Why would a group dedicated to Christian unity talk about justice?

Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue
Deuteronomy 16:20

A recent question on our Facebook page raised an issue that often comes up in our work. We hear it a lot. I'll paraphrase:

Since this page is dedicated to the pursuit of unity among Christians—especially between Catholics and evangelicals—why are you always talking about racism, immigration and so many other issues of life, dignity, justice and care for creation?

It's an extremely important question. One of the issues with unity is that people have different ideas of what it means. The very definition of "unity" itself has disunity!

If you ask someone who is an Orthodox Christian, they will probably hope your vision for Christian unity includes standing with them against the religious persecution and genocide in the Middle East that is currently devastating their churches. What kind of unity doesn't protect their very survival?

If talk to someone who is African-American, they will probably hope your vision for Christian unity includes healing the ongoing sins of racism that continues to fracture our churches and our society and leaves black bodies dead in the streets, rotting in prisons or suffering in near-perpetual poverty. What kind of unity doesn't advocate for their lives, dignity and equality?

The desperately poor people immigrating to the U.S. from Latin America are almost all Evangelical, Pentecostal or Roman Catholic Christians. If an asylum seeker is denied entry and is doomed to die on the other side of the border, then some statement resolving theological differences may not mean a whole lot to them—they aren't going to feel any warm fuzzies over church unity as they will only feel cold exclusion from (most likely) their fellow Christians. The group that steers this page is comprised of Evangelicals, Protestants and Catholics. Therefore, these are our sisters and brothers in the faith whose lives are at stake at the border. That means something.

So that is why this page and many other unity-seeking organizations eventually find that we have to be a voice for these other issues that exclude so many. The above is not an all-inclusive list, as there are definitely other issues that relate just as strongly.

We know from history that so many of the major splits in Christianity were related to—and were often a direct result of—serious differences in doctrine and theology. But what we often fail to recognize is that there have just as often been cultural, racial, ethnic, national and political reasons that have also  undergirded so many official and unofficial splits over the centuries.

I'll even take it a step father: I will go on record as to say that few splits—if any—have ever been purely theological. Every split is probably a combination of at least two of more of these factors.

Well, they say never say never, right? Given the thousands and thousands of Christian denominations, I can't say for sure that there has never been a split which hasn't been based entirely on theological grounds. However, I would suspect that even if it seemed like there were, there were also probably cultural or generational differences dovetailed into the mix somehow. Even some of the most famous splits, such as between Catholics and Lutherans in the 16th century Reformation or between the Churches of the East and West over the Chalcedonian Creed in the 5th century, may have been driven as much by different cultural approaches to language and inflection that could very well have factored heavily into what seemed like theological differences. In other words, it was like both groups were looking at the same coin, but one was describing the front and the other the back. What seemed like irreconcilable differences were perhaps more a difference in perspective rather than content. Again, I'm not suggesting that this accounts for every point of disagreement, but it has been suggested that this could be a factor—and even a major factor.]

So which are the church-dividing issues that matter most to you?  We'd love to hear your input and feedback! Leave comments here or on our Facebook page.

Is Pope Francis Against a Personal Relationship with Jesus Christ?

Pope Francis has come under fire for his comments which seem to suggest that he is against a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

His phrase, from his May 25, 2014, Weekly General Audience, can sound very antagonistic to Evangelical Christians at first:

Pope Francis described as "dangerous" the temptation to believe that one can have "a personal, direct, immediate relationship with Jesus Christ without communion with and the mediation of the church."

I was alerted to this by a comment on the Facebook page John 17:21 Evangelicals and Catholics, which I moderate. More than any other pope, Francis has earned a strong reputation for working together and praying with Evangelical Christians. I was naturally surprised to hear that he said something so potentially off-putting to that segment of the Christian community.

While I am no expert on what the Pope is thinking or feeling, I feel the need to address this. "Personal relationship with Jesus" is an extremely important phrase to many Evangelical Christians.  In addition, telling Christians that their relationship with Christ must be mediated through the Church no doubt inflames a lot of old wounds from the Protestant Reformation. The Reformers reassured us that we can go to Christ directly and that no human or institution can get in the way.

The pope actually clarified what he meant, but like so many things on the internet, one line gets taken out of context and the explanation gets forgotten. It is good to discuss what he means, though, as there is some great food for thought into how Catholics and Evangelicals think about their faith. I also recommend clicking the pope's address above and hearing in his own words what he's describing.

Like some many things that get lost, a key concept here is "only." The Pope is not suggesting that we cannot or should not have a direct, personal, intimate relationship with Jesus. In fact, his writings tell us how important it is to have that relationship. He urges all people to accept the invitation of Christ into that very relationship. But he is saying that this shouldn't be our only approach to Christian discipleship.

He is saying that we cannot do this alone. Other human beings, their writings and the church have all helped to midwife this relationship for us. Even if you have that direct relationship with Jesus, it is probably another human being who told you that this was possible. You may have read about others having that relationship. Perhaps a preacher invited you in a sermon. It is likely that your parents or a neighbor modeled what this relationship looks like. And then once you have that relationship, it is your duty to witness to this to others. Every believer is part of a community as both receiver and giver of blessings.

