A Rhythm To Walk In...

Dear Friends,

A question being asked these days as we seek to know others better is no longer, “What religion are you?” or “What do you believe?” The question is “What are your spiritual and religious practices?” A few years ago, a woman in her late seventies approached me outside the gate at my house to ask if the foals (baby horses) in my corral would be for sale. I didn’t recognize her but when she introduced herself to me, I remembered she had been one of the most beautiful and popular young television actresses in the 70's. We had a nice talk about horses and living here in Sylmar and when she mentioned spiritual things, I told her I was a pastor and asked what religion she was. She immediately replied, “Catholic.” That apparently was the approved answer when you’re talking to a pastor. 

I asked her where she went to church and it turned out that she had not been to Mass since she was a young teenager. She said that today she actually considers herself to be more of a Buddhist. But when I asked her about her spiritual practices, it turned out she was Wiccan. 

Baptized as a Catholic, she wasn’t a Christian (follower of Jesus). She liked the Buddhist philosophy but was not a practitioner of Buddhism. The Wiccan “spiritual” rituals and prayers she had adopted and practiced told me who she followed and what she believed. It’s not what we “say” but what we “do” that reveals the truth about who we are.

Many label ourselves, as the actress did, by the religious identity that we think would meet the approval of others, but the terms “Christian,” “Jew” or “Muslim” may be meaningless. If you were baptized Catholic, you are considered to be one for life even if you never attended a Catholic Church since childhood. If you were born to a Jewish woman, you are a Jew for life no matter what your religious beliefs are today. If your father was Muslim you are Muslim and in some countries may even be killed if you profess another faith. But religious identity labels tell nothing about what we actually believe and what is far more revealing is the involvement level we have with our faith. 

For example, Christians with a “high level involvement” are those who attend church regularly, read their Bible and have regular personal prayer times. They sincerely and faithfully worship God. They continually self-evaluate, confess their sins and make an honest attempt to follow Jesus and become more like Him. 

There are 51 million Catholics in America but only 13% (6.6 million) have “high level involvement.” One third of all Catholics never go to church and 63% attend only a few times a year. There are 13 million Evangelical Protestants and 43% (5.5 million) have high level involvement. There are 7 million Mainline Protestants (ELCA Lutherans, Methodists, Episcopalians) and only 19% (1.4 million) have high level involvement. 

A very large majority of those who identify as Christians are “in name only” and have little or no involvement with Christianity. That’s why a person’s self-proclaimed Christian identity tells us nothing about their spirituality or engagement with their faith.

We are saved by grace alone through faith alone but then our Christian growth is up to us. Paul tells us: “Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from Him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God – truly righteous and holy.” Ephesians 4:21-24 NLT 

The New Testament described process of “sanctification” is to become less like us and more like Jesus. To be a “disciple” of Jesus means that we willingly put ourselves under a “spiritual discipline” that becomes the foundation of a rhythm of ritual that sustains and builds our faith. I recently read a quote by a poet, who said, “The task in life is not so much finding a path in the woods as it is finding a rhythm to walk in.” In music, “rhythm” is a strong, regular, repeated pattern of sound and in our spiritual practices, we need the rhythm of a regular and repeated pattern of ritual.

Your morning ritual may be brewing the coffee and sitting down with your Bible. In the evening it may be lighting a candle and praying printed or extemporaneous prayers. It may be reading a devotional. Your ritual may be filling your home with the sounds of Christian praise and worship CD’s as you sing along while cleaning your house. Perhaps the rhythm of your day continues as you engage in a time of sustained prayer during your afternoon walk or as you sit quietly in the backyard. Your ritual may be praying those short ten second “breath prayers” as you go about your day. 

These I mention are only some of the various pathways to a greater level of participation in the Kingdom of God, and what makes these practices edifying and building up are when you’ve established the rhythm of the rituals and they’ve become a regular and repeated part of your day-to-day lifestyle.

One day we’ll be standing before Jesus. The Son of God is not interested in what church we’ve gone to, our Sunday attendance record, or the length of our personal prayer times. Jesus is interested only in the condition of our heart but it is those faithful spiritual practices that change our heart. Will our Lord look at the Spirit-filled man or woman you’ve come to be, smile and say, “Well done, good and faithful servant”?

He Calls You His Friend..

