An Introduction to an Open Confession.

An Introduction

So this blog is an attempt to discuss my journey in Christianity (Specifically pertaining to my investigation of Eastern Orthodoxy) with the hope that it will create an atmosphere of unity amongst Christians, despite denomination. I know that a lot of people don’t agree with my beliefs and most people will probably find this whole thing quite confusing; however, I really think starting this blog will be the easiest way to express my thoughts and allow others to add their thoughts as well. I know these things can often create lots of heated debates, but I hope that it becomes a place where people can ask questions and express their thoughts on different topics pertaining to the faith. 

A Bowl of Mixed Fruit.

Like a lot of southern boys, I grew up going to church with my family. Something that set my family apart right off the bat was we went to a lot of different types of churches. My parents took my siblings and me to Baptist churches growing up; but on holidays and special occasions I would go to my grandparents church, which was a Pentecostal Holiness church. So early on, I was exposed to both a very conservative, reserved, and intellectually driven flavor of the faith that had a strong assurance of salvation, and a hyper charismatic, spirit filled, emotionally driven flavor of the faith, where the certainty of salvation was not so assured. Around middle school, I developed a faith of my own and I started attending an Assembly of God church; mainly because of the youth group. This flavor of the faith seemed to be a blend of the two flavors I grew up with. During High School, I spent most of my teenage years as a very dedicated Christian in two very diverse environments; a private Christian School, where most of the students came from a wide range of flavors of the faith and the underground punk scene, where my beliefs were far from the social norm. During this season of life my family was attending a Presbyterian Church where Salvation was thought of more like a Spiritual Lottery. But despite my exposure to so many denominations (including Evangelicals, Southern Baptist, Nazarene, and Episcopal) I was taught early on that Catholics and Orthodox Christians were absolutely NOT actual Christians. Based on all the “logic” that accompanied these warnings, it was not hard to convince me of this way of thinking. After high school I moved to Florida where I went to a few different churches, some were enjoyable and others I didn’t care for so much. As an adult I have been a member of house churches, small church plants, Vineyard churches, Anglican, Non-denominational, and Inter-denominational. I eventually explored Catholic and Orthodox churches as well (much more to come on that topic later). So far my life has been greatly exposed to the many different flavors of the faith, and I think that these flavors have, over time, greatly affected my taste buds. 

I really like the idea of comparing the Church to a bowl of fruit. In a bowl of fruit you can find a variety of delicious flavors that all have different health benefits. Not everyone likes all the flavors but everyone can benefit from the many nutrients in that bowl. Now this metaphor isn’t supposed to be flawless and the truth is that the church isn’t flawless either.

Being exposed to so many Denominations has had its pros and cons. Yes I was exposed to a lot of different doctrines and theologies, and I will discuss that later, but what I really want to talk about is the communities that I was exposed to.

Amongst all the different churches I went to, they all had their core communities. These communities had rhythms and personalities that were organic and genuine. And despite their beliefs about spiritual gifts, baptism, communion, or salvation, they all had passion for their members and for the growth of the Church. They all wanted to see people connect and they all wanted to see the Gospel spread in the local community. They all sang songs and prayed and read the Bible. They all had yearly rhythms and celebrations and traditions. (For the sake of this blog I will keep referring to all of these things as “Traditions”.) Some of these Traditions seem so different and yet, other than frequency and style, for some of these churches these traditions are almost indistinguishable. Now, I will say that most of these churches would agree that 90% of what they are practicing is all “right and good”, but most of them would disagree on why they are doing these things. This is where doctrine begins to dictate what makes these Churches so different. But, let me interject something. I understand that the leadership plays a major role in the “what”, the “when”, and the “why”, but it really isn’t that simple. However, as much as there are people who genuinely dig deep into the depths of their faith and the “why” they do what they do, I have found that a lot of people just go with the flow. People, like sheep, like to be led. People tend to settle into a church that fits their personalities and their personal preferences; some people just go because “It’s Tradition”. People want something that feels familiar. Over the years, I have been invited to churches, by countless individuals who believe the pastor, the music, the atmosphere, or the special event at their church would appeal to me. I have even been invited to churches because of special emotional or physical healing opportunities. These people invite me (mostly) because they truly believe that their Church has something for me; something they have found for themselves. People often settle into a church because that church meets a need in their life. That need may be as simple as “I want to go to church because it’s the right thing to do” and for them that is as far as it goes. For others, it may be a much more complicated reason. Over the years, I have grown to appreciate some of the different Traditions these Churches have to offer, and I can’t help to feel like I am missing something when a Church doesn’t practice certain Traditions. This brings me to the Cons.

