The First and Final Frontier of Christian Love

“If churches can work together to build a house,

why can’t we get together to evangelize the world?”

—Rev. Ted Beam, Pastor of Petrie Memorial United Methodist Church, Elkton, KY

 

Churches of different denominations working together on acts of charity and justice is often the first thing that comes to mind when people think of ecumenism.  Indeed, some of the most longstanding and compelling witnesses of ecumenism have happened in those arenas.

The word "evangelize" comes to us from the Greek meaning: "To announce the Good News."  Some would say that joint acts of Christian service are indeed true acts of evangelization, as they give witness to the solidarity of all people sharing a common mission to love one another as commanded by Jesus (Matthew 22:37-40).  When people are so overwhelmed by God's gift of love that their proverbial cup overflows (Psalm 23), compelling them to share that gift of love with others and in thanksgiving to God with all the blessings spilling out from them, they fulfill this new commandment to love God and love their neighbors as themselves.  They announce the Good News with their hands and feet through their deeds, demonstrating that their lives have been transformed in light of it.

Still, it is a curious situation when groups of Christians share the fruit of their discipleship together but proclaim the source of that discipleship separately.

 

Pope Francis has reminded us lately:  "Divisions between Christians wound the Church and wound Christ. The Church – he said – is the body and Christ is the head."  He asks:  "Are we resigned, or even indifferent to this division? Or do we firmly believe that we can and we must walk together towards reconciliation and full communion?"

Indeed, John's Gospel offers an important twist on Jesus' commandment:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

(John 13:34-35)

This is a daunting challenge.  Jesus is speaking both to his disciples and about his disciples here.  A sign of true discipleship—perhaps even the truest sign—is whether Christians can love each other.  The most difficult challenge is often loving those closest to ourselves.  This includes not just those in our local parish community but also different denominations of Christians worldwide.  2,000 years of amazing Christian service work juxtaposed against bitter divisions in the Body of Christ itself attests to this difficulty.

John's Gospel is often not the immediate "go to" book for social justice activists looking for a passage to embolden their efforts.  All too often it is seen as focusing on internal relationships between disciples and less on those excluded and marginalized.  It is not easy to coax Christians who may have become all too comfortable in cozy church fellowships to turn their attention and reach out to the whole world with this passage.  However, it is usually a mistake to attach a simple interpretation to anything in John's Gospel.  This passage is deeply challenging when held up against the fractures in Christianity. 

 

 

 

 

Scripture offers many ways to understand love.  The famous passage above from 1 Corinthians is a favorite wedding reading.  It takes on a very different challenge when seen as a checklist for ecumenism.  Love is not just tolerance, but a full blossom of patience, kindness, humility and honoring and forgiving each other.  Can Christians protect, trust, hope and persevere in their relationships with other Christians?  Jesus calls us to love one another, and this is what love looks like according to Paul.

 

Evangelizing together is an ideal way to demonstrate this kind of love.  It would show trust and a hope held in common.  Christians would protect each other and persevere together.  We would honor each other by trusting each other to proclaim the Gospel.  We would take time to understand each other in patience.  We would be slow to anger and rich in kindness, like the God we follow (Psalm 145:8). 

 

At the beginning of this piece, Rev. Ted Beam asks a question which points to a glaring inconsistency in the Christian witness.  Yes, they will know we are Christians by our love, according to John's Gospel.  Rev. Beam's question subtly suggests a way that this love might be expressed:  This is a love which draws Christians together to go out and share the Gospel to the ends of the earth. The kindness, patience, trust and humility that Christians would need to manifest in their relationships with each other in order proclaim the Gospel together would become the witness that the world would see.  The medium becomes the message.  The Way shows itself to also be the Truth. 

 

Perhaps it is better to preach the Gospel through our deeds, using words only when necessary.  Love may be the only thing pure enough to reach beyond our fuddled words and understandings.  However, our inability to preach together in words gives witness to our lack of investment to listen to each other in patience and kindness, out of which a common language and a sympathetic ear would emerge to guide this common mission to proclaim the Good News.

