But What Is the Catholic Church Doing To Reach The Lost?
If you are reading any of the comments of late on this blog, you've seen this point (and variations) tossed up regularly in the comments section.
ty23: "WHAT IS THE CHURCH DOING NOW!? You took the time to answer, kinda in your original response, but your perspective on reaching the lost, as shared by many protestant churches, is so limited, it's scary. The lost aren't just poor, the lost aren't just down on their luck: lost people don't know Christ. To qualify them, which you did EXCLUSIVELY as people in negative circumstances is to use a familiar word: myopic. And kinda arrogant, I think. We have a term at Elevation, we call them the "up and outers", it just demonstrates that anyone can be far from God and need an effective church in which they can discover a meaningful reationship with Him.
PURPLEGIRL: "Spend as much time telling them about the Gospel and see what results you have. Right now we have you and me along with a handful of ladies cheering you on when we should all be ashamed of ourselves. Who have we told about Jesus? Who have we helped see that salvation for eternity is real and a top priority? What have we done to bring people to Christ?"
No I am not ashamed. I am a very big believer in the principle Our Lord gave us in Matthew 6:3 "Now when you give alms, do not let your right hand know what your left is doing." I believe that in almsgiving as well as in all other service we render in the name of Our Lord, we should do so for Our Lord alone and for neither the approval of our brothers and sisters nor to avoid their censure for not "doing enough" or the "right thing." I do not intend to start a list of any other evangelization projects I may or may not be involved in, in order to allow others to decide if this blog is "ok" for me to do on the side.
Beyond that. I did not start this blog to "reach the lost" so I don't really feel the need to defend the point "WHAT IS THE CHURCH DOING NOW?" I started it because I have so many people both in the pretend world of the internet and in my real life asking me questions about the Catholic Church that I was having trouble keeping up with them all. I found myself repeatedly typing the same thing and emailing documents already composed, and while I was happy to do it, I figured that if I could link to post A, B, and C on a blog that it would be easier. Furthermore, I have a number of friends who for some unaccountable reason like the way I explain certain things and they wanted to be able to reference my works when explaining various distinctively Catholic things to their friends. In general (without casting aspersions on anyone who is reading this blog) the people that tend to come to me with questions about the Catholic Church are bookish geeks like I am. They understand that Amazon Prime is not a luxury and they have a category in Quicken just for books (probably broken down by subject)...Yes buying books is a necessity. Libraries make you give the books BACK and get they all testy when you mark up the pages...That's why the things that I write about tend to be theological, historical, dusty-book oriented things. Not because I don't think other things are important (possibly even more important) but it's just not what I write about. If others besides myself and my geeky friends like reading here, I'm flattered and frankly, stunned. This blog serves my purposes even if nobody else reads it. Now you may have also surmised that my mother did not name me "Red Neck Woman" I am neither that bad nor my mother that cruel. My life is complicated at present and I must use a pseudonym. I have no intention of discussing the details of how the pastor or the people of my parish (including myself) reach the people of our community, nor do I intend to discuss in detail what is happening in my diocese because to do so would defeat the purpose of using a pseudonym and is not the purpose of this blog.
That said. Perhaps a discussion of the general principles of "reaching the lost" might be interesting? First, I wonder if the general accusations against the Catholic Church about "not reaching the lost" might be a parallel to "The Miracle Effect"? If you don't think Catholics are Christians or even if only a few Catholics are Christian it's easy to turn to a church with over a billion people (and growing) and say "But what are you doing to reach the unchurched and the lost?" Apparently something or we wouldn't have over a billion people (and growing) as members. (Aren't they CUTE? They think they are reaching people for Christ but since they aren't really Christian, they don't count.) And let me attempt to anticipate a comment to this point, "What's the difference between RNW telling people to join the RCC and between us (Protestants) thinking that Catholics aren't Christian?" The difference is this. I believe that my separated brothers and sisters should reconcile to Rome not because they aren't Christian but because they are deprived of the Fullness of Faith AND because our worldwide Christian witness is damaged by the disunity in the Body of Christ. Jesus said that our unity would be a sign to the world and the reason that they would believe.