As someone who analyzes everything, I can’t help but to wonder, “Why do some people believe or practice this part of the faith but not these other parts?”. You may go back to the “Bowl of Fruit” analogy and say, “God put the different nutrients inside the many different fruits so that we would be motivated to try and enjoy the many different flavors.” If that is true, why do we keep separate bowls with only one kind of fruit in its’ designated bowl? Although some churches may believe that they themselves are a healthy mix of fruit, they still tend to leave out certain flavors. Let me be more specific. I have been to plenty of Churches that are very open to the Holy Spirit. These Churches have seen the Power of God work miracles in their community. Some of these Churches experience God’s healing the physically broken and some of them experience freedom from the demonic. Some of these Churches embrace the many gifts such as prophecy and speaking in tongues. Other Churches I have gone to don’t want anything to do with these types of things. They tend to act as if the Holy Spirit will convict you of your sin and point you toward Jesus; outside of those two things, He just doesn’t make much of an appearance. Or, if He does we just don’t make a big deal about it; “we don’t want to look like fanatics or scare anyone off”. I have been to other Churches that are very big on Theology and Intellectual Reason. They emphasize understanding and practical application of the Bible, but not spiritual gifts. These Churches tend to be more Humanistic in their approach to the Faith. And then, some Churches love the history and early traditions of the church and don’t care to move forward. Whether those traditions are from the 4^th Century or the 16^th Century has more to do with the denomination than anything else. And some Churches don’t have any ties historically to the earlier Traditions, at all; they are completely Modern in every way. Again, lots of Fruit, lots of flavors, lots of bowls.

But this doesn’t answer my question. Obviously this has just been my observation. Why do some people single out a particular trait of the Faith and build their Community around it? Why leave out so many other good traits? We are all reading the same Bible, aren’t we?

Before I try to answer any of those questions or pretend to anyway; I want to talk about a few other observations. Some similarities that aren’t so nice.

One thing that I can say from my observations is that every Church I’ve attended, on some level, has people who truly love God and serve His Kingdom. These people are intelligent and loving and full of the Holy Spirit. These people are truly co-heirs with Christ. That being said, every Church has a few tools in the shed that just aren’t that sharp. And these people don’t know all the answers, they can’t recite scripture, they can’t tell you why they do what they do or what their Traditions are all about. They may not even be able to explain the way to salvation. This does NOT mean that they are not believers. This also does NOT mean that their Church or Community is “Invalid”. I am saying all of this because I have heard many people discount a local ministry because they “know somebody there that is _______” and “there’s no way those people are Christians”. I am convinced I could walk into any Church and find someone there who doesn’t “make the cut”. That being said it has been a major struggle for me to be humble and consider others better than myself. I have left many Churches feeling superior because “I know better” or “those guys are so far off”. I believe that “Everyone thinks they are right”. I have never met someone who openly admits they are wrong and their ideas are not correct. If you do, it is because you think you have found the “right” answer and now you can be “right” again. For those of you who are stuck in your knowingly “wrong” ways, you are still somehow “right” because you at least “know the truth”. Now I am not saying that everyone is “right” and that there is no “wrong”. But if we all think we are “right” then we must think that everyone else is also “wrong”; unless we agree. So, what do we truly believe about all these different fruits and all of these different bowls? Are we just picking and choosing? Is that okay? Are we condemning the bowls that contain the fruit we don’t like the taste of? Is this what God intended for us? Or does he want us to embrace one bowl with all the different fruits in it?

Okay, I know what you’re thinking: “Some of the fruit is rotten. And for some reason it looks like someone threw a bunch of “Nuts” in the bowl. Look, this bowl is contaminated and eventually the whole bowl will be a waste”.  Well, isn’t that why we had a reformation? Good point. However, has the reformation ever stopped? Have we really gotten all the bad fruit out? How do we know we aren’t the bad fruit or the nuts? How do we decide what is “right” and “wrong”? These are the questions that I am having a hard time with.

It would seem easy to see that some things God blesses and others He doesn’t. That would seem logical but I have two problems with this idea. 1) God bless many ministries that are very different types of fruit. So by default I would have to embrace both. 2) Good ministries often get attacked by the enemy and God lets it happen. That is why we are encouraged to persevere. So, if a ministry looks like it is failing, that doesn’t make it default to “God must not approve”.

So what if I refined this statement by saying “Test the tree by it’s Fruit”. Well then, I would have to reiterate: “Why are we rejecting the Good Fruit that is out there?” Let me ask this one more way. “How can we balance out the lack of a balanced meal?”

I don’t suppose that I have all the answers, but I am looking. So this blog is just a way for me to get those ideas out there and share them with my community. Feel free to ask questions, or offer your ideas, about these posts.