preachers of how evangelism is done and fewer classes on the theory.
Where’s D. James Kennedy when you need him.
As a member of one of these reformed denominations myself, this puts solid words to my experience as of late. At some point the BCO work, amendments, overtures, and position papers detract from the work of the church. Opportunity cost is a real thing. Let the players play.
I was helping someone playtest a WW I game 2 nights ago, and one person started talking about how Russia had just three arms factories and they were at X, Y, and Z, and ... The designer had to point out that in this game a country's factories consisted of a rectangle labelled "Factories" and we needed to get on with the game.
I was waiting to hear about parliamentary procedure, though. Some people get very picky about it. Others are ignorant, and don't realize that the rules make meetings go much faster and let quiet people have a chance to talk. And a chairman has to know ho to deal with both kinds.