My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you love me. John 17:20-23
Visible unity is a matter of "reaching the lost" because Jesus said so. No matter how many people you bring to church. No matter how many people "walk the aisle." No matter what success you are seeing in your church, not matter what kind of growth, we are losing souls because so many Christians have left the Church Jesus founded on Peter the Rock (Matthew 16:18). Jesus said so.
Next. Catholics believe that we can reach the lost by doing what Jesus told us to do in John 13:34-35 "I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." Matthew 25: 34-40 gives us a good starting place: feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit those in prison, give water to the thirsty, and welcome to strangers. Jesus gives us an example of service by washing the feet of the Apostles. The office of Deacon (Acts 6) was established to better organize the early church's service to the community. Blessed Mother Teresa showed us in a concrete way that if you serve people in Jesus' name, if you love them, bind their wounds, hold their hands, and cherish them with the same love that we would show Our Lord, they will come to Him. Although much is made in some circles about her "failure" to concentrate of preaching the gospel with words, she preached it with her actions and thousands and thousands of people have come to the faith because of her example and it wasn't just the poor she brought to faith. Those around her who were not poor and not in need of that sort of charity were brought to the faith because of her example. I think that those would qualify as reaching the "up and outers" and I personally have witnessed how serving the poor, the sick, the needy reaches "up and outers" in my own community. But that isn't the only way that Catholics reach out to those in their churches and out of them. Blessed Mother Teresa opened places that served the lonely in more affluent areas of the world. Many of the young men and women who have consecrated their entire lives to Our Lord, were Hindus or muslims or athiests. Those who actually joined her order are not the only ones that through her example were brought to our Christian faith. So I would say to ty23 that even if you only served the poor, Mother Teresa's example shows us that you can reach not only the poor but those who see that service to the poor. Now when I touched on such things earlier ty23 seemed to interpret my answer as saying that the Catholic Church ONLY reached out to the poor. But that's not true, I mentioned service to the poor and obviously Matthew 16 tends to focus on that sort of service but I also mentioned the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy which are as follows: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, harbour the harbourless, visit the sick, ransom the captive, bury the dead, instruct the ignorant, counsel the doubtful, admonish sinners, bear wrongs patiently, forgive offenses willingly, comfort the afficted, and pray for the living and the dead. The Catholic Church believes and teaches that it is God's Mercy working through us that reaches people and changes their hearts for Jesus. Now it is certainly more likely that you will find more hungry, thirsty, naked people among the poor but sickness, ignorance, sin, and captivity are not just confined to the poor. Neither is sin or the need for forgiveness. The Desert Fathers drew people to Our Lord through their exemplary lives of prayer and holiness. The Dominicans and Jesuits are know for their preaching and teaching. Various people in the Catholic Church may express their spirituality by focusing on one or more particular Corporal or Spiritual Works of mercy but it is God's mercy working through us and not our own efforts or programs that draws people to Our Lord and the Catholic Church in every place and every time has served those around her with compassion and charity.
Now I suppose I will be accused of "kinda" answering or of being too academic or book-oriented. SO....I went to the Charlotte Diocesan website to find out just some of the things that the Catholic Church is doing to serve your community and through that service to "reach the lost." As an aside..."Bravo Bishop Jurgis! It looks to me like you have a very loving flock there in Charlotte! Keep up the good work!"
Mission statement of the Diocese of Charlotte: We, the people of God in the Diocese of Charlotte, fortified in the Father, redeemed in the Son, empowered in the Spirit, are called to grow ever more perfectly into a community of praise, worship, and witness. We seek to become evermore enthusiastically a leaven of service and a sign of peace through love in Piedmont and Western North Carolina.