The Reformers are right that no human being or institution can get in the way of our own direct contact with God through Jesus Christ. But Francis is reminding us that every single one of us has also benefited from the witness, the words and the actions of fellow believers who helped us in that relationship with Christ. And then we must help others. Bottom line: It does us no good to pretend that individuals are in isolation from others.

We pray "Our Father," not "My Father," as one website pointed out. The Christian life is lived out in community, and it would be wrong to believe we are isolated human beings completely divorced from our relationships with our fellow human beings. A personal relationship is not dangerous or harmful by itself--what is dangerous is believing that our fellow human beings have no role to play in our Christian journey. It's no different than a person claiming they are a "self-made millionaire." That is a slap in the face to everyone who mentored, taught and assisted that person in making those millions.

Here are some of my own favorite words of Pope Francis.  These are from the first major doucment that he wrote after becoming pope, the apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium--The Joy of the Gospel:

I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day. No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her, since “no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord”. The Lord does not disappoint those who take this risk; whenever we take a step towards Jesus, we come to realize that he is already there, waiting for us with open arms. Now is the time to say to Jesus: “Lord, I have let myself be deceived; in a thousand ways I have shunned your love, yet here I am once more, to renew my covenant with you. I need you. Save me once again, Lord, take me once more into your redeeming embrace”. How good it feels to come back to him whenever we are lost! Let me say this once more: God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy. Christ, who told us to forgive one another “seventy times seven” (Mt 18:22) has given us his example: he has forgiven us seventy times seven. Time and time again he bears us on his shoulders. No one can strip us of the dignity bestowed upon us by this boundless and unfailing love. With a tenderness which never disappoints, but is always capable of restoring our joy, he makes it possible for us to lift up our heads and to start anew. Let us not flee from the resurrection of Jesus, let us never give up, come what will. May nothing inspire more than his life, which impels us onwards!

Headline: Catholic Priest Admits, "I Love Jesus!"

Every once in a while, I hear a talk that is so good that the best I can do is simply get out of the way and let the presenters speak directly to you, the readers.

Such was the case between these two gentlemen and friends at the National Workshop on Christian Unity, held this past April, 2016, in Louisville, KY. They shared reflections on how working for Christian unity (i.e. ecumenism) has changed them and has given them a new freedom. 

Small edits were made for sentence clarity, and the reflection at the end is mine.



L-R: Rev. John Armstrong and Rev. Don Rooney.
Photo credits: Rev. Mary Finklea.

Fr. Don Rooney is a Catholic priest and Pastor of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church in Fredericksburg, MD. He also just "retired" after six years as President of CADEIO, which is the Catholic Association of Diocesan Ecumenical and Interfaith Officers.

Rev. John H. Armstrong is an Evangelical minister, and has been a pastor, author and Wheaton College professor. He also is founder of the Act3 Network, which strives to promote missional-ecumenism.

Without further adieu . . . 

Fr. Don Rooney
(at the National Workshop on Christian Unity 2016, with snippets added from his talk in 2015)

I want to give a witness, because my relationship with Evangelicals has completely changed my particular ministry as a Catholic pastor. It was something very simple that happened the first time I went to an ecumenical conference. Someone sat across from me at one of our meetings and asked me point blank, "Do you mean to tell me, as a Catholic priest, that you love Jesus?"

I remember my face just went red. I felt ashamed. Where have I failed that somebody wouldn’t know that?

I finally collected myself and said, "Yes, I do love Jesus. Absolutely. That's why I am a priest--it is not for the pay!" [Laughter ensues from the crowd.]

So that weekend, I went back to my home parish. There are 3-4 times a year where I preach at all the Masses. One of them is called the Parish Life weekend. We have 10 Masses every weekend, as we have a large congregation but a small building.

So to give this homily, I decided I was going to take advantage of this experience. I got up, and I said, "In case you have never heard me say this, I want to start off by saying, 'I love Jesus,' and I’m sorry that I’ve never said that to you out loud."

People don't know that, because we [as priests] never say it. I learned that by being together [with other Christians]. I learned how to say that in public. Isn't that strange? We are just not formed like that.

I think we have so much to learn. The Catholic Church writes that we have not just the possibility but obligation to discover the seeds of truth in all peoples, especially other Christians. When we find that truth, it is refreshing and it is restoring, and it causes us to become better people. I am a better priest because I was a participant in this ecumenical process. I probably didn't think I would ever say that, but here am I saying it in public.

It just doesn’t sound Catholic to say "I love Jesus" out loud, right? And that’s where being part of this ecumenical ministry has changed me.   

Now, it has given me so much freedom.

Rev. John H. Armstrong:

I’d like to commend what my friend has just said, by affirming something. That is, if you want to know—Catholics or anyone else—the easiest way to get to the heart of an Evangelical, don’t talk about politics, don’t talk about nonsense, just state one thing: That you love Jesus.

And you’ll find that we may be really messed up folks, but when I meet someone who says they love Jesus, and when they say it with the same humility and truth that we just heard, then I start weeping on the inside, saying, "That’s it!" That’s what we ought to be founded on: Loving Him. From there can do so much that we have never even imagined. 

I think that’s the moment that we are discovering in these ecumenical talks. We can do theology, but it’s not just a theological dialogue—we can respect unity in diversity and those kinds of things you hear in the ecumenical dialogue. But do we love Jesus? Can we pray together? Can we talk together? Can we share meals together? Can we walk together?

