Sunday, July 02, 2006
Pre-1979 Southern Baptist comes in from wandering the wilderness of moderate-liberal Baptist diaspora, finds new church home -- amen and amen!
Been wondering all week what I would post today, knowing that I would be joining the second church I've ever actually belonged to this morning.
Simple thoughts.
I love this church.
It's drips with grace. It breathes freedom -- the soul freedom I grew up with in a Southern Baptist church, back before freethinking, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, went out of style in the SBC. And it is radically open.
I have nothing negative to say about the church of my upbringing. I love it. I met God through Jesus there.
Nor do I have anything negative to say about the SBC, nor any other church or organization where two or three are gathered in Jesus's name.
I love the Southern Baptist Convention. But I went away for a while, and when I came back I didn't recognize it. We evolved past each other, or something.
It's fundamentalism itself, not any particular church or group of churches, that worries me. And there are fundamentalists in all religions and churches and church groups. Some just have more than others. It's a free country, more or less. That stuff's just not for me.
I think of my church now as what a Baptist church would be if it were theologically liberal, and socially liberal, and filled mainly, but not totally by any means, with people who are politically liberal. In fact, there are a few shellshocked Republicans in the church, libertarian types, non-interventionist types who feel buffaloed by the leadership of their party -- and by the fundamentalist religion the GOP is dancing with.
(Oh and yes, TugboatCapn, if you're lurking. I reckon I *do* "own" a church now, along with every other member. It's in the bylaws.)
It is a local, autonomous congregation of Christians who have chosen to affiliate with the United Church of Christ. It's right up my alley now.
From the church Web page:
The people of Mayflower Congregational UCC church of Oklahoma City invite you to experience Christianity as a way of life, not a set of creeds and doctrines demanding total agreement. We invite you to join us as we seek to recover the meaning of the gospel for our time, looking to scripture, faith, and reason -- interpreted by love. At Mayflower we believe that what Jesus teaches us about God is more important than what the church has taught us about Jesus. We believe in the liberty of conscience, the responsibility of every believer to work out his or her own salvation, and the obligation of faithful men and women to become partners with God in building the kingdom. We take the Bible seriously, not literally, and believe that in our time the church must recover, above all, its radical hospitality -- welcoming all persons into her midst, without regard to race, age, gender, sexual orientation, or physical abilities.
So, I joined today, after 10 months of regular attendance, after much meditation and prayer. Dr. ER did me the kindness of coming to see me stand up in front of the congregation, with 20-something other new people, and be welcomed in a short ceremony.
I'm off here directly to see if the local Barnes & Noble has the Harper Collins Study Bible. Commenter GP, an old friend of mine, recommended it back in January, when I asked y'all to tell me about your own Bibles and to make recommendations.
I've got a few Bibles already, including a Scofield Reference Bible and a Ryrie Study Bible, from my teens and early 20s, and a Living Bible. There's nothing wrong with any of them if you think as you read. But, as this is a time of renewal for me, I figured I ought to get a new one.
--ER
Simple thoughts.
I love this church.
It's drips with grace. It breathes freedom -- the soul freedom I grew up with in a Southern Baptist church, back before freethinking, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, went out of style in the SBC. And it is radically open.
I have nothing negative to say about the church of my upbringing. I love it. I met God through Jesus there.
Nor do I have anything negative to say about the SBC, nor any other church or organization where two or three are gathered in Jesus's name.
I love the Southern Baptist Convention. But I went away for a while, and when I came back I didn't recognize it. We evolved past each other, or something.
It's fundamentalism itself, not any particular church or group of churches, that worries me. And there are fundamentalists in all religions and churches and church groups. Some just have more than others. It's a free country, more or less. That stuff's just not for me.
I think of my church now as what a Baptist church would be if it were theologically liberal, and socially liberal, and filled mainly, but not totally by any means, with people who are politically liberal. In fact, there are a few shellshocked Republicans in the church, libertarian types, non-interventionist types who feel buffaloed by the leadership of their party -- and by the fundamentalist religion the GOP is dancing with.
(Oh and yes, TugboatCapn, if you're lurking. I reckon I *do* "own" a church now, along with every other member. It's in the bylaws.)
It is a local, autonomous congregation of Christians who have chosen to affiliate with the United Church of Christ. It's right up my alley now.