Diocese of Charlotte: Hispanic Ministry, Catholic Schools, Family Life Program, Catholic Social Services Office, Immigration Services, Justice and Peace Education, Parish Social Ministry, Public Policy, Catholic Relief Services, Marriage Preparation (every couple married in a Catholic Church undergoes a six month preparation in which they are assigned a mentor couple to help them prepare for marriage), Pregnancy Support, Adoption, Youth Services to name a few that are listed on the Diocesan website. Now I am certain that if I were to research a little further I would find that the there are Catholic chaplains assigned to the area prisons, hospitals, nursing homes to assist the grieving, the sick, the lonely, etc. and that the ministries actually listed on the website form but the tip of the iceburg with respect to all of the ways the Catholic Church is reaching and touching people with the Love of Jesus both in Charlotte, NC and surrounding areas.
Each contact, at every level whether poor or rich, or sick or healthy, is an opportunity to be Jesus for another person. It is Jesus in us that reaches out to those in need because in the words of Blessed Mother Teresa "What we say does not matter, only what God says to souls through us."
Edited to add: In the event that you followed a direct link to this post, you may be interested in this post as well
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"You took the time to answer, kinda in your original response, but your perspective on reaching the lost, as shared by many protestant churches, is so limited, it's scary. The lost aren't just poor, the lost aren't just down on their luck: lost people don't know Christ"
I guess what he is referring to is what is commonly called the "Social Gospel" in Catholic circles. I think I can see where he is going with this as to Protestant Churches. Some Churches in the Protestant world seem to miss the big picture. They become service to the poor but forget that Christ is and should be the center of that. In eefect the Church become the Country Club or a almost secular orgainization that fights the injustice of the World but it is not based in the truth of Christ.
Now that all Protestant Churches do that of course. I suppose historically the Methodist are the best at that as to people I have come in contact with. Not saying they do not have problems in some areas of the country, but I do find myself very understanding what Wesley was trying to get as his thought is very Catholic in many ways.
Now this is not to say that elements in the Catholic Church have not done the same thing.Needless to say there are people that call themselves Catholic that are guilty of the same thing. This of course reached its zenith in the Liberation Theology movement that the Church fought for decades especially in Latin America. I do think though the Catholic Churches approach to this is quite Biblical. I myself am guilty of not paying enough attention to this. At some point these verses cannot be ignored:
""When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. 34 Then the King will say to those at his right hand, `Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' 37 Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? 38 And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee? 39 And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?' 40 And the King will answer them, `Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.' 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, `Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' 44 Then they also will answer, `Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to thee?' 45 Then he will answer them, `Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.' 46 And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
This should give us all pause. It appears the Goats are surprised. Now what does this mean in the real World. Are going te hell if you don't volunteer for Prison ministry or go work at the local homeless shelter? Well of course not. But I think there is a truth here. A truth that gets uncomfortable for all of us. How can we reconcile beloved family members or friends that beleive in the Lord Jesus, have a relationship to him they say, have born again experiences but yet are some of the most horrible racist in the world? This will be touchy but I think it is apt even though it is political but it is sort of addressed to the members of the Elevation Church as well to all of us. I noticed that this Church is located in North Carolina. Well to say the least I think one would have to be blind not to see what is happening there as to demographics. In the Southern Baptist Church there appears to be leveling off of new Baptisms. The growth much like the Catholic Church is coming through immigration. Yes those immigrant(whether legal or not) are many times former Catholics and that grieves me. But facts are facts. Are the people of Elevation Church listening to the people in their midst. Maybe they are. If you are then yall are the exception in the Evanglical World.(note that Pastor Land of the SBC was very couregeous on this issue-)
Look at these quotes
"Hispanic evangelical leaders said yesterday that they have received support from Roman Catholic, Jewish and Muslim groups, but have been bitterly disappointed by the response of most of their fellow evangelicals, both white and black....Many larger groups, such as James C. Dobson's Colorado-based Focus on the Family, have not taken a stand on the issue. Rodriguez, of the Hispanic Christian conference, said his group wants to know why."
