Cheap beers that I used to drink that start with the letter "B"

That's no Jehovah's Witness, that's a Catholic!

Catholics Take Up Protestant-Style Evangelism



On a recent rainy Saturday, about 125 Catholics packed a basement conference room, many of them older, most of them lay people. Many were representing their parishes.

They gathered here to learn how to spread the faith, a concept that is both fundamental to Christianity and nearly foreign to modern Roman Catholics.
For the first hour of the conference, Kenneth Livengood, a parishioner at Holy Trinity Parish in St. Ann, Mo., detailed one way—door-to-door evangelization, a missionary strategy more familiar to Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses.

“We’ve been tricked into thinking faith is a private matter,” Livengood told the audience. “That’s a lie. Faith is meant to be public, and there are many ways to share it.”

He taught them how to form a door-to-door ministry, explained how to divide a boundary map of their parish into geographical sections, suggested useful handouts, gave safety tips, and showed videos that detailed the best way to respond to various reactions from those on the other side of the door.

“Divide up into teams of two,” Livengood said. “One of you can do the talking and the other should be a silent prayer warrior. At the next house, flip your roles.”

Evangelization is central to the Christian mission, but for the average adherent, the physical act of approaching a neighbor, work colleague, or family member can be daunting.

A pamphlet produced by the Archdiocese of St. Louis called “Witnessing Christ Door-to-Door” offered a list of suggestions “since this may be a novel, perhaps, intimidating path.”

The suggestions include:
- “Ask each person you meet if they are in need of prayer.”
- “Early Saturday mornings may not make for the most receptive ears.”
- “Trying to provide too many facts about the Church may cause misunderstandings.”
- “Doing a little role-playing before going out for visits may be helpful.”
- “Sometimes a person answering the door thinks getting back to regular Mass attendance would make their grandmothers very happy, which might present a welcoming start for conversation.”

Going door to door “is not really a Catholic practice that we’ve done often in the past,” said the Rev. Stephen Bevans, professor of mission and culture at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. “There have been so many of us we haven’t had to do it.”

Some newer denominations are more accustomed to evangelization. The Rev. Cecil Robeck, an Assemblies of God minister, sees a contrast.

“In some older churches, people are not used to talking about faith in personal terms,” said Robeck, a professor of church history at Fuller Theological Seminary.

“Over the last 25 years, the Catholic Church has said, ‘Our strong social agenda is all well and good, but we need to be vocal about our faith as well,’” said Robeck.

Read the rest here. 

Evangelicalism does not exist

For example, one scholar (Hart 2004, 16-17) has gone so far as to contend that any attempt to study evangelical Christians is simply doomed to failure in that the religious category “evangelicals” is basically a figment of one’s imagination—being “a constructed ideal without any real substance” that “needs to be relinquished as a religious identity because it does not exist.”


"Alternative Approaches to Defining Evangelicals", Corwin Smidt.

Alleluia, God Has Suffered

Here is a hymn I wrote some time ago.

Alleluia, God Has Suffered

8787

Alleluia, God has suffered, Alleluia, on a tree
God in flesh by God forsaken, suffering sinners to set free.

Alleluia, hands extended; Alleluia, he did bleed.
Mighty One in weakness triumphs, Satan's master, woman's seed.

Alleluia, God has rested; Alleluia, in the grave.
On the Sabbath he lay silent so his saints their hymns might raise.

Alleluia, He has risen! Alleluia, evermore!
For the fallen: resurrection! Adam's children are restored!

Alleluia, God is with us. Alleluia praises tell.
Let us now with joy approach him, Gracious Lord, Immanuel.

Alleluia, God victorious; Alleluia, he who died.
Mary's Son the hosts adoring, reigning at the Father's side.

 

St. Augustine, liturgical innovator, is defeated by one year lectionary guys in his church

Ha, ha, just joking with the title to this post. But this is an interesting little snippet from Augustine.

However, because the account of the Passion is read on only one day, the custom is to read it from Matthew only. Once I wished that the account of the Passion might be read, year by year, from each
of the Evangelists in turn. This was done, but people were disturbed because they did not hear what they had become accustomed to hear. He who loves the Scriptures of God, and who does not wish to be ignorant forever, keeps in touch with new findings and diligently examines all things. But each one makes progress in proportion as God has granted to each his measure of faith.

Sermon 232, Augustine. Sermons on the Liturgical Seasons. Fathers of the Church, 1959, 210.

Urban decay from the 1970's

If you love pictures of urban decay as much as I do, you will love these photos from 1970's New York Harbor. Here is the link with about 20 or so photos . A few are below.

Holy Week and Easter Sermon Audio

Maundy Thursday Sermon Audio 

Good Friday Sermon Audio

Easter Sunday Sermon Audio

More sermon audio links from Redeemer Lutheran in Catawba are here.