Distinctly Baptist, Distinctly Ecumenical

I had the opportunity this past July to sit down and talk with Southern Baptist minister Dean Anderson.  He is Pastor of Trenton Baptist Church in Trenton, KY, a small town in south, central Kentucky near the Tennessee border.  He is the author of Sacred Trust: Sermons on the Distinctive Beliefs of Baptists.  The book is the fruit of his doctoral work—what does it mean to be Baptist?

Anderson is a long-time collaborator with Glenmary's Fr. Frank Ruff.  To him, it is not ironic to be so invested in reclaiming what is distinctively Baptist and also so open to ecumenism.  Those are not mutually exclusive goals to him.

As I do in most of my interviews with faith leaders, I asked the question which is the guiding mantra for our Commission on Ecumenism: 

How do we enhance understanding... reduce alienation... and foster reconciliation between Catholics, Evangelicals and other Christian denominations?
 
Healing Racial Divisions
 
Anderson started off by saying that the “biggest division is between the races.”  He talked extensively about reconciliation between black and white Baptists in Trenton and shared obvious joy at the changes that have taken place in his community.  Some of those divisions have only begun to be transcended.  As recently as 1999 (before his time as pastor), a black gentleman was discouraged from membership in the white church.  The man was a former soldier, a vocation strongly respected by the community, but that was not enough to melt the ice. 

Twelve years ago, Anderson took a chance and invited the local Baptist minister and choir to his church for preaching, singing and food afterwards.  It was a huge success.  “You can see the walls come down,” he shared.  This was "a small town where everybody knew each other," yet there were strong barriers along racial lines and few interactions in public.  After the churches started coming together, people would greet each other in town and at the grocery store.  “There was a whole different spirit in town.”  Anderson and his choir have also been invited to the black Baptist church in a likewise manner.  Since then, the two churches have kept the tradition going and repeat it at least once a quarter.  They also do ministry projects together, such as a food giveaway, and the pastors substitute for each other when they need a Sunday off. 
 
A Catholic Country Pastor Creates Ripples
 
“It’s been a blessing getting to know Fr. Frank Ruff,” Anderson said.  “I saw his passion for Jesus, leading people to Jesus. Most people [here] have no personal relationships with Catholics."  Anderson sees this as a crucial step in building ecumenical understanding.  "There are so many myths and oversimplifications."  His advice was clear:  “Get to know people like Fr. Frank, that’s what helps.” 

 
"A generation or two ago, there were strong anti-Catholic feelings in this part of Kentucky.  The younger generations are realizing the similarities," he said.
 
Anderson echoed what I have heard other leaders from different denominations say recently:  This is a time for grassroots, local relationship building more than lofty documents from the top-down.  There is no substitute for the direct, personal engagement of people of different faith traditions getting to know each other, seeing each other's passion for the faith and watching their life witness.  "Effective, long-lasting cooperation is [better than] a statement that passes from everybody’s awareness."
 

Fr. Frank participated in an ecumenical Thanksgiving service at Trenton Baptist Church.  "A Catholic priest gave a sermon on gratitude from our pulpit, and it was just wonderful," Anderson recounted.  “I would not hesitate to agree with or 'Amen' everything he said.  This is a giant step toward Christians loving each other."  That ecumenical Thanksgiving service began as a joint effort of the local Methodist, Presbyterian and white Baptist churches.  It has since grown to include Assembly of God, black Baptist and Catholic churches.

Anderson also would not hesitate to say that there are differences between Catholics and Southern Baptists and that the differences do matter.  However, "we have to also remember that we have so much in common, which is greater and more important than differences."  He describes a balance:  "We can run the risk of over-valuing or under-valuing our differences.  Those differences should not hinder Jesus' prayer or keep us from cooperating." 

Anderson cautioned that ecumenical and interfaith collaborations should be discerned on a case-by-case basis.  He cited Revelation 13:18—"This calls for wisdom."  He is conscientious about the impression ministerial collaborations can make.  Working together does not necessitate agreement, but sometimes the disagreements are too strong for a partnership.