And of course we pray, Amen.

Reflection

It sounds like a headline right from The Onion to read: Catholic Priest says, "I Love Jesus!" It is both tragic and sad that such a statement could be considered worthy of a news headline.

This discussion illustrates how much Christians have lost because of our denominational divisions--we may not realize it, but we have all given up parts of our own inheritance in order to draw a hard line between "those other folks." We end up thinking things such as:

Reading the Bible is a Protestant thing to do;
Being liturgical is a Catholic thing to do.

Having a personal relationship with Jesus is an Evangelical thing to do; 
Valuing the historical tradition is a Catholic thing to do. 

And so on and so forth.

Yet, those activities belong to all of us. There is nothing in the Catholic Church which is not steeped in the Biblical tradition. It was unthinkable for early Church Fathers and Mothers not to pour over Scripture in their personal reflections. 

In the same way, some Protestants and most Evangelicals may be looser about utilizing liturgy, but even celebrating Christmas and Easter acknowledges a value for the whole community to gather together at a single moment to commemorate a specific part of the faith.

Those are just two examples, but they illustrate a point.

We are so silly that we end up giving up what is rightfully ours just to maintain our divisions. It boils down to cutting our nose to spite our face. Divisions among Christians are ultimately self-defeating: It is very unlikely--if not completely impossible- to put up a wall between another group without also putting up a wall inside of yourself.

We become so invested in these divisions, hatreds and misconceptions, that we would rather blow up our own inheritance than acknowledge the legitimacy of someone else. Even people who do not maintain any conscious hostility to other denominations can end up living a more limited expression of their faith along these lines, as Fr. Rooney's example shows.

It should not feel like a person is giving up his Catholic identity to say, "I love Jesus," yet that is what happens when we invest more in our divisions than in our unity.

We are raised to believe that Catholics do "Catholic" things and Protestants do "Protestant" things. We forgot that those other things are often a part of our tradition, too. A Catholic could end up thinking that by reading the Bible he is watering down his Catholic identity. An Evangelical could think she is watering down her Evangelical identity by seeing her faith experience through the lens of Church history.

The ecumenical movement teaches us over and over again that a Catholic often feels more Catholic and a Protestant feels more Protestant when they reach out across denominational lines.

Ecumenism reminds us that the journey out is ultimately a journey in. In reaching out to others in charity, we end up healing a part of ourselves. By opening ourselves up to others, we learn that they hold long lost gifts of our own to give back to us.

It is like visiting an aunt that has been estranged from the rest of family for 50 years. You reach out to build a bridge and attempt to heal an old wound. When you go to her house for the first time, she shows you a shoebox of old photos and letters about you that reveal missing pieces of your past that you never knew.

I am reminded of Abraham trusting God so much he was willing to sacrifice his only son (Genesis 22). Abraham discovered that through trust in God he ended up not having to lose anything at all but in fact gained a lot.

Likewise, when divisions run deep, it can feel like sacrificing your own flesh and blood for a Catholic to reach out to a Protestant, or visa versa. It can feel like you are giving up everything you hold dear. When you base your identify on being opposed to another group or person, then there is some truth in that. Yet, just like Abraham discovered, trusting God did not bring the gloom and doom he imagined. In fact, God just opened up the Promised Land and a perpetual future of abundance for Abraham and his descendants.

The Abraham story is complex, because I wouldn't want to suggest that Christian discipleship doesn't come with its share of sacrifice. But the story does illustrate the importance of trusting God, because what we perceive as an inevitable outcome of misery often does not turn out that way at all when we trust in God. We simply can't see it yet with our limited human vision, which is why faith is so important to help us over that hump.

All enemies hold a key to ourselves in this way, whether they be religious, political or social rivals. This is why when you love your enemy, you heal yourself and find your fullness.

The example of Fr. Rooney shows how entering into the process of ecumenical reconciliation between denominations can help us all reclaim the pieces of the Christian experience that we have either lost or have become afraid to embrace because some other group has embraced them so strongly. Saying "I love Jesus" is not a Protestant thing to do--it is something all Christians can and should claim as our birthright!

It is a surprising paradox--in an attempt to reach out to another group, we end up reclaiming a lost part of ourselves. This is why ecumenism is not some nicey-nice icing on the cake, but it is central to the Christian mission.

The Body of Christ is One. Attempting to cut off a member of that body has the same impact as cutting off a limb from your own body. In the midst of our anger and defensiveness, we can lose sight of that. But we all lose on a personal, visceral level, whether we are consciously aware of it or not, when the Body is divided.

Grassroots Christian Unity Is On Fire!

 

Below the surface, unseen connections and strength.

A big part in the movement for Christian unity is reconciliation between the denominations themselves.  People often look to their church leaders to work out the details.  Indeed, there have been many extensive efforts to reconcile nuances of theology between large churches with hierarchical structures.  Teams of theologians and clergy members have been working tirelessly for decades on behalf of the cause of unity.  They have made great progress, but there are reasons to believe this method has either run its course or needs to be paired with something else.

In the evangelical world, this is generally not even an option.  Most evangelical Christians do not even belong to churches with that kind of structure.  There is no one to speak for them. Church membership is a much looser concept than it is with churches that have stages of initiation in the sacraments and structured leadership.  Even if people look to their local pastor for this kind of leadership, there are literally thousands of independent pastors and churches all over which makes for a substantial logistics puzzle.