Dear Friends,

We read in last week’s AMEN Corner about having a “personal relationship with Jesus” and, depending on your church tradition, you may have found yourself confused or doubtful about a “personal relationship” and perhaps even distressed or offended by my narrative of what took place at that Lutheran memorial service. (Why I was the one who had to do a memorial service for a Lutheran in a Lutheran congregation is a long sad story.) If you attend a mainline Presbyterian, Methodist, Episcopal or Lutheran church, having a close, personal relationship with the Lord is not the orthodox doctrine (teaching) of your denomination and you might have heard this denigrated as heretical doctrine.

Many years ago after recounting the memorial service experience to an ELCA (Lutheran) pastor, who at the time was a close friend, he told me that Lutherans do not have a personal relationship with Jesus and their relationship with Him can only take place through their church. He explained that we can only become a Christian by baptism into the church and it’s through the liturgical church services that we are then relationally connected with God. A Lutheran theologian addresses this personal relationship “heresy” and explains mainline Christian doctrine: “(God’s) people are washed together into a body by baptism and we are shaped by Him into a community of believers. Here’s the thing: Christianity is not about a personal relationship with Jesus. The phrase is never found in the Bible. Christianity is about a church relationship with Jesus.”

In the past few decades we’ve seen mainline churches wither and die while Evangelical churches have experienced healthy growth. While there are many reasons for the diminishment of mainline churches, most of those who left have joined an Evangelical church in their search to find a vibrant relationship with God through Jesus Christ. In the Evangelical tradition, the emphasis is not on liturgical rituals but on a personal relationship with our God who transforms us into becoming more like Jesus and less like us. This concept of a personal relationship with our Lord is even expressed in Evangelical contemporary praise songs as we sing to God and declare our worship of Him. (Church hymns were written to teach us about God). An Evangelical theologian writes: “I believe the phrase ‘personal relationship with Jesus’ correctly expresses the biblical idea of an ongoing life of discipleship that includes the gradual transformation into the image of Christ.”

Like the Evangelical church, the Catholic church teaches that our faith is more than just attending church. From a Catholic theologian at the St. Paul Center of Biblical Theology: “Those of us who have heard and accepted our Lord’s summons to follow Him are invited to an intimate, personal relationship with Him. Unfortunately, some Catholics may be put off by this “personal relationship” terminology. Yet, Christianity is not a mere moral code, ethnic club, or cultural phenomenon; rather, at its very core is the acceptance of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as our personal Lord and Savior. At the heart of the Gospel is the clarion call to follow Jesus, to become His disciples.” 

My Lutheran pastor friend also told me that the phrase  “personal relationship with Jesus” is not mentioned in the Bible and my response to him was that the word “Trinity” or the accepted historical doctrine of the Trinity is not specifically stated in the Bible either. But the doctrinal concept of the Trinity is embedded throughout the New Testament as is the concept of having a personal relationship with our Lord. In fact our entire Bible shows our Creator as One who desires to abide (dwell) within and with us. Our Heavenly Father desires a close, loving relationship with us in spite of our messy sinful lives, and a significant aspect of our salvation is having that personal relationship restored through Jesus Christ on the cross.

Would you describe your relationship with the Lord as “personal” or “distant”? Let’s see which one Jesus would choose to have with you. He said, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” John 14:23 “..he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest (show) Myself to him.” John 14:21 “..you received God's Spirit when He adopted you as His own children. Now we call Him, "Abba, Father.” Romans 8:15 NLT “So now Jesus and the ones He makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them His brothers and sisters.” Hebrews 2:11 NLT 

Can you really have a personal relationship with Jesus? That’s the only kind of relationship with our Lord that’s described in our Bible. Don’t get me wrong. I love the church. But the church was created by Jesus to teach and encourage our personal relationship with Him and, several centuries later, the Church and clericalism imposed itself between us and our Lord. Look up Psalm 23 and reread this beautiful Psalm that describes, not a relationship through a church, but a close personal relationship with the Good Shepherd who is ever tending to those for whom He deeply cares and loves. That’s why Jesus calls His followers (both then and now) His “friends.” John 15:15

If you believe the words of Jesus and would like to experience an intimate relationship with Him, then just open up your heart and tell Him that you desire a close personal relationship with Him. You don’t even have to join an Evangelical church! When you fully give yourself to Him, He will reach out and enfold you in His arms right where you’re at!

Your DIY Faith!

YOUR DIY FAITH ~ Part 1: Biblical Pathways to Sustain Your Faith During the Pandemic.