From the church Web page:
The people of Mayflower Congregational UCC church of Oklahoma City invite you to experience Christianity as a way of life, not a set of creeds and doctrines demanding total agreement. We invite you to join us as we seek to recover the meaning of the gospel for our time, looking to scripture, faith, and reason -- interpreted by love. At Mayflower we believe that what Jesus teaches us about God is more important than what the church has taught us about Jesus. We believe in the liberty of conscience, the responsibility of every believer to work out his or her own salvation, and the obligation of faithful men and women to become partners with God in building the kingdom. We take the Bible seriously, not literally, and believe that in our time the church must recover, above all, its radical hospitality -- welcoming all persons into her midst, without regard to race, age, gender, sexual orientation, or physical abilities.
So, I joined today, after 10 months of regular attendance, after much meditation and prayer. Dr. ER did me the kindness of coming to see me stand up in front of the congregation, with 20-something other new people, and be welcomed in a short ceremony.
I'm off here directly to see if the local Barnes & Noble has the Harper Collins Study Bible. Commenter GP, an old friend of mine, recommended it back in January, when I asked y'all to tell me about your own Bibles and to make recommendations.
I've got a few Bibles already, including a Scofield Reference Bible and a Ryrie Study Bible, from my teens and early 20s, and a Living Bible. There's nothing wrong with any of them if you think as you read. But, as this is a time of renewal for me, I figured I ought to get a new one.
--ER
Comments:
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my family visited ok a couple of times in the seventies. we went to mass at st patrick catholic church, in oklahoma city (click on our history and symbolism). i was just a kid at the time, and the place just fascinated me.
KEvron
KEvron
Kev, what a cool place. I've driven by it more than a few times, but didn't know any of the story.
This is especially meaningful for me today:
"The Statue: You will notice that there is only one statue, and that it stands in the courtyard. This brings out the fact that Christ should be the center of our attention. It reflects a sense of order in our Catholic worship that there be nothing to distract from the center of our life-- Christ and the mystery of His love. Many of us do not like the image -- perhaps it is because we do not understand it, or simply because it is not the same image we are accustomed to seeing in our churches. It is stark theology- Mary gives us Christ who gives us the Bread of Life (The Eucharistic Bread of Himself) and the Word of Life -- (the Scriptures). Mary gives Christ flesh. The Christian is called to give Christ flesh in our day.
"In many foreign countries the Madonna and Child resemble the people of the country. We are fortunate to have an image that enables us to look beyond realistic images and reflects no particular race, for our Lady and The Christ Child extend open arms to all men."
Awesome.
This is especially meaningful for me today:
"The Statue: You will notice that there is only one statue, and that it stands in the courtyard. This brings out the fact that Christ should be the center of our attention. It reflects a sense of order in our Catholic worship that there be nothing to distract from the center of our life-- Christ and the mystery of His love. Many of us do not like the image -- perhaps it is because we do not understand it, or simply because it is not the same image we are accustomed to seeing in our churches. It is stark theology- Mary gives us Christ who gives us the Bread of Life (The Eucharistic Bread of Himself) and the Word of Life -- (the Scriptures). Mary gives Christ flesh. The Christian is called to give Christ flesh in our day.
"In many foreign countries the Madonna and Child resemble the people of the country. We are fortunate to have an image that enables us to look beyond realistic images and reflects no particular race, for our Lady and The Christ Child extend open arms to all men."
Awesome.
St. Patrick's is about a block and a half from me. I'm not Catholic, but St. Patrick's brings me a sense of peace. The band I was in (a big band) practiced at Trinity Gardens, an assisted living center adjacent to St. Patrick's. We performed for the dedication of the statue of (I believe) St. Patrick outside the front door.
And congrats, E.R., on your decision and commitment today. Did you find the Bible you were looking for? If not, Cokesbury on May Avenue is a good resource for such. (Also Mardel's of course, but I prefer Cokesbury.)
Went to the Catholic Church downtown near the bombing memorial -- across the street to the west, actually -- a few years ago, and I was impressed. I fell asleep, but that had more to do with the Mass and the priest's sermon. I was still impressed with the building.
:-)
:-)
ER, If you can find a church home that envigorates you and helps guide your spirituality, then you're better off than most. Congratulations.
I learned a new song this week that fits well with what you're saying about fundamentalism here:
I ain't afraid of your Yahweh
I ain't afraid of your Allah
I ain't afraid of your Jesus
I'm afraid of what you do in the name of your God...
Happy Churching!
I ain't afraid of your Yahweh
I ain't afraid of your Allah
I ain't afraid of your Jesus
I'm afraid of what you do in the name of your God...
