Roman Catholics buy iconic Protestant cathedral

The Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California, has long been an Icon of the quintessentially American form of Christianity: evangelical Protestant "Televangelism." I remember occassionally catching bits of services from the famed church on cable TV throughout my life; they were not all that different than what we were doing in traditional Methodist and Baptist churches, a service of hymns+evangelistic sermon+more hymns, yet on a much grander scale. Founded by Robert Schuller, this church is affiliated with the Reformed Church in America.

Like many independent mega-churches, the position of senior pastor of the Crystal Cathedral Ministries has been "passed down" through the Schuller family, though the Schullers have been accused by some of poor leadership and financial management in recent years. In 2010 the church's leadership board filed for bankruptcy and, according to a recent NPR story, the church building has been purchased by the Roman Catholic diocese of Orange. Though other offers were on the table, the fact that the Roman Catholic diocese would continue to use the building as a house of worship was a key factor in the decision to sell to them over other potential buyers. The building will be remodeled for use as a Catholic cathedral (this will no doubt include the installation of the cathedra, or bishop's chair, to make the place a proper cathedral).

I can't help but feel that this is a deeply sybolic moment. The Crystal Cathedral has been a bastion and symbol of several trends in American Protestantism during the 20th century. It is affiliated with a "mainline" denomination and has maintained classic mainline Protestant worship styles in a changing culture, resisting the move towards more contemporary musical styles. The church was also one of the pioneers of televangelism with its "Hour of Power" program airing across the continent. Like many evangelical churches (and basically all TV-churches), this one certainly has been centered around the personality of a charismatic leader.

So what might the Roman Catholic buy-out symbolize? Is this a sign of the failure of a whole model of church, or simply the failure of a few leaders to handle money well? Do we see here that, in spite of all their significant difficulties, that the Roman Catholic Church as an institution ultimately has a deeper stability than even the most dynamic of evangelical churches? Is this an example of a church that marries itself to the spirit of the times finding itself a widow when the times change?

No doubt, the ministries of the Crystal Cathedral have inspired many over the decades, and probably helped more than a few to establish and maintain a salvation-claiming faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. My prayer is that God will bless the work of the Crystal Cathedral Ministries, which will continue with or without their iconic building, as well as the work of the Catholic diocese - that in all things God may be glorified. Gloria Deo!

The Conversion of C.S. Lewis

Today, November 22nd, in the sanctoral cycle or calendar of the Episcopal Church is the feast day of Clive Staples (or "C.S.") Lewis. Lewis has, of course, been very influential in English-speaking culture and Christianity over the last 75 years, far beyond the borders of his own Anglicanism. Below is a video recounting his conversion to faith in Jesus Christ, from a documentary about Lewis, and the prayer from Lesser Feasts and Fasts.




O God of searing truth and surpassing beauty, we give you thanks for Clive Staples Lewis, whose sanctified imagination lights fires of faith in young and old alike. Surprise us also with your joy and draw us into that new and abundant life which is ours in Christ Jesus, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Are we in Purgatory just now?

The Incarnatio Blog (of Methodist pastor Rev. Matt O'Reilly) ran an interesting post a while back with an meaty quote from N.T. Wright about a Biblical understanding of purgatory: "purging" happens not in a cosmic prison after death, but rather it is the business of the pilgrim life in this age. Though I may be mistaken, I believe that St. Ambrose of Milan (one of the great early fathers) said some things that, while not exactly the same, could be compatible with this notion: that this life, and ultimately death at the end of this life, are part of our cleansing process to prepare us to meet the Lord God "face to face" as St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13.

This might fit well with 2 Corinthians 4:17 (especially as the NRSV translates it compared to other translations) "this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory..." The difficulties of this life are what strengthen us enough that we may stand glory (this is the theme of the movie "The Shadowlands" about the life of C.S. Lewis).

Much teaching that I hear (in Protestant churches, anyways) downplays or simply ignores the many Biblical teachings on the postive contributions that pain, suffering, and difficulty can make to our spiritual growth. It seems we mostly try to explain away these things, or explain why God isn't really "at fault" for them, or worry about how such teachings might be hijacked and abused by various "oppressors." Those mainline Protestants who worry about how this or that traditional teaching may be hijacked by oppressors seem particularly prone to "throwing out the baby with the bathwater" for some reason, thus you now and then hear the assertion that "suffering is never redemptive," which is clearly contrary to the Christian message of the cross. The affirmation that difficulty can help us to grow and to embrace God is a frequent theme in the New Testament and the whole Christian tradition.

N.T. Wright's argument, if correct, would naturally render prayers for the souls in purgatory as practiced among Roman Catholics quite superfluous (which Protestants have basically always asserted anyway). Yet, the reading that "this life is purgatory" would still need to account for a further post-mortem purging for (some of) the elect, (particularly on the Day of Judgment) as St. Paul taught in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15. In that sense, there might be appropriate ways to pray for those faithful who have died and are waiting to face that firey judgment. In the United Methodist Book of Worship (p. 495, borrowing from the Book of Common Prayer [1979], p. 389) we, rather in rather broad terms "commend to God's mercy those who have died, that his will for them may be fulfilled".