A poll last week showed that the faith of Americans has been made stronger during the pandemic than those in all other countries. Among Evangelical Protestants, 43% have said their faith has been strengthened and 35% of Catholics and 21% of mainline Protestants reported that their faith had also been strengthened. What’s remarkable is that for many, their faith has grown while their church attendance has plummeted. When in-person services closed, 26% of churchgoers were viewing online services but fewer are still doing so today. In November, 74% of those who were once committed churchgoers had not participated in a live or an online service since the start of the pandemic and one-third of all churchgoers admitted that their Sunday habits had permanently changed and they do not intend to return when their church is reopened. Here’s the conundrum. During the past year, when fewer and fewer were engaging with their church, why is it that Evangelicals and Catholics were growing or maintaining their faith while so many mainline Protestants (Lutheran, Methodist, Episcopalian) were and are still struggling with a diminished or disappearing faith?

In a nutshell, with the absence of church services, our faith has become a “do-it-yourself” (DIY) religion for those who have had a high level of involvement with their faith. For those whose only, or primary, faith practice was attending a church service, once the church doors were closed by Covid, both their church and faith simultaneously faded away. To fully understand, we need to take a gentle look at the differences among Evangelical Protestants (43% stronger faith during the pandemic), Catholics (35%) and mainline Protestants (21%). In Evangelical Protestantism, the emphasis is on a personal relationship with Jesus, prayer, Bible study, evangelism and the church is seen as the equipper of the saints. Most of what happens in the spiritual life (worship, prayer, Bible study) of an Evangelical takes place outside the church. In contrast, nearly all that happens with the faith of non-Evangelicals takes place only within the church walls. For example, 63% of Evangelicals read their Bible regularly while only 16% of mainline Protestants do. And that’s why we saw that when Covid closed church doors, Evangelicals simply transitioned into a DIY mode and continued to grow in their faith.

In Catholicism, it’s not the Bible reading but the repeated prayer rituals that foster a connection between Believer and God and results in spiritual growth. There are different prayer pathways to God and whether the Catholic ritual of the rosary or this pastor’s morning ritual of freshly ground coffee in a Goofy mug and his Bible, as we said last week, in our spiritual practices we need the rhythm of a regular and repeated pattern of ritual. What has also helped both Catholics and Evangelicals is that the depth of their faith is less dependent upon church attendance because they believe there is a strong personal relationship between Creator and His created. Some mainline Protestants disagree. A mainline (Lutheran) pastor I know has strongly emphasized to me that his denomination’s doctrine is that we do not have a personal relationship with Jesus – our relationship with Him is through His church – but a doctrine that places church between us and God is not in our Bible. 

Instead we have Jesus saying, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” John 14:23 Jesus also said, “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you..I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” John 15:14-15 Jesus tells us that when we love Him and follow Him, He considers us to be His friend! I love the church and dearly miss it, but I don’t need it to spiritually thrive because Jesus invites us into a personal relationship with Him.

According to the health officials, we’re still six to nine months away from “church” as we know it and therefore, if you have not already done so, you may want to consider a renewed focus on a healthy, growing DIY Christian faith. 

While I’m an ordained “Protestant” pastor, my faith is a Christian blend of Evangelical, Charismatic, Liturgical and Orthodox – a combination that is not formally recognized by any denomination but is what the early church looked like hundreds of years before it became what we would today call “Roman Catholic” and over a thousand years before the Protestant Reformation. I’m the Bible-thumpin’ Evangelical who burns church incense in his home chapel, loves the liturgy, prays the Anglican Monastic Daily Office, prays a two thousand year old Orthodox prayer during the day, sings Charismatic praise and worship songs and uses the Catholic “Prayer of Examen.” Over the next few weeks we’ll look at some of the historic and biblically sound prayer practices from different Christian traditions that you may want to try during your prayer times. If they are helpful, you may want to continue to use these spiritual practices as you DIY, grow in your personal relationship with Jesus and spiritually flourish during this pandemic.      to be continued...

