I will miss quite a few things when we move from Bolivia back to North Carolina in June – most of those “things” have something to do with the people who have impacted our lives for the past two years.  Some of these are fellow teachers (who have ruined other schools for me), some are missionaries from other agencies – SIM, International Justice Mission, Samaritan’s Purse, Word Made Flesh – some are locals (like the Peruvian guy who makes amazing croissants and looks like the world’s greatest grampa).

Many of these amazing people – not, unfortunately, the croissant man – are part of our little monthly “house church” we call Community Group.

This month (last night, to be exact), they blessed our socks off.

We had a Lenten prayer service, and I asked folks to come with scripture passages pertaining to prayer.  Also, instead of a linear list of prayers, I printed a number of diverse prayers (from prayers of pennance to ones of intercession, to praise and doxologies) from diverse sources, cut them out so folks could each take one to read as the Spirit led, and passed them out along with the service guide/songsheet.

What I expected to be kind of messy and disorganized (because of my own logistical failings) turned into a time of, not only prayer, but a spoken-word praise service.  A non-stop chorus of prayers and scriptures (many provided by our friends!) went up before the Throne of Grace for quite a while.

By the time that segment ended with the singing of John Michael Talbot’s “Only in God” (a song everyone should know), my spirit was soaring, and I was just so… thankful?… proud?… thrilled?… with the blessed community God has provided our family here in this faraway land.

Here’s a printout of the prayers, in case you’re curious.  These sheets were cut apart so each prayer was on a separate little sheet of paper. I found them collected in The Divine Hours by Phyllis Tickle, the Book of Common Prayer (especially Form V) and Listening Prayer by Leanne Payne.  I paraphrased or compressed a few of the prayers.

In His Peace,

Tom

Well, now that the school-year is back up and running, the Fishers of La Paz (that’s me and my family) began inviting folks back for monthly English gatherings of good food and home-worship, what we’ve been calling Community Group.  Normally, CG consists of a good potluck meal, simple worship and small groups dispersing into various rooms of the house, sharing with one another about their walk with Christ and their lives in general.

But this week, to launch things a bit, we decided to simplify a bit.  We baked potatoes (a true feat here at 11,000-ft. La Paz!) for a potato bar; everybody brought something to put on the top, or drinks, salads and desserts.  Good stuff!  Then, instead of busting out the liturgy (which we are so excited to do next month!), we mingled, we met new people whom our friends had invited, and we played a couple goofy party games.

Very cool.  Had a great time.  Many carbs were enjoyed.

I think this kind of informal gathering, especially after lengthy vacations, is a great icebreaker.  Not only that, but it frees our “churched” friends to invite “unchurched” friends to have a great time with us!

Third Sunday after Pentecost:

Grant, O Lord, that the course of this world may be peaceably governed by Your providence; and that Your Church may joyfully serve You in confidence and serenity; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

This prayer has some of the greatest modifiers the Church could ever hope to pray for.  Imagine: us, Christ’s Body and Bride, His beloved people, … peaceably governed… joyfully serv[ing]… in confidence and serenity… Picture that Church!

That’s what the season of Pentecost is about.  A season to remind us Who is Boss, and for us to rest in that knowledge; for us to put down our swords and pick up our plowshares, and to, side by side, hand in hand, “joyfully serve”.

I have nothing to add to this; I just want to draw your attention to that picture, that unity, that… rightness.

Our pastor here in La Paz, the guy who, along with his wife has been kind enough to do an English-Speaking service for a few Americans, a couple of New Zealanders and a British missionary all these months, had a story to share about God’s peaceable governing and the strange way it sometimes looks.

Upon returning to Bolivia from the States about 13 years ago, their first child, a son, was stillborn.  In the aftermath, they waited for comfort and encouragement, but it didn’t seem like it was gonna come.  Many well-meaning people said the usual stupid things.

Then, one day, shortly before the funeral, the pastor sensed a tiny voice telling him, “Your son has fulfilled his ministry”.  This was, he thought, an outlandish thought; he hadn’t even had a chance to live, let alone minister!

But then, at the funeral, a man, a Baptist missionary, sat down beside him, put his arm around him…

… My friend the pastor thought another failed word of comfort was coming…

… And he said, “Your son has fulfilled his ministry.”  He got up, and rejoined the others at the funeral.