"That All May Be One" (John 17:21)

The best way to approach Jesus' prayer for unity, according to Anderson, is to start with the right attitude.  He outlines the following principles:

* "Have an openness to support and understand each other."  This sounds deceptively simple at first.  It does not assume agreement or even support, but it does require a true openness and willingness for that to happen.
 

* "Work toward the kind of spirit where Christians are non-competitive:  It is a gain for all faiths if a new family in town joins the Methodists, Baptists, any denomination, for example."

* "Pray by name for the other churches in town."  He gave an example of how he does this during his own services:  "I pray that the Father will bless them, use them and grow them to build His Kingdom."

* "Do joint ministry projects."  An example he gave was a collaborative effort of local churches which put a VHS tape copy of The Jesus Video Project in every mailbox in Todd County.  While he does not know what concrete gains may have come from this, the effort did spurn a story in the Hopkinsville newspaper about the partnership.

He concluded by saying: "Church history shows us that there are heroes of the faith in every tradition.  Worship in other traditions opens up appreciation.  Differences matter, but they shouldn’t keep us from working together today. [Much in the world is] hostile to the Christian faith—we are going to need to work together, and we are more effective and a stronger witness if we address it together."
 

Dry Bones

While visiting mountain churches, rural outreach organizations and ministry outposts of all kinds, I can not help but think of the leaders who are driven by a sense of vocation.  The Rev. Steve Peake stands out among them. 

He is Pastor of Corinth Baptist Church in Fleming-Neon, KY.  It is a predominately African-American community in a coal mining town.

In his own words: 

This church building is a historical building for the community of Fleming-Neon. The building was built in the early 1900's by the Elkhorn coal company as the original "colored school" for the children of the black coal miners and their families [operated by Catholic nuns from Jenkins, KY]. At this time there was not a church for the miners and their families, Rev.Henry Hinton began having church meetings in the homes of the miners. The coal company heard of this and they allowed Rev Hinton to use the school house to hold church services on Sundays. In 1947 the coal company deeded the building to Letcher County School Board,they continued to allow the church to continue meeting in the school. In 1956 the School Board deeded the building over to the trustees of the church . . .  In 1994 Corinth closed its doors until December of 2001 when Rev Steve Peake of Fleming-Neon returned to his home church to open it up and he remains as pastor of the church to this date.

He rebuilt the crumbling church building in beautiful woodwork with both his own hands and the help of friends.  A new construction perhaps would have been easier, but there is something special about being in that place where so much history has happened.  Church members can remember important life events happening right there.  Peake pointed to the railing where he came forward to be saved many years ago.  The community has been nurtured there.

From a logical standpoint, he could easily make the case to leave the area.  His wife would appreciate that.  The boom-and-bust cycle of the coal industry, coupled with changing demographics, have left few African-Americans still living in that part of rural Kentucky.  The community he shepherds is continually getting smaller—would not his time be better spent elsewhere, helping more people?  Yet, something in his spiritual intuition and life experience has led him to believe that his “work is not yet done here.”  He just can not leave the few sheep in favor of the many.

Rev. Peake feels called to preach to these "dry bones," a reference to Ezekiel 37:1-14.  God can bring new life to even the most parched, desolate circumstances.  How God may stir those dry bones remains to be seen.  Perhaps Peake will simply be the last person out of town. 

Peake has worked periodically with Glenmary's Fr. John Rausch on ecumenical efforts.  One was a Stations of the Cross service at a mountaintop removal site.  Another was a flower planting effort in the aftermath of a devastating flash flood.  Irresponsible—and sometimes illegal—mining practices have left the land vulnerable to flash flooding and mudslides.  As Fr. Rausch writes:

In 2003 the Rev. Steve Peake, a Baptist minister, and I organized a prayer service soon after a flood in McRoberts. I bought a flat of begonias from a nursery. Then 30 of us, including mothers with small children, walked through the town stopping at residences, churches and public buildings. At each place someone described the destruction caused by the flood. We said a prayer, then planted a begonia. The idea was to replace ugliness with beauty, and despair with Resurrection.