Evangelicals - An Inconvenient Truth

Dear Friends,

It has become an “accepted” narrative among the mainstream media in our Country that Evangelical Christians are the enemy of our Nation. We see that in interviews, commentaries and discussions across the TV news networks and the internet “news.” A recent article in the left-leaning Atlantic acknowledged that Evangelical Christians “have been mocked, scorned, and dishonored by the elite culture over the years.” An editorial in the L.A. Times characterized all Evangelicals as “racist.” MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough lamented the “degradation of evangelical Christianity” because about  seven-in-ten white evangelical Protestants (69%) say they approve of the way Trump is handling his job as president. That same poll* showed that 52% of the most liberal church in America (ELCA) also approves of Trump, but that unmentionable fact gets set aside because it does not fit the accepted narrative. According to the media, the good guys belong to the National Council of Churches which is an organization of the mainline and left-leaning Protestant churches and the bad guys belong to the National Association of Evangelicals which are the conservative and right-leaning Protestant churches. Evangelical Christians are characterized as being intolerant, supporting white supremacy, hate gays and lesbians, are “warmongers” and hate immigrants. By the way we are portrayed in the media, it is no wonder that so many in our younger generations are now anti-Christian. So let’s now shed some light on an inconvenient truth. The following is the statement on “Social Justice” from the conservative National Association of Evangelicals:

Jesus summed up God’s law by commanding us to love God with all that we are and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Matthew 22:35-40 By deed and parable, Jesus taught that anyone in need is our neighbor. Luke 10:29-37 God created all people in his image. The inherent dignity that rich and poor alike possess leads us to share our resources with one another - particularly with those in need. God identifies with the poor and says that those who “are kind to the poor lend to the Lord” while those who oppress the poor “show contempt for their Maker.” Psalm 146:5-9; Proverbs 19:17; Proverbs 14:31 Jesus said that those who do not care for the needy and the imprisoned demonstrate by such lack of action that they are not his followers. Matthew 25:31-46 The vulnerable include not only the poor, but those with less power, such as women, children, the aged, persons with disabilities, immigrants, refugees, minorities, the persecuted, prisoners and victims of human trafficking. Moreover, God measures societies by how they treat the vulnerable and powerless. His prophets call his people to create just and righteous societies. Isaiah 10:1-4; Isaiah 58:3-12; Jeremiah 5:26-29; Jeremiah 22:13-19; Amos 2:6-7; Amos 4:1-3; Amos 5:10-15 The prophetic teaching insists on both a fair legal system, which does not favor either the rich or the poor, and a fair economic system, which does not tolerate perpetual poverty. It also forbids usury and predatory lending that harms the poor. Exodus 22:25; Deuteronomy 15:7-11; Ezekiel 18:7-9 Economic justice includes the mitigation of suffering, the promotion of equality of opportunity and the restoration of wholeness. The Bible condemns gross disparities in opportunity and outcome that cause suffering and perpetuate poverty. God wants people to have access to productive resources, so they can care for their economic needs and contribute to their community. For example, children need a high-quality education in order to fully develop their God-given talents. Access to proper nutrition, shelter and health care are also important ingredients in helping people transcend poverty. Our social safety net must aim to provide opportunity and restore people to self-sufficiency. Adequate funding for food, shelter and health care should be maintained so that those who cannot care for their families and themselves receive the support they need. We urge Christians who work in the political realm to shape wise laws pertaining to the creation of wealth, wages, education, taxation, immigration, consumer protection and health care that will protect those trapped in poverty and empower them to improve their circumstances. Since family systems are also important for nurturing healthy individuals and overcoming poverty, public policy should support families and marriages. Governments should hold parents responsible for the maintenance of their families, enforcing the collection of child-support payments, and should protect family members from physical and sexual abuse. Immigration policies should prioritize family unity and avoid separating families by deportation or detention. Criminal justice reform should consider how over- incarceration breaks up families. We further believe that care for the vulnerable should extend beyond our national borders. American diplomacy and trade policies impact the poor. We urge our leaders to negotiate trade agreements that broadly benefit those of modest means while protecting human rights and the environment. We also believe effective aid and other initiatives for the reduction of global poverty should be a central concern of American foreign policy. We support strategies that encourage honesty in government, correct unfair socioeconomic structures, empower the poor, promote local entrepreneurship and grassroots economic development, protect refugees, and welcome immigrants. Government should continue to partner with effective international aid agencies, including those that are faith based. In many parts of the world, extreme poverty, disease, famine, environmental degradation, persecution, civil war, and weak or corrupt government create the conditions in which large populations become vulnerable. We support Christian agencies and government policies that promote healthy communities and just, democratic structures. 