Check out the full Incarnatio post with N.T. Wright quote here. Also, see the video below:

Back to the Fathers: An Oden Interview

On Oct. 21st (about 3 weeks ago), in honor of his 80th birthday, Christianity Today re-ran an interview with Thomas Oden from September 1990. Oden has been a significant influence on me, especially in my seminary years through his books such as Agenda for Theology, Rebirth of Orthodoxy, and his massive ecumenical Systematic Theology in which he advocated giving much more attention to the ancient ecumenical consensus in theology and Scripture interpretation as we post-modern folks try to hear and understand the Biblical message for today.

Oden's "return to the early fathers/ancient consensus" project has often been called "Paleo-orthodoxy" (to distinguish it from 20th-Century's "Neo-orthodoxy"), though it really is just "orthodoxy" in the broadest sense. The interview was conducted by Christopher Hall, who is now a leading paleo-orthodox theologian in his own right. Some highlights from the interview are copied below, the whole article can be found here.

In place of modernity you call for "a careful study and respectful following of the central tradition of classical Christian exegesis." In other places you call this orthodoxy. What is orthodoxy?

Lancelot Andrewes, a sixteenth-century Anglican divine, stated the answer as memorably as anyone, with a five-finger exercise: "One canon, two Testaments, three creeds [the Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian], four [ecumenical] councils, and five centuries along with the Fathers of that period," by which he meant the great doctors of the first five centuries: Athanasius, Basil, Gregory of Nazianzus, and John Chrysostom in the East; and Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome, and Gregory the Great in the West.

Do you see the Holy Spirit involved in that process?

Each of these creeds, councils, and teachers confessed that it was the Holy Spirit who was forming the consensus about orthodoxy and heresy. The council definitions were not something externally imposed on the church. They emerged only to define the already prevailing general lay consent to apostolic teaching.

You would say the formation of the Canon cannot be separated from the work of the Holy Spirit.

Exactly. The Spirit guides us to all truth. The Spirit helps us to remember. It is the Spirit who both calls forth the written word and guarantees its accurate transmission. The notion of canon is impossible to conceive without the premise of the Holy Spirit's activity. God the Spirit not only enables the Canon but calls forth the community to affirm and transmit the Canon.

What would you say to someone who claims, "I've got the Bible. I don't need church history or systematic theology"?

We would not even have the Bible without its reliable transmission, which is another way of talking about the work of God the Spirit. Orthodoxy understands that God is at work in the body of Christ to form that body in history, awaiting God's own coming in the return of Christ.
Christ promised the early church the Spirit, who came on the first Pentecost and continues to dwell in the lives of the faithful. He promised that the Spirit would abide with this community, guide it, lead it to all truth, and help it recollect the words of the Lord. This is just what has been happening for the 20 centuries since the ascension. We're moving in the wrong direction when we say individualistically, "I've got my Bible; I don't need anything except these words." Protestants now need to recover a sense of the active work of the Spirit in history and through living communities. Our modern individualism too easily tempts us to take our Bible and abstract ourselves from the wider believing community. We end up with a Bible and a radio, but no church.

You have told about a dream in which you were walking in the New Haven cemetery. You came across your own tombstone and the epitaph read, "He made no new contribution to theology." Were you happy or distressed to read that?

In my dream I was extremely pleased, for I realized I was learning what Irenaeus meant when he warned us not to invent new doctrine. This was a great discovery for me. All my education up to this point had taught me that I must be compulsively creative. If I was to be a good theologian I had to go out and do something nobody else ever had done. The dream somehow said to me that this is not my responsibility, that my calling as a theologian could be fulfilled through obedience to apostolic tradition.

The Lord is my Shepherd

The First United Methodist Church of Lubbock, Texas is one of the great "cathedrals" of United Methodism. Not in the technical sense, but like many of the Old World cathedrals, this congregation actively seeks to worship God "in holy splendor" in a large and beautiful gothic sanctuary, and they support numerous ministries, including a solid music ministry.

The video below comes from a Sunday service of worship as the choir sings the ancient and beloved words of Psalm 23. This Psalm resonates deeply with some of the other Scriptures, such as Psalm 100 and Ezekiel 34 that are set forth in the lectionary for the final Sunday of this Christian year, celebrating the Reign of Christ the King on Nov. 20th. In the video below one gets a glimpse at some of the best of our classic United Methodist worship arts and traditions, from the architecture to the vestments and paraments, from the stained glass to the wonderful choral music. All of this "holy splendor" calls the attention of our hearts to Him who is glorious Beauty itself.

Prayer for All Saints Day

We bless your holy name, O God, for all your servants who, having finished their course, now rest from their labors. Give us grace to follow the example of their steadfastness and faithfulness, to your honor and glory; through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

-from The United Methodist Book of Worship, 415