The only way unity can happen with evangelical Christians is that it has to be built person by person and church by church.  The cause has to be taken up by the people, because there is simply no other mechanism.  Everybody has a role to play when it comes to Christian unity.  Even large churches such as the Catholic Church would affirm this.  Vatican II's Decree on Ecumenism states that "the attainment of union is the concern of the whole Church, faithful and shepherds alike. This concern extends to everyone, according to his talent." Subsequent popes have affirmed this.  Every Christian is tasked to work for unity. In the case of dialogue with evangelicals, circumstances make this recommendation non-negotiable.

Whether this is a barrier or a blessing to the movement for Christian unity remains to be seen.  Longtime workers in the ecumenical movement may scratch their heads and wonder how Christian unity can be achieved when so many evangelicals are "independent."  Even if another unifying figure such as Billy Graham were to rise up, it would be debatable whether this person would have the authority to speak for the whole evangelical community. 

It is hard enough to work through existing structures, but what about when there are few structures at all?  While that is a very reasonable concern, the evidence from our world indicates otherwise:  The official movement for Christian unity has found itself stalled with an uncertain future, according to many experts. 

Documents of understanding have been made with questionable impact on the people in the pews.  Some differences remain that have no reconciliation in sight.  Even still, churches may resist formally integrating with each other.  There is a potential loss of culture, identity and, admittedly, power, than can come with that.

Catholics and Lutherans, for example, have been working hard at unity for decades and have many official documents to show for that work.  There has been some disappointment that the breakthroughs between Catholics and Lutherans had not filtered down to the local levels. The main church dividing issue for Lutherans has always been on justification by faith.  Catholics and Lutherans released a joint statement on justification in 1999 that some would argue ironed out those differences.  Yet, the two respective churches still basically function as they have.  Perhaps more time is needed for those changes to filter down.  Perhaps another method is needed.

However, at the local level the movement is on fire.  Individual Christians are not waiting for their leaders to hash our documents of understanding.  They are largely unaware of the documents that do exist.  Evangelicals largely do not have this option in the first place.  What Christians are doing is meeting in table fellowship for common prayer while advocating for common causes.  They are reading each other's books and learning from each other's practices.  They are enjoying each other's presence in their lives and in their thoughts.  This is where we will find our common Christian identity. 

Cross Pollination of Ideas.

Cross Pollination

20 years ago, it was not uncommon for Catholics to come up to me and say something like:  "I'm a Catholic, and I plan to remain one, but I quietly attend an evangelical Bible study that is a huge part of my spiritual nourishment."

Last summer, I heard the following from an evangelical leader, which is not an uncommon thing to hear these days:  "I am an evangelical, but honestly the only people I read these days are Catholics... mostly the ascetic tradition, Thomas Merton and the Church Fathers."  In addition, some evangelicals are studying what have traditionally been Catholic practices, such as natural family planning, as mentioned in my previous post.

Dr. Stephen Long of Marquette University self-describes as an "ecumenical hybrid."  He shared this at the National Workshop on Christian Unity:  "I was baptized by Anabaptists, went to college with evangelicals, was pastorally formed by the Methodists and by the time I finished by PhD, only the Jesuits would hire me!"

This amazing thing about his story is that it is not very amazing anymore.  A couple generations ago, this would have been either the feat of a daring trailblazer or a chaotic romp into blatant heresy, depending on the philosophical bent of the observer.  In just a short time, this has become much more commonplace.  For better or for worse, people are rarely just one thing, anymore.  Add on to that the fact that around half of all marriages are between people of different traditions, we have quite a mixing going on.

My own history is equally mixed:  I have spent considerable time with Dominicans, Franciscans, Glenmarians, the Catholic Worker movement and "regular" diocesan parishes--and this is just the Catholic part of my experience.  I cannot also underestimate the importance of participating in evangelical prayer and mission activities as well as friends and teachers across the religious spectrum--both in person and in print.

This kind of cross pollination is happening everywhere.  Long sees it as a true "sign of hope" in the midst of an ecumenical stalemate at the leadership level, and describes it as "minding each other's traditions."  Sometimes it translates into conversions.  Most often, it does not.  But even when it does not result in a conversion, each piece of formation does exactly that--it forms and shapes a person and leaves them changed.  The sum total of all this is moving the entire Body of Christ toward a new horizon.  Who is not an ecumenical--or interfaith--hybrid these days?

Many Church leaders simply do not know what to do with this.  Denominational structures have largely not kept up with the changing landscape.  The old categories just do not fit lived experience.  It has been widely publicized that church membership has fallen in recent years, and perhaps this is due more to folks having a more inclusive identity than a lack of spirituality.  Many folks today have a religious formation that comes from a variety of sources.  In some cases, it calls people to question the value of belonging to a specific denomination or community.  Those who still find value in denominational membership usually do not attach the same level of seriousness to it that was the norm a short while ago.

Cheers!

Meeting in the Spirit Over Spirits

An evangelical Christian said the following at a public Catholic-evangelical dialogue:  "The movement for unity took a giant leap forward when evangelicals warmed up to the use of alcohol!"  The comment was met with raucous laugher, as intended.  Still, there was a seriousness to it.  As Catholics and evangelicals recounted some of their favorite memories of interacting with each other, the stories often involved sharing food, drink and friendly conversation late into the evenings.