Evangelical Christians are often attacked by both those in mainline liberal churches and those in the media for a lack of commitment to the economically disadvantaged and the vulnerable in our society. But the “inconvenient truth” is that the above social justice statement from our Nation’s conservative churches sounds like it’s from the liberal church! That’s because it’s simply what all Christians should believe. It is because of statements such as this one on social justice that New Hope Family Church and New Hope Ministries have always been a member of the National Association of Evangelicals. 

* Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES), which surveys over 64,000 Americans every two years

ARE YOU AN EVANGELICAL? 

You are if you believe in...

1) The reality of the Trinity. 

2) The deity of Jesus Christ. 

3) The virgin birth. 

4) His sinless life and in His miracles. 

5) The bodily resurrection of Jesus. 

6) The infallibility and authority of the Bible for all matters of faith and religious practice. 

7) The fallenness of all humanity. 

8) Salvation provided by Jesus through His suffering, death and resurrection. 

9) The necessity of personal repentance and acceptance of Jesus. 

10) The importance of a devotional life and growth in holiness and discipleship. 

11) The urgency of evangelism and social transformation. 

12) The return of Jesus Christ to judge the world and establish the final, full rule and reign of God. 

If you can say “YES and AMEN” to these twelve timeless, apostolic, classic and historic Biblical teachings, no matter what church you attend, you are Evangelical.

The One Thing That Unites All Bible-believing Christians

Dear Friends,

Many years ago, we stated our belief in the Apostles’ Creed on our church website and were immediately attacked by a fundamentalist Christian who ranted in an email to us that reciting any creeds meant that we were in league with the anti-christ Pope and would burn in hell. Golly! Who knew that the words, “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit...” could inspire so much hatred from a Christian believer?

It saddens me to read elitist Catholic theology that the Roman Catholic church is the “sole true church.” In 2007, the Pope affirmed that the Orthodox Churches are “defective” and that all “other Christian denominations were not true churches.” The Roman Catholic Church provides the only true way to salvation and those of us non-Catholic Christian believers will go to hell. Of course, the Orthodox Churches throughout the world claim to be the only “one true church,” meaning that Protestants and Catholics are on our way to that hot place when we die. The Lutheran “Augsburg Confession” states that they are the only true catholic faith and the “one true visible church” and the only church that rightly administers Christ’s sacraments. (I’m sorry ELCA Lutherans, but Missouri-Synod Lutherans claim to be the only true Lutheran church!) And, according to a university professor writing about the history of the Southern Baptists: “Only Baptist churches can trace their lineage in uninterrupted fashion back to the New Testament, and only Baptist churches therefore are true churches. Only the true church (a Baptist church) can legitimately celebrate the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper. Any celebration of these ordinances by non-Baptists is invalid.”

Alrighty then.. Can anyone see why so many in our younger generations look at the church and choose atheism? I am constantly astounded when I hear solid God-loving, church-going Christians attack each other. When I changed our non-liturgical service to include the Lord’s Prayer, I heard objections and that we should not say it because it was “too catholic.” I told them that since that was the one prayer that Jesus taught His disciples to say, then we must assume that Jesus is also “too catholic” for us. On the other side of the church aisle, I have liberal Christian friends who sincerely believe that all of us “Evangelicals” have a NRA bumper-sticker on the pickup truck and a mini-confederate flag clipped to the antenna. That was why, in last week’s AMEN Corner, I listed the twelve doctrinal beliefs of Evangelicals. A good friend, in a progressive liberal church denomination, read that and admitted that perhaps he’s also “Evangelical.” When it comes to the fundamentals of our faith, we all agree with each other more often than not.

What divides the body of Christ is too often not our beliefs but what we’ve been taught by our church about the beliefs of others. A church can only justify itself as the “one true” church if it can convince their followers that all others are theological heretics and false–even dangerous–Christians. 

Paul says, “I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.” 1 Cor 1:10 The response to this word of God was for the Orthodox, Catholics and Protestants to disagree, divide and disunite, burn down each other’s churches and then kill one another in the name of Jesus. While the deadly “Holy Wars” of the Reformation ended 370 years ago, that animosity among the different Christian churches still runs deeply today and we attack each other, not with a battleaxe but with our words and the web. 