Happy Churching!
Trixie, I *did* find the HarperCollins Bible, at B&N. And I'm already to Genesis. :-) (Lots of front matter!) :-)
TStock, thank you.
Teditor, "envigorates" is the perfect word for it. Not that the joint is "right" on an all matters. In fact, some of its extremes are downright unsettling. But somebody told me once: If you're comfortable in church, then you're with people too much like yourself. Well, that is most definitely not the case here. :-)
How'd I get to this place? 1. The quirky witness of a certain late sports editor, who attended. 2. A certain TV spot produced by the UCC that showed bouncers literally picking who to let in, and to turn away, outside a church, clearly picking the white heteros, and clearly turning away nonwhite non-heteros; I was a bouncer for a shot while; the spot spoke to me. 3. A certain black kitty (Dr. ER told me yesterday she thought Mr. Ice-T did a lot to soften my heart; I think she's right). 4. Hurricane Katrina, and the images that followed, which reminded me that the answer to "the poor we have with us always" is "help the poor, always" -- not, why bother?
Finally, I finally let go, emotionally, of the church I grew up in. That's an obstacle for a lot of people, I've come to find out. I believe that it's as possible to find another church like the one ya grew up in as it is to find another family like the one ya grew up in: Not.
Drlobojo: Dr. ER is supportive of me in this new leg of my spiritual sojourn.
Dan, now *that* sounds like it'd make a cool church camp song. I don't believe it'd ever raise the rafters at Falls Creek.
(Most Okies will get that reference: Falls Creek is Oklahoma's big Southern Baptist church camp; myself, I preferred the much smaller Kiamichi Baptist Assembly, about one-tenth the size, in the Ouachitas closer to my old stomping grounds.)
Kiamichi flashback: I went there as a young'un, and as a teen helper, several times. The best time was one week when, by all accounts, there was a spiritual drought in our camp. I mean, it seemed like God simply was not present. We all were just going through the motions. Made for a hard week. We were humbled. And totally rattled. And a little scared. There was real repentence and actual revival at the very end. God's ways are mysterious, indeed.
The main lesson I took away from it: It's OK to be humbled. And totally rattled. And a little scared. Going through the motions can be just so much "busy work."
TStock, thank you.
Teditor, "envigorates" is the perfect word for it. Not that the joint is "right" on an all matters. In fact, some of its extremes are downright unsettling. But somebody told me once: If you're comfortable in church, then you're with people too much like yourself. Well, that is most definitely not the case here. :-)
How'd I get to this place? 1. The quirky witness of a certain late sports editor, who attended. 2. A certain TV spot produced by the UCC that showed bouncers literally picking who to let in, and to turn away, outside a church, clearly picking the white heteros, and clearly turning away nonwhite non-heteros; I was a bouncer for a shot while; the spot spoke to me. 3. A certain black kitty (Dr. ER told me yesterday she thought Mr. Ice-T did a lot to soften my heart; I think she's right). 4. Hurricane Katrina, and the images that followed, which reminded me that the answer to "the poor we have with us always" is "help the poor, always" -- not, why bother?
Finally, I finally let go, emotionally, of the church I grew up in. That's an obstacle for a lot of people, I've come to find out. I believe that it's as possible to find another church like the one ya grew up in as it is to find another family like the one ya grew up in: Not.
Drlobojo: Dr. ER is supportive of me in this new leg of my spiritual sojourn.
Dan, now *that* sounds like it'd make a cool church camp song. I don't believe it'd ever raise the rafters at Falls Creek.
(Most Okies will get that reference: Falls Creek is Oklahoma's big Southern Baptist church camp; myself, I preferred the much smaller Kiamichi Baptist Assembly, about one-tenth the size, in the Ouachitas closer to my old stomping grounds.)
Kiamichi flashback: I went there as a young'un, and as a teen helper, several times. The best time was one week when, by all accounts, there was a spiritual drought in our camp. I mean, it seemed like God simply was not present. We all were just going through the motions. Made for a hard week. We were humbled. And totally rattled. And a little scared. There was real repentence and actual revival at the very end. God's ways are mysterious, indeed.
The main lesson I took away from it: It's OK to be humbled. And totally rattled. And a little scared. Going through the motions can be just so much "busy work."
I've been traveling so much the past two years, I haven't been able to really be a part of a church, just a visitor stopping by. Reading your blog made me realize how much I miss being part of something bigger than just me. I wish you all the best on this journey with your new church.
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