I debated whether or not to include this point.  The use of alcohol has been extremely controversial in Christianity.  Many evangelical Christians remain staunchly opposed to its use.  Many others recoil when thinking about the history of alcoholism and its impact.  That being said, wine flows very freely in the Gospels.  Table fellowship is an integral part of the ministry of Jesus.  In fact, the Kingdom of Heaven is often likened to a feast.

Alcohol itself is not an essential requirement--personally, I virtually never drink alcohol and I work for Christian unity full-time.  I am not saying alcohol is essential by any means.  This point is less about the use of alcohol specifically than about the importance of table fellowship in the cause of unity.  The kind of unity that is happening between Catholics and evangelicals is less scholarly and more friendly.  It seems to happen better at the dinner table than in the board room.  In many cases, there simply are no agreed upon leaders to facilitate another kind of process.  I prefer to see this as an opportunity.  When we eat and drink together and share our faith in Christ over warm regard and laughter, I have to imagine that Jesus would be quite pleased.

 

You Cannot Outsource Christian Love

I will go on record and say the absence of hierarchy in evangelical churches is actually a blessing in the cause of Christian unity.  Yes, it challenges the role of longstanding denominations as individuals place the most importance on their in personal spirituality and less on the role of the community to facilitate or mediate that in an exclusive way.  But it also forces the whole people to be involved.

Some may say that promoting unity through person-to-person encounters is a kind of last resort, since previous methods are not applicable.  I am here to suggest that this may be an incredible blessing.  We cannot outsource brotherly and sisterly love for our fellow Christians, passively letting our leaders do all the work.  This is where the blessing lies.

Christian people are making huge strides toward each other.  This post is not meant to discount the documents between denominations.  For all we know, the current efforts happening are probably at least partly inspired by those pronouncements.  This may be true even of independent evangelical Christians who are seeing those dialogues and responding in subtle yet profound ways in their lives. 

The good news is that it is happening.  The people in the pews are exploring what unity means in everyday life and are making thousands and thousands of unique connections to each other.  The results are coming in different ways than leaders have expected.  There is a oneness forming among the people even as institutions have stalled trying to figure out how to merge into a more formal visible unity. 

Ultimately, they will know we are Christians by our love, not by our theological treatises, however important they may be.  The lack of hierarchy in the evangelical world forces us to live into this:  We are either going to find our Christian unity through a groundswell of friendship or not at all.  It has to be grassroots. 

For additional thoughts on this topic, I recommend: Cadinal Kasper Speaks on New Hope for Ecumenism.

7 Reasons We Are in a Kairos Moment in Catholic-Evangelical Relations

"Kairos is the time of God's activity, a time where we sense God may be trying to get our attention, where we anticipate He may be up to something and it would be wise for us to pay attention in this suspended time and place." -- J. R. Briggs

The relationship between Catholic and evangelical Christians has been frosty throughout history, to say the least.  It has even been downright hostile at times, and there are parts of the world where it still continues to be dangerous.

Reverend John Armstrong is an evangelical minister and lifelong advocate for Christian unity.  He argues that something special is happening right now, and it has been intensifying over just the last few years.  The Holy Spirit is drawing Catholics and evangelicals into positive relationships in many and varied ways.  He asserts that we may be in the middle of a true kairos moment.  "Something is happening," he says.

The following points are loosely adapted from a talk he gave at a Catholic-evangelical dialogue session at the National Workshop on Christian Unity (NWCU) in Charlotte, NC, in April.  Additional comments have been added from other speakers as well as my own thoughts.

Are we in a kairos moment?  See for yourself!

Rev. John Armstrong speaking at CharlotteONE in April 2015.

 

1. Pro-Life Movement

Many Catholics and evangelicals first "met" each other in the protest line at abortion clinics and at the March for Life.  While they may have previously interacted in the workplace or elsewhere in the community, this was for many the first time they were getting to know each other as people of faith.

Their solidarity was not instantaneous.  A Catholic priest recounted to me an instance in Arkansas.  He helped form a pregnancy crisis center with other evangelical leaders in the early 2000s.  He and other Catholics supported the effort with funding and sweat equity.  However, when it was time to form a Board of Directors, the priest was snubbed out.  Potential candidates were given a statement of faith to sign, and he was not even afforded the opportunity.  The message was clear:  Catholics were welcome but only in a very cautious and limited way.

The walls only began to come down as Catholics and evangelicals continually stood shoulder to shoulder, professing their common belief in the sanctity of unborn life and enduring the repercussions together.  As Armstrong points out, "they were often in same jail cell together.  They started talking and discovered they have so much in common.  This was really the narrative."  Veterans of the pro-life movement developed an affinity for each other that might not have happened otherwise.

2.  Pro-Family Movement

Along with the pro-life movement, many Catholics and evangelicals have been finding common ground in their approach to the family.  This includes a wide array of aspects.  Armstrong offers the example of Natural Family Planning (NFP) as an unexpected point of convergence between the two groups.  He tells Catholics:  "You might be surprised how significantly NFP has influenced young evangelicals who are not convinced that many forms of birth control are the way they should go as people of faith." 