Then my pastor’s eyes were opened; he looked around and realized what this had meant: pastors from the community, who for years had fought over doctrinal non-essentials, and who never spoke or fellowshipped, were hugging, praying, weeping together.

The death of this precious child had brought them together.

I don’t know that God took the child, but I know He used the tragedy to create something new.  What happened was rather remarkable; this tragedy woke these clergy up to the realization that our petty squabbles, our doctrinal cold wars, our liberal or conservative fundamentalism, are blinding us to the things that really matter: bearing one another’s burdens, standing side by side, building up the Body of Christ.

Peaceably.  Joyfully.  In confidence and serenity.

Amen.

I told the folks at our monthly Community Group, “May’s meeting will be ‘bring your own worship’.” They were given an explanation, that it meant they could bring anything that they thought would build up our little body of believers. “… for the strengthening of the church” (1 Cor. 14:26 – NET)

I was given many responses, usually along the lines of, “I don’t know… I’m stuck… I’m not sure I have anything… that’s not my, um, thing, ya know?”

But, when the time came, they… well, they brought it. They really, really, brought worship!

Just a sampling: Abby (age 4) led us in “Hallelu, Hallelu”; songs of various types were shared both live and on mp3; Avery (age 4) did liturgical dance with Abby; quotes from Henri Nouwen were read; a 4th century prayer was read and reflected on (that was mine); Tim sang while his wife Whitney did a chalk-drawing of the Father carrying His weary child (see photo); testimonies were given.

In short, worship was brought and it built up Christ’s bride as she met in our living room. Amen.

Here’s how the night went:

As usual, we ate (this time, it was bring-an-appetizer-or-dessert). Eventually, the service started…

• Call to Worship: “Jesus Is King”

• Opening Prayer (Anne picked a prayer for unity from the Book of Common Prayer)

• 1 Cor. 14:26 was read corporately.

• We sang “How Firm a Foundation” and the “Sursum Corda” by Steve Hindalong and Terry Taylor, from the second City on a Hill CD (“Sing Alleluia”).

• A reader read John 17:20-26, and then 1 Peter 2:4-5 was read corporately.

• Special offerings of worship (mentioned above) were shared.

• We sang “The Lord Is Present Here” by Graham Kendrick and “At the Foot of the Cross” by Kathryn Scott.

• A reader read Psalm 133, and then Ephesians 5:18-20 was read corporately.

• More special offerings of worship (mentioned above) were shared.

• To involve the children more, we sang some kids’ songs: “Children, Jesus Loves You” and a song I wrote called “God of the Promise”.

• Avery led off the third portion of shared worship (mentioned above) with a liturgical dance to “A Little Talk with Jesus”. This last portion of shared worship was especially meaningful, involving some powerful music and testimonies.

• We had a time of prayer, which started by praying for one of the churches represented in our group which had lost a member to a long fight with cancer. What a sweet time of prayer!

• We ended with some more songs: “Lord, You’ve Been Good to Me” by Graham Kendrick and “We Are the Body of Christ” by Scott Wesley Brown.

• Dessert was had by all.
  

I think the cure for Christian disunity is a focus on Christ and an avoidance of the extremes.

Could I be more simplistic? “Allow me to ’splain… No, no time. Allow me to sum up.”

Okay, as I see it, there are two extremes that damage Christ’s Bride, the Church: one is rampant error, and the other is theological snobbery.

The first extreme is when congregations and individuals go off the deep end. The Faith Movement, for example, has so twisted Christian doctrine that I would have to say, without equivocation, that they are, not, indeed, Christians. Now, I’m a fairly ecumenical guy. But essentials are essentials, and when you start saying that Christians are gods and Jesus was defeated at the cross (not to mention that your version of Jesus was rich wants you to have a Rolls Royce), your Jesus ain’t my Jesus; you have left the flock for another flock. You’ve joined the kingdom of the cults.

Even within the fold, however, there are extremists who breed heresy and doubt, such as Episcopal bishops who try to twist Scripture to justify immoral lifestyles, or who want you to question whether Jesus was born of a virgin or rose from the dead. They haven’t outright denied the essentials of the faith (but by implication, they have), but they are close to the edge, and dragging many, many, with them.