Indeed, the ministry of Rev. Peake is a strong witness to that very faith.  He knows that God can be found anywhere, even where it seems the least likely.  Case in point, after finishing the hand-hewn cross that now stands in the front of Corinth Baptist Church, Peake and his parishioners were amazed to discover the face of Jesus right in the wood:

Perhaps it takes the eyes of faith to see it—and that is exactly the guiding vision for the ministry of Rev. Steve Peake.

A Catholic Perspective: The Wild Goose and the Emerging Church

The Wild Goose is a 4-day outdoor festival in Hot Springs, NC.  This is an annual event that began in 2011. It represents a huge movement that so far has managed to slip under the radar of mainstream attention.

Many of the attendees camped directly on the grounds and stayed on site the entire time.  There were mainline Protestants, Evangelicals, Catholics and followers of other traditions. The movement that originated this event includes what is called the emerging church.  They are working to envision—and live into—a post-denominational world.  Many are folks who find themselves on the margins of traditional church structures for one reason or another.  This includes interfaith households, artists, activists, LGBT, intellectuals, searchers or just anyone who does not fit into a denominational box for all sorts of reasons. 
 

At the same time, the large portion of clergy present tells another story—these folks are not just marginalized but directly at the core of their faith traditions.  Folks are exploring new monasticism; they are prophetic and inclusive.  It is rooted in Evangelical Christianity, but many other religious traditions are represented, such as Eastern and indigenous.  There is an amazing grace-filled aura of acceptance and warmth that permeates the whole festival.  It is the kind of environment where you could leave your wallet on a picnic table and come back several hours later and it would still be there, untouched.  Kids played in the muddy streets, and I did not notice a single behavior problem. 

There were dozens and dozens of speakers, bands, art exhibits and other events.  It was very hard to attend even a fraction of what was going on.  I tried to focus on events that had an ecumenical component.  I was just 3 weeks into my new role fostering understanding between Catholics, Evangelicals and other faith groups.  The Wild Goose Festival was for me a time of both professional and personal enrichment. It was a fantastic opportunity to immerse myself in interfaith dialogue, make contacts and quickly get up to speed in my role in a tangible way.  It was a baptism by fire—or rather, by rain!

A number of people visited the table and remarked that they were glad to see a Catholic presence at the festival.  While there are many Catholics there as individuals or as part of interfaith groups, I am proud to say the Glenmary table this year has been the only purely Catholic organization so far in the festival’s history.  [In previous years, Frs. Richard Rohr and John Dear have been popular speakers there.]

“Tom”:  Evangelicals, the Church Fathers and the British Invasion

I had a great talk with “Tom.”  He is an evangelical leader.  I am keeping his name anonymous because I am not entirely sure if what he told me was said in confidence.  He took me aside and whispered something that I have heard from many others:  “I am Evangelical but almost everyone I read is Catholic… mostly the ascetic tradition, Thomas Merton and the Church Fathers.”  He also said that does not translate for him into formally being part of the Catholic Church. 
 

I share this because his story is common.  It is represented very well by Duke Divinity School and other institutions, but mostly it is truly a grassroots movement not tied to any single place.  I am reminded about how the Beatles re-interpreted American rock and roll and gave the music world a shot in the arm—the British invasion began.  Right now, Protestants and Evangelicals are immersing themselves in Catholic thought and reminding all of us—Catholics included—about some of the best parts of the tradition that are often overlooked. 

A generation ago, Catholics were leaving the Church in droves and many were attracted to the freedom of the Spirit they found in Evangelical traditions.  Now, many Evangelicals are attracted to the traditions in the Catholic world—monastic practices, the liturgical calendar, social teaching and the religious orders.  If we step back and look at these cultural shifts, perhaps the Holy Spirit is more active than we generally care to admit.  When society becomes too one-sided, there is a shift in the other direction—later, there is a shift back.