He admits that NFP has often been dismissed as a silly Catholic tradition among evangelicals who have traditionally had few qualms about artificial contraception.  Today, it is younger evangelicals who are exploring NFP with great sincerity.  "There are books coming out now by young evangelicals giving testimony to their views on NFP, and when you read one, you would think you are reading the testimony of a young Catholic," he says.

A phrase comes to mind that has been echoing in my consciousness since the NWCU:  At the grassroots level, people are "minding each other's traditions."  That insight was shared by Dr. Stephen Long of Marquette University, and it resonates here strongly.  In this case, evangelicals are learning about and carrying the torch for something they learned from Catholics--perhaps more fervently than many Catholics.

3.  Pope Francis

When the humble Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, was being introduced to the world as Pope Francis in March 2013, there was a stirring in the evangelical Christian community.  Evangelical leaders who worked with Bergoglio in Argentia began circulating reports to their friends and colleagues.  Within 5 days of the pope's election, Armstrong started hearing from other evangelicals about him.  They were saying things such as:  "We know him.  We pray with him.  He's our friend."  They were not talking about isolated incidents or casual encounters.  On the contrary, Bergoglio has been cultivating, "friendship, trust and love" with evangelicals for many years.

Pope Francis has been reaching out to evangelical Christians in unique ways during his time as pope.  He has invited evangelical leaders to Rome, has spoken at evangelical churches and still prays with a small group of evangelical Christians on a regular basis, just like he did as Archbishop. 

Pope Francis even recorded an impromptu video address to Copeland Ministries on a smartphone with an appeal for Christian brother and sisterhood.  He asked Copeland Ministries to pray for him, and after the video address the assembled crowd was more than willing to oblige.  This and numerous other events have shown an unprecedented witness from the papacy towards the evangelical community.

"We could not have imagined this even two years ago," says Armstrong.

Left to right, top then bottom: Bishop Tony Palmer, Francis with Rev. James Robinson,
Kenneth Copeland with Francis, Francis' video address to Copeland Ministries.

4.  Public Recognition by Leaders

Pope Francis is certainly in a category all to himself.  That being said, Armstrong affirmed that there are efforts being made by other leaders from both sides--including Catholic bishops and evangelical pastors--to reach out to one another in public ways. 

These can be muddy waters, since the evangelical world is largely non-hierarchical.  "Who do you talk to?" asks Armstrong.  Who can speak for the evangelical world?  It is not as easy as it is in a hierarchical institution, but there are pastors and other leaders whose words carry weight with evangelical Christians.

The National Workshop on Christian Unity where Armstrong gave this talk is a perfect example.  For over 50 years, Catholic and mainline Protestant ecumenical workers have gathered together to roll up their sleeves and plot the course for unity.  The last couple of gatherings have started to feature non-denominational evangelical Christians.  Armstrong himself is on the national planning committee. 

Likewise, the Lusanne movement has been a voice for the unity among evangelical Christians since 1974, evolving in large part out of the ministry of Billy Graham.  In recent years, it has begun to recognize Catholic and Orthodox churches more openly.  Representatives from those churches have participated in the movement, including the significant Cape Town Congress held in 2010.

5.  Marketplace Ministries

"Our people already know each other in the workplace," Armstrong asserts.  "Catholics and evangelicals are the ones who get into Bible studies together and talk about marketplace ministry.  They talk about what it means to bring their Christian values into the workplace.  They are the ones having the serious conversations about not just making money but prospering people and creating [Christian] culture through business.

"The proliferation of marketplace ministries in the last 5-8 years has been a phenomenon that Catholics may not have not tracked the way that some evangelicals have.  It is a great form of mission."

6.  Catholics Immersed in Evangelical Experience

The last two points I am adding from my own experience.  The first one is not recent, but I believe it figures prominently into what is happening today.  For the past few decades, Catholics have learned about the evangelical Christian world and its language.  When I was going to college 20 years ago, it was common for evangelical Christians to encourage Catholics to put down their rote prayer books and instead talk to Jesus as a personal friend.  American Catholicism had gotten stale for many people, and most were poorly catechized in the first place.  For them, Catholicism had degenerated into empty "rules and routines" that had gotten divorced from their meaning.  The freedom to be expressive in prayer and worship in evangelical worship was a breath of fresh air.  It was attracting Catholics in large numbers, many of whom converted.

In addition, evangelicals witnessed to many Catholics (including me) what it is like to have a private and personal relationship with Scripture outside of Mass.  The Catholic Church as an institution has always had a vibrant, living relationship with the Bible.  Scripture has always been intimately woven into all the theology and doctrine as well as the official prayers of the Church, including the Mass. The Catholic Church is inseparable from the Bible.  However, over the centuries that has not filtered down to individual people very well (illiteracy and ecclesial control over Biblical interpretation figured prominently in previous centuries).  That has changed dramatically in recent years. Individual Catholic are developing a relationship with Scripture in both academic study and personal devotions.  The influence of evangelicals to model and encourage this cannot be understated. 

Catholic converts helped fill the pews in evangelical churches in recent years.  Perhaps they also brought a worldview that may have unexpectedly paved the way for the next point . . .

7.  Surge of Interest by Evangelicals in Catholic Tradition

It is fascinating to watch the pendulum swing.  What was unthinkable 20 years ago is now becoming commonplace.  Just like many Catholics fell into a lull in the relationship with their tradition only to be reignited in their faith through evangelical Christianity, so too now many evangelicals are finding nourishment by exploring parts of the Catholic tradition that they previously have kept at a clear distance. 