And yet, in my own conversations, I have found many Catholics and Protestants who are shocked at how much we really do agree upon. A dear Catholic woman was astounded and confused when I told her that we believed in the Nicene Creed just as she did. She heard Catholic teachings about Protestants all of her life and was unable to believe that we “non-Christians” would actually say the “Catholic” creeds. “You don’t really believe those, do you?” she asked. A Lutheran church we rented from assumed we were not Christians since we were not Lutheran. The church leader asked me, “What kind of religion are you?” I told him that we were Evangelical Christians who recited the Apostles’ Creed just like his church did. He cried, “But you’re not Lutheran! That’s a Lutheran creed!”

We have different church traditions and teachings that are not in the Bible and are important to man and then there is teaching and doctrine that's important to God. That’s the message of the Gospel and the foundational principles of our faith that were written in the ancient creeds. The Apostles’ Creed is the complied teachings of the original apostles. And in 381 AD, the church came together to finalize the Nicene Creed with its increased emphasis on the Trinity, the divinity of Jesus and the presence of the Holy Spirit. Only those who hold to the historic, classic, traditional and apostolic beliefs can say the creeds. 

It’s time for Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants to stop the scornful condescending comments and our sinfully superior belief that the only true Christians are those who are baptized in our church. If we believe in the Nicene Creed, which is the ecumenical expression of our shared faith, then we are united into that one holy, catholic and apostolic church. We are all the body of Christ. Let’s act like it.  Amen?

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NICENE CREED

In the Year of Our Lord 381 ~ First Council of Constantinople.

I believe in one God the Father Almighty, 

Maker of heaven and earth, 

And of all things visible and invisible: 

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, 

Begotten of his Father before all worlds, 

God of God, Light of Light, Very God of very God, 

Begotten, not made, 

Being of one substance with the Father, 

By whom all things were made; 

Who for us men, and for our salvation 

came down from heaven, 

And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, 

And was made man, 

And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. 

He suffered and was buried, 

And the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, 

And ascended into heaven, 

And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father. 

And he shall come again with glory to judge

both the quick and the dead: Whose kingdom shall have no end. 

And I believe in the Holy Ghost, The Lord and giver of life, 

Who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, 

Who with the Father and the Son together 

is worshiped and glorified, 

Who spake by the Prophets.

And I believe one catholic and apostolic Church. 

I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins. 

And I look for the Resurrection of the dead, 

And the life of the world to come.   Amen.

(Anglican Book of Common Prayer 1662)

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About the Nicene Creed

By the Rev. John B. Hickman

Why Is This Called The Nicene Creed?

We call it the Nicene Creed because these foundational beliefs of our faith were agreed upon and adopted by the First Council of Nicaea in 325 and it was amended in 381 by the First Council of Constantinople. The formal name of the amended Creed is the “Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed” which is why we call that tongue-twister simply the “Nicene Creed.”

As a Protestant Christian, Should I Be Saying a “Catholic” Creed?

Protestants can forget sometimes that Martin Luther and his band of reformers did not invent the church! Our church was started by Jesus Christ and developed by His apostles. There was not a “Roman Catholic” church but just one universal and apostolic Christian church at the time that the Apostles’ Creed and Nicene Creed were written. The creeds were written in the 4th century to counter some popular movements that were leading people away from the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles. No person had a Bible so people relied on the creeds as their only written statement of faith. In 1054 the church split into two with the western half becoming known as the Roman Catholic Church and the eastern half becoming known as the Eastern Orthodox Church. In another 500 years, a Roman Catholic priest named Martin Luther protested that his church was charging money for indulgences that would shorten one’s stay in purgatory and Luther’s intent was to reform the Church and return to the ancient teachings of the Apostles. The Creed is those ancient teachings. It’s an Orthodox Creed. It’s a Catholic Creed. It’s a Protestant Creed.

Do All The Churches Use The Same Version of the Nicene Creed?

The original Creed, as amended in 381, had the words: “And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father..” In the sixth century, the Roman Catholics added the words, “and the Son.” The original Creed also said that Jesus Christ is “one substance with the Father” and the Roman Catholic church changed that to “consubstantial with the Father” which means the same thing. The Orthodox say the original Creed as written while, over the centuries, both Catholics and Protestants have tweaked the wording to use modern language or to clarify a minor theological point. Appreciating the beauty and flow of the language from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, we use the original 381 version that has the words “and the Son” added. Jesus said that He is the one who sends the Holy Spirit that proceeds from the Father. John 15:26 So both versions are theologically correct.