"This is the watershed movement -- it's the moment where either we really forge relationships with the white evangelical church that will last for decades, or there is a possibility of a definitive schism here," said the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, which serves 10,700 Hispanic evangelical churches with 15 million members.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/04/AR2006040401606.html
"Rodriguez would far prefer to have evangelical politicians, rather than Kennedy, line up behind him for photo-ops. It pains him to seem to threaten retaliation. But he's only offering a dose of reality. Immigration is a family issue for Hispanics. That illegal immigrant is, for them, beloved Uncle Carlos, a hard-working family man and deacon at the church. It's hard to build alliances with people who want to put Uncle Carlos in jail."
Rodriguez emphasizes that he's not defending violations of the law. He is all for border control and immigration enforcement. He feels, however, that the argument has become anti-immigrant and anti-Hispanic. "I'm very disappointed. We need dialogue on why white evangelicals are so threatened by people who are so fundamentally in accord with their values."
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/september/31.82.html
Now Why do I bring this touchy subject up. By the way I have no idea what the racial makeup of Elevation Church is and that is not the point. The point is where does this fit into the Elevation Church view of the Gospel. Is it a part of it or is as the Pastor said that 2 percent of stuff we can disagree on and we are not going there. I am not advocating what the solution is to immigration. In my mind both extremes are wrong in this. But here is a real life thing happening in the town where that Church is at. Will Jesus say to us 'I was a 3 year old Mexican and you deported me" I somehow feel the over used and misunderstood line from scripture "Render upon Caesar what is Caesars" is not going to go cut it. Again not saying that a certain piece of legislation is mandated by Christ. But I have to wonder ,especially when looking at the Biblical Commands on taking care of the Alien among us, that we very well might be bringing condemation upon ourselves if we don't consult Christ in these affairs. Again I know touchy political subject. But the Cross is not for wimps either. Is this the Gospel too? Is this part of bringing us to Christ?
But that being said, the Catholic Church is involved in spreading the news in a thousand different ways. Is it uniform? No. Could certain Chruches and Dioceses be doing a much better job? Lord yes. When I meet someone that left the Church because "the Catholic Church was not spreading the gospel in my view" my first question is then why didn't you do something about it. Perhaps you were being called to do that in the Church itself. Perhaps you had a calling to engage in Apologetic work. Often the response is "well I found the Catholic message to be false". Well I find this a tad hard to believe. I think often a believer has what many call a"born again experience" and often don't process that in well grounded theology or the Word. Often they go and become part of a group that had the same experience. Here is a radical thought. Not all of these emotional experiences when people are touched by the spirit are the same. THe Spirit acts in ways and times of its own choosing. How many times have I have seen Chrsitians think their faith is hollow because perhaps as someone told me on a LSU message Board this morning:
"Christianity becomes certainty with the supernatural intervention of Christ. One may fear, doubt, believe, hope the Resurrection is real...But when you encounter the Risen Christ, you KNOW it! The experience is unmistakable...so much so that many have no fear of death...even to the point of martyrdom."
Well what he says is true in many ways. But I found as I progress in conversations like this that the qualifer of "many" starts to get dropped and that to have this dramactic expereince is the only way to know your in God's grace. I think that is dangerous and pretty unbiblical. I think many of us falsely make our own personal experience with the Lord a certain standard that all must follow or else they are not doing it right. .
I remember a few years back I made a stupid mistake .Drank a few many too beers drove and got a DWI. Well I had to attend as every one else did a series of AA meetings. I think every Pastor and any person looking to minister should find a way to get into these meetings. I think it would blow some minds. (Note I think AA is a good program and not bashing it). However, often these meetings I hate to say became Lets bash religion. Again it wasnt't uniform but it was there. Who were the people leading this movement? Well since I wasn't in big Catholic region the Catholcis were few. But boy did the people that had been "born again" and made the altar calls feel betrayed. They felt the whole thing was a shame. They would say I would do all that and I had all these experinces but look what happen. I tell you some very good Christian Evanglicals seemed to become for all practical purposes Agnostics. Why was this? Is it because they have confused intimate and powerful moments when The Spirit interacts with us as the standard for Christian living and the Gospel. Where in the the Church is a place for the Psalmist
" Psalms
Chapter 13
For the leader. A psalm of David.