The freedom to pray to Jesus in a spontaneous, ordinary conversational style can be freeing to someone who has always recited prayers out of a book.  However, after a while of praying spontaneously, people can find themselves running out of things to say or losing direction.  Structured prayer can bring a focus and a discipline.  It is like a workout--it can be great to go to the gym and randomly use different exercise machines.  That can invigorate the body and be a great spark to health.  However, it is also significant to have a structured program to develop strength and endurance in a focused way.  You can benefit from the wisdom of exercise experts, making sure each muscle group gets proper attention.  This sometimes means doing exercises you may not feel like doing.  A structured program can push you farther and deeper than you might have gone if left to your own initiative.  Fitness experts say that both "free days" and structure are important for health.

Long offered another example: The strongly evangelical Wheaton College recently opened up a center for Patristic Studies.  The Patristics are the early church thinkers, hermits, martyrs and saints who wrote in the first few centuries after Christ.  They lived long before the Protestant Reformation, so virtually all Christians today can claim that they are descendants of their wisdom, too.  That being said, until recently most evangelicals were reluctant to embrace or even engage with them at all.  That resistance has softened considerably as evangelicals are robustly exploring this tradition and finding a place within it for themselves.

Today, many evangelicals know far more about the Patristics, the monastic traditions, liturgy and Catholic Social Teaching than many Catholics.  Not only are they keeping alive precious traditions, but they are breathing new life into them with an evangelical fervor.  We are indeed "minding each other's traditions."



Wildflower bloom in Colorado.

A Bloom Seasons in the Making

The proliferation of Catholic and evangelical relations has been as least "several decades in the making," as Armstrong attests, and he would know having been at the forefront of the movement since the early 1980s.  While it may seem like all this activity has just spontaneously appeared, the reality is that the seeds have been planted long ago.  What we are seeing now is a bloom.  It is our call to pay attention and be receptive to the harvest that the Holy Spirit brings us.

"It all comes full circle back to that friendship, trust and love," says Armstrong, referring to the example Bergoglio showed all those years in Buenos Aires before becoming pope.  The flowering in his relationships with evangelicals did not just happen overnight.  People Francis built those relationships in the same way that any of us can build them--through conversation, friendship, mutual prayer and genuine care and concern.

"In this kairos moment, we need to do everything we can to know each other, to love each other, to pray for each other, and to take this not only into our ecumenical relationships, but to take it right down to the level of the parish, to our people."

Indeed, the energy and enthusiasm at that Catholic-evangelical dialogue at the NWCU was the strongest of any I experienced there.  There is a freshness as Catholics and evangelicals have truly discovered each other and are taking their relationship seriously.  This is not to downplay energy elsewhere--some denominations have been in dialogue for decades, and there is a well cultivated maturity to those discussions that comes with the passage of time--but the vibrancy of the Catholic-evangelical dialogue is a telling sign that yes, something is happening.



Artistic depiction of a kairos moment.
http://fireflyimageworks.com/blog/?p=705

This post is the second installment in a series about the National Workshop on Christian Unity.  See the first part, called The Untanglers.

The Starting Line for Catholics and Evangelicals

 Where does the quest for Christian unity begin?

The 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation is coming up in 2017.  Catholics and Orthodox have been divided even longer than that, since the schism of 1074.  There are other churches where the divisions go back even farther.  Many strides have been made in the last century toward reconciliation, or at the very least, politeness.  However, the wounds and misunderstandings go deep.  Further still, the sheer impact of being divided for so long has left people with very different histories and traditions.  What can a person do to attempt to bridge this gap?

The following applies to all Christians but is especially geared toward Catholics and evangelicals.

Ecumenical exchanges are doomed to frustration if people believe that their group is the only place where truth resides.  The quest for unity ends up being reduced to an exercise in missionizing others in an attempt to convert them.  The implied message is: "Everything about you that differs from me is wrong and must be eradicated."  This is nothing more than zero-sum thinking in disguise, and there is a sinister violence which underlies it.  Instead of expecting others to simply join our particular group, how can we maintain the truths of our respective faith traditions while at the same time crossing denominational barriers in order to realize the unity that Christ prayed for?  This takes innovation.  It is a transcendence, not a simple lateral move from one group to another.

This does not mean that people have to give up the claims of their specific tradition!  Some people believe that their denomination holds the fullness of truth.  They sincerely want to reach out to others, but at the same time they do not want to undermine their own church.  The good news is that the methods outlined here do not require people to give up these deeply held beliefs.

For other folks, reaching out to other denominations is easier, because they already believe that most denominations are roughly equal and that differences are more a matter of style and context. 

Many Catholics appreciate evangelical Christianity but worry that it lacks the fullness they find in the Sacraments.  Many evangelicals respect the traditions of Catholicism but fear than many individual Catholics lack a personal relationship to Jesus Christ.  The path of Christian unity does not require that people give up the claims of their tradition or the concerns about their neighbors--it just requires opening up to the possibility of the good elsewhere.  I believe this is good news.

 

A Catholic Perspective

The Catholic Church admitted at Vatican II that "many aspects of sanctification and of truth can be found outside her visible structure [i.e. the Catholic Church]" (Lumen Gentium no. 8). 

