Why I Am Not An Evangelical

Discussion in 'Church Strands (Anglo-catholics & Evangelicals)' started by JoeLaughon, Jul 3, 2018.

  1. JoeLaughon

    JoeLaughon Well-Known Member Anglican

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    Moses, Tiffy, Shane R and 2 others like this.
  2. Peteprint

    Peteprint Well-Known Member Anglican

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    I very well-written article, one that is quite charitable to all concerned. Thank you for sharing, Joel.
     
  3. Magistos

    Magistos Active Member Anglican

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    Very well written indeed, and thanks for sharing!
     
  4. MadHermit

    MadHermit New Member

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    My main complaint about liturgical traditions is their enslavement to lectionary preaching. For 12 years, I was an evangelical Theology professor at a Catholic university. Then I became a United Methodist minister. A wise old UMC pastor then told me that pressure to use the lectionary almost drove him from the ministry. He thought it stifled his creativity and quenched the Spirit. Actually, I found the lectionary useful for the first years of my ministry. It honors special seasons like Advent and Lent and cuts a very representative thematic swath through s=Scripture and and there are good resources to support lectionary use in the construction of worship services. Still, I grew to dislike the lectionary because of the wonderful and challenging biblical texts that it omits and because I wanted the freedom to interrupt my planned sermon schedule to create timely sermons that address current events and to follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
     
  5. Peteprint

    Peteprint Well-Known Member Anglican

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    Hi MadHermit. I have to respectfully disagree with you. It is that very "freedom" and "creativity" which I dislike about evangelical preaching. I see the priest as a representative of the Church, and I am not that interested in his personal take on things such as current events. A problem in much of Anglicanism today, e.g. the ACNA, is the pastor preaching his view of the faith and not necessarily that of the Church. The lectionary helps to keep the homily on track.
     
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  6. MadHermit

    MadHermit New Member

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    Timely creative sermons don't have to be inappropriately opinionated sermons. Personal faith and life crises and tragedies among parishioners can sometimes require a relevant sermonic response. The quality and biblical soundness of sermons depends more on the training, exegetical skill, and sensitivity of the preacher than on any liturgical guidelines. Don't you believe in timely guidance from the Holy Spirit?
    Have you ever researched all the challenging and helpful biblical texts that the lectionary omits? Of course. my life experience in sermon tasting has no doubt influenced my position here. Though I have heard many lectionary-based sermons, I have never heard even one that remotely approaches the effectiveness, relevance, and power of the best of nonliturgical preaching.
     
  7. Peteprint

    Peteprint Well-Known Member Anglican

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    I think that we may be approaching this from two different angles. I see a distinction between a preacher and a parish priest. Some men are called and equipped to preach and these travel from parish to parish, region to region (the Dominicans are a good example). The parish priest is not called primarily to be a preacher; he is called to pastor his flock and administer the sacraments. The parish church is a house of worship, not a house of preaching (to paraphrase Sir Francis Bacon).
     
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  8. Tiffy

    Tiffy Well-Known Member

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    I congratulate you Joe on a well written and researched essay. I liked some of the other material on the same URL but was unable to access some of them, which seem no longer available. Anyhow, well written case for the Universal Church of Jesus Christ, and the Anglican expression of it.
     
  9. Tiffy

    Tiffy Well-Known Member

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    This is of course quite right, (a parish priest has primarily the cure of souls, not the responsibilities of a lecturer), but also in need of amendment, in that (the preaching of the word precedes the sacraments, so a 'preacher' is necessary for the gospel to be heard and understood). The two aspects of ministry, 'leading and feeding' are both essential, but need not be combined in a single individual, in any local church. I think it is a mistake to place the entire responsibility for all aspects of ministry upon a single individual. That is why I think ministerial 'teams' are greatly to be encouraged in the church. Especially if women are included in that 'leadership team'. The church then, in my opinion, better reflects the reality of God's Kingdom on Earth, as it is in heaven.
     
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  10. Josef

    Josef New Member

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    Thank you for sharing this, I enjoyed it very much.

    My initial church experience was in an evangelical/charistmatic church, and I agree with your description of them. I never felt I truly belonged there, and coming to an Anglican church and experiencing a liturgy has been a revelation for me. There is a depth and richness that is missing from too much of contemporary Christianity, and a connection with the past.
     
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  11. Ananias

    Ananias Well-Known Member Anglican

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    Well, being a "high-church Laudian", it's probably natural for you to feel that way. Even I, low church Reformed fire-breather that I am, appreciate the form and structure use of the BCP brings to a service.

    But good sermons are amazing spiritual food for the soul; you're depriving yourself if you don't partake of them. I love the old Puritan pastors, especially Jonathan Edwards. He's known mainly for his "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" sermon, but this is unfortunate since the bulk of his sermons over the years were wonderful and uplifting. I wish I could have been in his congregation to listen to them. And Charles Spurgeon was a Jesus-filled Gospel preaching machine!

    There are lots of bad pastors who give bad sermons, and there are good pastors who give bad sermons. Good sermonizing is a rare skill in my experience, but it is a wonderful thing when it happens.

    A church service without a sermon is like eating a cone without ice cream.
     
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