How long, LORD? Will you utterly forget me?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I carry sorrow in my soul,
grief in my heart day after day? How long will
my enemy triumph over me?
Look upon me, answer me, LORD, my God!
Give light to my eyes lest I sleep in death,
Lest my enemy say, "I have prevailed,"
lest my foes rejoice at my downfall.
I trust in your faithfulness. Grant my heart joy
in your help, That I may sing of the LORD,
"How good our God has been to me!"
or Psalm 88
Your blazing anger has swept over me
Your terrors have destroyed me
They surround me all day long like a flood
They encompass me on every side
My friend and my neighbor you have put away from me
And darkness is my only companion
Now before any comment pops up and say "Well they didn't have Jesus back then" please let me note that God was with these people in a special way. THe Early Christians still sang and chanted these Pslams for a reason. There is a reason why outside the Mass the Pslams are the true prayer of the Church recited everyday.
Also no one has explained to me how having this encounter with the Spirit means that Sacraments, Church Authority, etc etc are not important and even by some leap of logic unbiblical and not from Christ. It does seem a theme though that people jump to all some sort of conclusions.
Let me return to my little LSU board where this discussion started( I might add before I had my first cup of coffee-Big mistake:)-- I am go by the name of Bayourant on this board and I am conversing with BCS statmaster
http://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/MessageTopic.asp?p=4193504&Pg=1
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-Ultimate AUTHORITY for CHRISTIANs?
It is the Bible, Logic or a figure head (Pope)?....Perhaps God Himself is the ultimate Authority for the Christian...and this is the purpose of the Cross, that man could have direct access...rather than Old Testament/indirect means thru writings, legality, ceremony, tradition, and imagination.
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Notice the huge leap. Because the Divine has touched him he has no need of the Church, her Sacraments, her voice and Authority. The great Saints in history that had similar if not more closer experinces with our Lord and the Spirit never thought that!!!!
Now I hit on the three legged stool and then he comes back to me as to defend Logic/reason as a part of our faith. You can see my response. Now this man has had a powerful experience as you can see. I have no doubt that is from GOD. But I fail to see how that invalidates or makes invalid the Church. Especially the Catholic Church.
So if anyone Catholic that is reading this that has a blessed experience with our Lord lets say outside Mass. Remember this. You are called to exercise that in the Catholic Church. God is calling you just like the other Saints that we learn about that had similar grace filled and lifechanging moments.
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YES.....that is IT....that is what bugs me about my Evangelical background!
And, since this comment is in reality a response to RNW's post, I wanted to let you know: as far as spreading the Gospel, etc., I feel like you (and the others that I have "met" through SL and the Grill), have such a TREMENDOUS ministry. Everytime I read one of your (or other's) blogs, I feel like I have had an "intellectual moment with Christ"...something new to discover, read about, pray about, meditate on, and YES, to act upon. Be enouraged in your works...you ARE changing lives through your blogging. Even if you aren't doing anything other than your "cyber-ministry", you are doing much for His Kingdom. My two cents on Catholics spreading the Gospel... (Comment this)
Great post. (Comment this)
I was in a discussion last evening about two basic models of the Church. There is Church as a Community and Church as a Herald. Both have strengths and are important but either one taken to an extreme is dangerous. Too much "social gospel" without the structure of serious Church teaching makes for some kind of fluffy concoction that won't nourish. Too much heralding (teaching) without the leavening of the Works of Mercy makes for a brick to toss at people's heads. In this as in so many other things it must never be either-or it should always be both-and....all the way both things. And while God may raise up a St. Thomas Aquinas, or St. Augustine to help us correct a balance or an error, He also raises up Mother Teresas to remind us that if our giving isn't hurting, we aren't giving enough. Truly we need each other.
And yes, confuse "intimate and powerful moments when The Spirit interacts with us as the standard for Christian living and the Gospel. ....." where does it leave those who are struggling with a Dark Night of the Soul as the Psalmist so eloquently describes? The Lord can accomplish such great things in our lives in those periods of dryness and trial but not if we been confusing our feelings of intimacy with being "saved" in the first place. (Comment this)