This is very freeing.  It has freed us from an all-or-nothing fallacy.  Whether someone is a staunch traditionalist or a progressive-minded reformer, this speaks to all.  You see, from this vantage point it does not matter if a person thinks the end result is that everyone needs to convert to his or her denomination or not.  The end goal is not as important as the task to do today.  When we meet someone from another church, we can seek out the good that is there.  We can name it and celebrate it as the gift from God that it is.  We do not have to know ahead of time what the Holy Spirit will do from that point forward.  There may be a transformation in store, perhaps even a mutual one.

In previous time periods, there was a general fear commonly held to even acknowledge that anything could possibly be good about other denominations.  This has long since been put to rest.  We can expect that good things are present everywhere, as we know that God is always speaking to everyone in every place.  There is no need to be suspicious about things that seem good which are outside of our tradition or be threatened by them. 

 

For a Catholic, this is the starting line:  A sharing of gifts.  We can stand strong on the shoulders of Vatican II and all subsequent popes and live out the mantra for unity that St. Pope John Paul II so often named.  It works this way:  When two people from different denominations meet, they can both testify:  "This is what God has done in my life and in my church community.  Please share with me what God has done for you and your community."  We share by word and by deed.  And we keep sharing and sharing and sharing.  Through this sharing, we come to realize new things.  We listen with our minds as well as our hearts.  Walls break down, glaciers melt and coldness is replaced by warm regard.  Perhaps in time the various groups move into a new form of unity that in our present context we cannot imagine.  Such is the Kingdom.

 

The Catholic Church acknowledges that all Christian Baptism is a valid incorporation into the Body of Christ.  This is huge.  It signifies that the Body exists in part outside the boundaries of the Roman Catholic Church.  This is important for Catholics to remember.

When Catholics bring their non-Catholic friends and family to Mass, many report that they feel embarrassed that communion is closed.  The Catholic Church officially allows the sharing of Eucharist only with Catholics.  While this may feel unwelcoming, and it is certainly a painful reminder of the separation of Christians that still exists, we must also remember that the Catholic stance on Baptism is extremely open and welcoming.  There is a very wide space for grace and creative possibilities.

 

An Evangelical Perspective

Evangelical Christian leader Kevin Offner (pictured at left) shares where he believes the starting points are from the vantage point of his own tradition in this talk:

"The centrality of the gospel and the authority of the Bible—With this lowest-common-denominator, non-ecclesial mark of orthodoxy, the room for unity across denominations and traditions is great. In fact, this surely is one of evangelicalism’s most significant legacies to American Christendom: the ability to cross denominational lines for the sake of the gospel.”

 

Offner is urging Christians to focus on what they have in common.  Stick to the basic core beliefs in Jesus Christ and His Gospel, he says.  By being freed of the other "stuff" of religious tradition, evangelical Christianity becomes a very swift and mobile phenomena.  It can adapt and assimilate many people to itself and itself to many contexts easily. 

 

While evangelical Christianity is often very adamant about these fundamentals, it also can, in some cases, lower the stakes about some of the other nuances.  This is not to say that evangelical Christians do not take very seriously some very detailed theological points.  What Offner is suggesting, however, is that inherent within evangelical Christianity is the ability to move forward from a few basic, fundamental points. Once folks can mutually affirm these basic core beliefs, then they have a platform for conversation in true brotherhood.  This implies saving energy for the non-negotiables of the faith and letting secondary differences be secondary.

 

While evangelical Christians have historically been more reluctant about the movement for Christian unity than other groups, Offner sees a bright potential:  "Evangelicalism is uniquely capable of promoting ecumenical gatherings of Christians."

 

For Both Catholics and Evangelicals

We can all start from a standpoint of humility.  All of our churches bear some responsibility for divisions.  The Catholic Church is not living up to its mission to be truly universal.  Evangelical and Protestant churches have splintered into many denominations and they just keep on splintering.  We have all failed to maintain oneness and no group can claim a blameless record in this long and sometimes even bloody history.

It can start with friendship.  The difficulties of navigating sensitive theological matters is often best weathered when there is true mutual regard on a personal level.  "I don't know where it can go, but I can tell you where it can start:  With friendship" says Pentecostal Pastor Bryan Wheble (pictured at left) from Revival Vision Church of God in Maynardville, TN, speaking Christian unity.  Friendship opens the heart as well as a space for true dialogue.

For Glenmary Brother Craig Dignmann, the first step is "you just start talking."  He was struggling for a while trying to discern the direction of his ecumenical ministry.  He knew he wanted to reach out to Christians outside of his denomination, but he did not know how.  The answers just started falling into place once he was present and in conversation with people.  One conversation lead to another question which lead to another contact and so on and so forth.  The Spirit did the rest.  

What we have above are several different yet very similar ideas of how anyone--a lone individual or an entire church parish--can start the process of building bridges between Christians:  Start a dialogue of mutual testimony centered around how God has gifted you and your community.   Be open without giving up the claims of your faith. Stay rooted in common, core beliefs.  Be humble.  Open the door to friendship.  And just start talking.

This is not an exhaustive list.  There are many more methods and practices for the journey.  But like the subject matter of this post itself, this is a start.

Only the Holy Spirit knows where this will lead.  We do know, however, some good places where the process can begin.