Catholic prayer can become stale and robotic with rote recitation, so people are attracted to the freedom in the Spirit in the Pentecostal world.  Catholic blogger Billy Kangas was at the festival and mentioned to me that after a while this can turn stale for altogether different reasons.  He said folks can become attracted to structured prayer to help them dig deeper in their relationship with God in a disciplined way.  He says that Evangelicals often come to him asking for prayer ideas from the Catholic tradition.  This is fascinating to me because 20 years ago I remember Evangelicals teaching Catholics how to put down their prayer books and instead pray out of a living, personal relationship with Christ.  The pendulum swings back and forth.

“Full and Active Participation”

A phrase from Vatican II kept going through my mind during the festival:  “Full and active participation.”  This is the hope—and expectation—for the level of involvement of the people of God in the life of the Church.  Yet, we all know how difficult it is to find and nurture that.  At this festival, there was no question that there was very full and active participation from just about everybody—from festival organizers to casual attendees.  As an organizer who has worked hard to build interest in both faith and justice efforts, I watched this closely.  What is their secret? 

So often, I have felt like a monk in the Dark Ages, just trying to keep some semblance of a movement alive for the next generation—passing on the faith, passing on the social teaching, keeping the conversation about peace just barely alive, just a flicker of a flame.  Most of the time folks are creating events hoping to stir some kind of a movement or beg and borrow to solicit participation. 

The most amazing thing about this festival is that the work to put it together is largely invisible.  There was no one hurrying around trying to keep the whole thing on track.  It just seems to unfold so naturally.  Having planned events in the past on a much smaller scale, I can appreciate the amazing skills of the people who put this together.

My opinion is this:  There is a wide acceptance of the full inherent dignity of each person in their uniqueness at the Wild Goose.  There was no pressure to force oneself into a denominational or cultural box.  Interfaith expression happens seamlessly.  Since the full person was respected and accepted, people returned the favor by being fully present.  The massive organizational achievement of this festival is a testament to that.  This does not mean that there are no standards or morals—the festival was a celebration of life, goodness and right behavior.  People like Rev. Barber (and Pope Francis, for that matter) are great examples of how you can fully respect and accept people while still having a firm moral compass of your own.

Meeting People Where They Are

Many Catholics go to this festival searching for spiritual nourishment, and there is usually no one there from the Catholic Church to greet them.

Most people under age 40 do not regularly go to weekly Mass or other church services.  Their spiritual life is more centered around events like the Wild Goose.  They volunteer at places like Glenmary Farm, go on retreats, read, talk to their friends and listen to inspiring speakers.  I think a lot about what it means to be a missionary—partly because I work with a Catholic missionary organization and partly because of the call by Pope Francis for all Christians to cultivate a missionary spirituality.  If we are going to meet people where they are at, they are at the Wild Goose. 

Missionaries traditionally have had the role of meeting people where they are at in a geographical sense.  We think of priests and ministers trudging through the Outback, setting up new churches with all the trappings of parish life.  Perhaps being a missionary today is less about the pioneering work to make the Church present in a new geographical location but rather making the Church present in a new cultural context.  Lack of access to a church building is not the reason why many are staying home from Mass.  As a Glenmary priest pointed out, they may have a church next door.  Too often the institutional Church assumes it is the duty of each Catholic to conform their life to the rhythms of parish life rather than finding ways to bring the Church to life wherever they may be.

We Reap What We Sow

One blogger suggested that the flowering of the emerging church movement today—which would include, in part, the Wild Goose—is directly a result of the culture wars of the last 30 years.  The seismic shift to the right that happened in the Evangelical world in the 1980s created a movement that has been politically powerful for a generation, but it marginalized so many people in the process.  The children of that generation are largely unimpressed by the inconsistencies of that movement and have become the leaders against it. 

It is worth wondering what might have happened.  What if Evangelical and mainline churches had taken a more inclusive stance three decades ago?  What if mercy and compassion were the main identifiers of the faith rather than hardline stances?

It is fascinating to wonder where this movement is going to lead.  When it comes to dialogue between Evangelicals and Catholics, the Wild Goose and the emerging church movement is an important piece of the puzzle.  I am so glad to have been a part of it and look forward to participating in the future!