But let’s look at the other side. There’s a wideness in God’s mercy… that seems absent from the faith of many “orthodox” believers – brothers and sisters and whole denominations (boy, I hate that word) who would take a non-essential doctrine (how and when one is baptised, for example) and elevate it to the position of essential. “No, your infant baptism doesn’t count, even though your parents were believers and baptised you in a way that represented their belief in God’s covenant faithfulness and their commitment to raise you in the Faith,” or, “I know you were baptised as a believer, but you did it wrong; no dunkie, no cigar.” This is just so sad!

I don’t know which is worse: people whose theology is so bad that I can clearly see we have a rift between us and can see the need to reach out with the Gospel, or the brother or sister who comes up to you with an appearance of fellowship and then shuts the door on your face when they find out you cross yourself or don’t read Tim LaHaye.

No, as I finish the previous paragraph, I do know. I know where I stand with a heretic or someone in grave error, and I know what to do: pray for them, love them and reach out with the Word of God. But with a brother or sister who arrogantly builds a wall between us on the basis of some… well… preference, I feel often disoriented, betrayed and lost for what to say or do.

You who are close to the edge, please, please, please, return to the essentials of the faith. Reject your heresies and errors and join us in the fold (much like the Worldwide Church of God did, thanks to people like Hank Hanegraaf) The best summaries are the Apostles’ or the Nicene Creed, but we also need to immerse ourselves in the Word of God, and take the whole counsel of God to be our authority.

To you who take a mystery (predestination? free will?) or a preference (no holidays? ties at church? baptism by immersion only?) and feel the need to shut out those who do not share this perspective, please know that you are shutting out a part of the body, a part of the bride, a part of yourself. Stop it.

I’m sure I’m guilty of it, too. So, let’s pray for each other on this one.

Form V in the Book of Common Prayer starts with four (four!) sentence prayers about the Church; three cover the following: that she would be committed to love and truth; that our divisions may cease; and that we might fulfill the mission of the Church and share the Good News. I think these are in a really logical order. If we lack either love or truth (the two extremes mentioned above), we will remain divided. If we remain divided, the growth of the Gospel will always be hindered. Pray hard. Pray for the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.

For Christ really, really, only has one Bride.

“One Faith”, a song by John Michael Talbot, is one of my favorite anthems of Christian unity. I love calling Talbot my brother, even though he is Roman Catholic and I am, well, not (sorry – I hate the word “Protestant”. We Anglicans have an uneasy relationship with that label, too; “mere Christian” will do just fine, thanks).

Maybe Jesus’ prayer for one Church will again be answered in our lifetime.

Christianity Today has been doing some fine, intriguing articles of late about the evangelical tradition’s rediscovery of the ancient Faith, and I just got sent another neat one – spawned by the Pope’s visit to the White House – about how relations between the Roman and evangelical traditions are warming a bit…

To which I have to give a cautious, but enthusiastic, w00t!

This bit of the article, which can be found here in its entirety, is why I’m enthusiastic:

Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, said, “We have solidarity with the Catholic church in that we are pro-life, value traditional families, and uphold the doctrines of the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and the substitutionary Atonement. In a culture where these beliefs are constantly challenged, we are grateful for all who strongly stand for shared beliefs.”

“It’s not just about abortion,” said Wallis, who describes himself as an evangelical convert to Catholic social teaching. “We’re talking about a new evangelical-Catholic alliance that’s forming around what we would call good news to the poor and what [Catholics] would call preferential option to the poor, as well as what it means to be committed to the common social good.”

This bit is why I am cautious:

“Evangelicals and Catholics have found much more common ground and common cause in the struggles with secularism and other religions,” said Anderson. “But don’t think this means alignment or merger. Our doctrinal differences are as deep and distinct as ever.”

That’s because there are differences, and they do matter. The Pope lets syncretism go unchecked here in Latin America. That – as one example – needs to change. He has also said some things that make me think he’s not entirely welcoming us as brothers.

And evangelicals have serious issues, too. I recently rejoiced openly that someone near and dear to us was attending confirmation classes at her mom’s Catholic church (which is huge because she has been expressing a growing love for Jesus of late, and was afraid of what some in her family might think; it turns out said family members welcomed her attending the classes), and someone else reacted incredulously that these family members are, “okay with Catholicism, but not Christianity?”

I did not hit him. I restrained myself.

So while we have a long way to go – while we all have a lot to learn from our History and His written Story, as well as from each other – I can say w00t, and w00t again, because we truly are one Faith, with “one hope and one baptism, one God and Father of all…”

Thanks so much, Christianity Today for the good reporting and John Michael Talbot for the great anthems of the Faith!