What Does the Quick and the Dead Mean?

“Quick” is an archaic word from the King James Bible that means “living.”

As a Protestant, How Can I Say:

“I believe one catholic and apostolic Church?”

Remember that the Creed was written 670 years before the western branch of Christianity became what we know today as the “Roman Catholic Church.” The word “Catholic” with a capital “C” refers to the Catholic Church. The same word with a small “c” means universal and that was the meaning of “catholic” as written in the both creeds. The Apostles lived with Jesus, wrote the Gospels and developed the Christian church that we read about in the book of Acts. We proclaim our belief in the universal church that was founded upon those apostolic teachings.

A Good Change

Dear Friends,

Our money is changing. Five women pioneers of the women’s rights movement are being added to the back of the ten dollar bill and three Democrat social activists will be featured on the back of the revised five dollar bill. But the most contentious change is the revised twenty. Good ol’ Andrew Jackson is being sent to the back of the bill and Harriet Tubman will be showcased on the front. And if you are reading and hearing about her in the media, you are getting an edited and politically sanitized version of her life. Let me tell you what you’re not going to read about in the Times newspaper or Newsweek magazine. You won’t hear this on CNN or MSNBC. You will read and hear that she is a social justice icon. You will read about a fierce civil rights activist who lead slaves to freedom. But what you won’t read is that she did so, not because she was a female political activist, but because she was a Christian woman following the will of God.

Harriet was a Union spy during the Civil War and she was a Republican. Did you know that the Republican party was founded primarily to oppose slavery while the Democratic party fought to expand slavery? The 13th Amendment to abolish slavery passed with 100% of the Republicans voting for the Amendment and all except four of the Democrats voting against this Amendment to free the slaves. Not a single Democrat in Congress voted in favor of the 14th Amendment that declared former slaves to be full citizens. No surprise that Harriet was solidly aligned with the Republican party! 

In the 19th Century, the “Underground Railroad” was a loose network of abolitionist whites and free blacks who helped an estimated 100,000 slaves escape to freedom. Driven by their Christian faith and the scripture that says all people are created equal, Galatians 3:28 the “conductors” on the Underground Railroad risked their lives and the lives of their families to deliver slaves to freedom. Their most well-known leader was ex-slave Harriet Tubman who had escaped from her owners in 1849. She said later, “I looked at my hands to see if I was de same person now I was free. Dere was such a glory ober eberything, de sun came like gold through de trees and ober de fields, and I felt like I was in heaven.”

Known as the “Black Moses,” Harriet had received visions from God telling her that she needed to help her people and she lead many hundreds through the Underground Railroad to freedom. She told friends that her strength to protect slaves and set them free came from her faith in God. She said, “I always tole God, I’m gwince to hole stiddy (I’m going to hold steady) on you an’ you’ve got to see me through.” Harriet continued to receive visions from God and she’d hear His voice telling her what route to take the slaves to avoid capture. Harriet Tubman would today be described as an Evangelical Pentecostal Christian and she is the first unabashed Christian to appear on our currency. 

The slaveholders like Andrew Jackson offered $40,000 for the capture of Harriet but God protected her and she was never captured. Because the slave rescue missions were so dangerous, Harriet demanded strict obedience from the fugitives. Harriet was one tough woman. She carried a loaded gun and if a slave decided he wanted to return to the plantation, Harriet would threaten to shoot him if he tried. She knew that if he returned, he would be tortured and would eventually reveal the route of the Underground Railroad and identities of the abolitionists. She was asked once if she would have actually killed a man who wanted to turn back and she replied, “If he was weak enough to give out, he’d be weak enough to betray us all and I wouldn’t let so many die for just one man.”

Andrew Jackson, our seventh President is known as the founder of the Democratic Party. To those who bemoan his smack-down to the back of the bill: Please remember he owned over 300 slaves and is most known for signing the Indian Removal Act that resulted in the genocide of tens of thousands of American Indians. Although the Democratic party looks different today, Jackson’s Democracy left a powerful legacy that continued to subjugate women and minorities while presuming and fostering a white supremacy that’s still apparent in many southern States today. Isn’t it time for the slaveholder to be replaced by the one who followed in Jesus’ footsteps to set the captives free?

