Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Rick Explains and We Still Don't Get It
You know when you read something someone said and then you read the explanation of why they said what they said and the two just don't add up? That's the feeling we got when we read Rick Warren's latest comments on his "private" outreach to the Episcopal breakaway in the OC. From Rick's statement, "So, as standard procedure, anytime an evangelical congregation loses its place to meet, we offer them space, out of gratitude, to the churches that helped us before we got our own building. It’s just one of many quiet ways we support the Body of Christ behind the scenes. Without any press, we’ve helped 5 other denominations plant new churches in the Saddleback Valley. We never view other congregations as competition, but as team members in the Great Commission. Helping other congregations is consistent with my calling, and 30 year track record, of serving, encouraging, and championing other pastors." Great, except these guys didn't lose their space. They aren't a new church plant. They are part of a denomination that is trying to find its way thorough some important, sensitive and incredibly complicated questions. This parish chose to break relationship. They chose to leave instead of to live in the tension that we must sometimes endure to grow. They quit giving up faith that reconciliation is possible. And they did that with lots of people cheering them on including any number of voices in the evangelical world. When did we all forget that God and God's love is bigger than even our most divisive issues and when did it become okay to celebrate and encourage breaking relationship? Rick ends by suggesting that since it was a private email exchange, others to whom it was not addressed (code for bloggers who need to get a life?) read an intent into it that was not there. Intended or not, Warren's comments about the Episcopal Church and his actions to support a breakaway congregation both serve to undermine the already fractured relationship. We wonder what purpose does that serve. For a pastor and a leader who speaks so eloquently about love and civility, can't he find a more a loving and pastoral role to play?
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1 comment:
as an Anglican, I find the whole thing happening in the communion horrible and do my best to just get on with things and not become preoccupied.
but reading this a new thought that has been lurking in the back of my mind has emerged - the terrible sense of majority vs. minority views (which the Apostle frames in terms of stronger and weaker).
In the US Episcopalean church, support for church blessing of gay unions and / or priests / bishops has the ascendancy.
This clearly irks those who are in the minority, who turn to the worldwide communion (Lambeth, GAFCON) where they find themselves again part of the majority view (Lambeth = gentle perseverance with US / GAFOC = strident opposition to US).
So big, successful, popular, and inaugural praying Rick wades into the middle of this saga and appears to "take sides" in the debacle which no doubt upsets the delicate balance of power - who are the persecuted minority, who are the oppressing minority.
Rightly or wrongly, the perception outside the US is that it is the US Episcopals who have acted, and continue to act unilaterally, thereby breaking bonds of communion.
See I feel sorry for poor old Jim Packer. I know he is a crusty old conservative, and I learnt most of what I could from his writings before I tuned 30. But he is in his 80's and has faithfully served his God and his church for about 60 years. Along comes a bishop who thinks things need to change quickly, that the worldwide communion is out of step. Because Jim continues to believe and teach what he has believed and taught for 60 years, he's kicked out - literally.
When I'm 80, when I'm old and irrelevant and my time is passed, I hope there are those who gracious enough to say,
"thanks for your contribution, but things are changing, and we don't expect you to change with us, but we still respect you and your faithful contribution over half a century. Go easy, old man, you've earnt your rest"
and not,
"we don't agree with you and so your out. Your 60 years of humble service doesn't matter. You are on the wrong side of this argument. You're out"
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