To my good conservative friends who are wondering why the white guy is being replaced by a black woman and who are thinking that this is just an example of liberal political-correctness: Please remember that Harriet was an Evangelical Christian, Republican, gun-totein’, renegade who was appointed and anointed by God to set her people free. Praise God for her! The presence of Harriet Tubman on the face of the twenty should remind us all of what we can accomplish for the glory of God, in the face of hardship and adversity, when we just “hole stiddy” on Him.  Amen?

Politically Incorrect Worship

Dear Friends,

Some people complain that the problem with us Evangelicals is that we're just too expressive with our love for Jesus. They ridicule us for always talking about Him. They make fun of us when we tell them that Jesus is the answer to life’s difficulties. They have a problem with those Evangelical believers who are so filled with God that they are in danger of having Him burst out at any moment. Those are the extravagant worshipers.

She and I like jazz music – the smooth jazz sound. We will never forget that jazz concert years ago at the Pasadena City College in celebration of Black History Month. The top smooth jazz recording artists - our favorites - were there. Kurt Whalum, David Beniot, Jonathan Butler among others. The auditorium seats 1,500 on the main floor and it was packed. This was a fundraiser and the crowd was well-dressed, professional, educated, and black. She and I were two of only six white people at the concert. The music was awesome. These guys played all their smooth jazz hits for the first hour. But then.. Something completely unexpected happened. 

This was a secular fund-raising concert, sponsored by a secular jazz radio station being held in an extremely liberal and politically-correct college. This smooth jazz concert should have gone smoothly. It didn't. The problem was that all these top jazz musicians happened to be Christians. And halfway through Jonathan Butler's set, he just started to sing a simple song that Kurt Whalum had written called FALLING IN LOVE WITH JESUS. Suddenly in the middle of that secular jazz concert, the Holy Spirit swept through the auditorium.

The crowd had been sleepily nodding their heads to the smooth jazz sounds, but in an instant, the atmosphere changed as if an electric current had passed though the audience. They spontaneously jumped to their feet with hands shooting in the air. Jonathan Butler gave a brief testimony and did an impromptu Gospel song. This was no longer a jazz concert. It was church. People were praising God and shouting “Amen!” and “Glory!” 

The master of ceremonies (the jazz radio station personality) was off to the side talking to a college official. They were upset, frowning and shaking their heads. The reason for their dismay was apparent. When your secular concert falls apart and God shows up in the auditorium of your politically-correct, worldly, city college, how do you make Him go away?

It was clear that none of this was rehearsed and it was Holy Spirit driven. These guys took a risk and showed their own extravagant love for Jesus to a large audience of their fans; most of whom would not have known that these top jazz musicians are all Christians. Along with the college officials, there were a few people glaring in disapproval at the rest of us on our feet praising Jesus. I can certainly understand why an atheist would have felt disoriented that night. It was the most exuberant, extravagant, spontaneous explosion of worship I have ever experienced!

We read in John 12:3 where Mary spontaneously showed her unrestrained love for Jesus by anointing Him with costly perfume. She was immediately rebuked for her extravagant worship by one of the disciples. John 12:4-6 And we must ask ourselves: are we showing our extravagant love for Jesus in our praise and worship like Mary did? Or are we like Judas and criticizing others for being too loud, too emotional, too free, too extravagant? 

In our day-to-day life, do we play it safe or do we take risks? Would you feel comfortable singing FALLING IN LOVE WITH JESUS at the family Thanksgiving dinner in front of your atheist uncle? Would you feel comfortable telling the retail clerk that you will pray for her? Would you pray over your food in a restaurant at the risk that any politically-correct diners at the next table would disapprove? Would you risk telling a friend how your personal relationship with Jesus has changed your life? If you had been at that jazz concert, would you have leapt to your feet with your hands raised high in unrestrained praise to God or looked around in embarrassment at the extravagant worship taking place?

When Mary was rebuked for anointing the feet of Jesus, He told His disciples, “Leave her alone, she's doing a good thing here..” John 12:7 Jesus approved of Mary's risky, extravagant, over-the-top worship. He approves of yours too. Amen?

From the AMEN Corner Archives ~ originally published July 30, 2014.

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FALLING IN LOVE WITH JESUS

by Kirk Whalum

Falling in love with Jesus,

Falling in love with Jesus,

Falling in love with Jesus,

Was the best thing that I ever done.

In His arms I feel protected,

In His arms I'm not neglected,

In His arms I feel protected,

There's no place that I'd rather be.

Hear Jonathan Butler sing Falling In Love With Jesus