John Stott shares a brief biography of the life and ministry of the Anglican minister and preacher, Charles Simeon.
The standard by which Charles Simeon measured his sermons, “Does it uniformly tend to humble the sinner? Does it exalt the savior? Does it promote Holiness?”
When you read the title of this Blog and you came across the acronym, “T.G.I.F.” what came to your mind? If you were born in the 80s like me, perhaps a picture of Steve Erkel comes to mind? If you are a little older than me (or a little younger) perhaps the restaurant T.G.I.F. Fridays comes to mind?
Recently I read an article written in my weekly Anglican Mission News feed from their Winter Conference (click here for entire article). At one point in the article Dr. Len Sweet called Christ followers to, ”Learn the language of today’s “TGIF” generation (Twitter, Google, iPhone and Facebook).” Social media like the Internet is not going away any time soon. In fact, both will evolve and change with advancements in technology and education.
Christians neither should consider T.G.I.F. to be the only form of language nor forsake meeting together physically for the convenience (and dangers) that a Web-streamed service can bring. Consider T.G.I.F. not to be a language, but a dialect or medium to convey the Gospel. Think of T.G.I.F. as the 21st century translation of letter writing (which also could be complex rhetorically).
What are some of your thoughts, concerns, or ideas about T.G.I.F.?
Posted in Anglicanism, Christianity, Culture, Social Media
Tagged AMiA, Anglican, Apple, Christianity, Culture, Facebook, Family Matters, Fridays, Google, Internet, Iphone, Language, Social Media, Technology, Twitter
By: Robert E. Webber
Article written by: rm Kocak
“Why would I, the son of a Baptist minister, become an Episcopalian? Why would I , a graduate of Bob Jones University, walk the Canterbury Trail? Why would I, an ordained minister of the Reformed Presbyterian denomination, forsake my orders? Why would I, a professor at a main-line evangelical college, risk misunderstanding and put my career in a possible jeopardy to follow my heart?”
- Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail - page 11.
In Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail, Robert Webber (and friends) seek to answer the question of “Why.” He tells his personal testimony of the journey into liturgical worship in a way that doesn’t suggest a superiority of the Anglican tradition over any others. The entire book is highly personal in its tone and invites the reader to join with the author on his liturgical journey.
The Book is broken up into three distinct parts:
During the first part of the book, Webber takes you on his own sacramental journey and what attracted him to liturgical worship. To that end Webber gives six themes or motifs in his journey: a return to mystery, a longing for the experience of Worship, a desire of sacramental reality, the search for spiritual identity, embracing the whole church, and growing into a holistic spirituality. In the second portion Webber invites six other evangelicals who have made similar pilgrimages to share their story. Finally, Webber concludes in a brief chapter in Part 3 with the renewal movement within liturgical worship. Webber stresses that evangelicals can bring a lot of beneficial elements into the liturgical tradition and not forsake an “evangelical identity” for a “liturgical identity.”
“It amazes me that I went through seminary without a course in worship, without any professor asking me to address the question: What is worship all about … My longing for more satisfying worship grew as each route I took in worship led me to a dead-end street.”
- pg. 36.
The desire for an experiential, mysterious, and sacramental reality in worship drips from the beginning chapters, as Webber reflects on mystery, experience, and sacramental reality in liturgical worship. This journey is rooted for Weber in a visit to a Roman Catholic worship service before Easter, the worship of the early church fathers, and hosting “Agape meals” with students and friends.
“I was introduced to the “Trail of Blood” theory. True Christians, it was argued, always stood outside the established church.”
-pg 59
Webber comments on how he felt divorced from the greater Christian body of believers. Webber was indoctrinated to believe that a true Christian was to stand outside the organized religions of Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox, and mainline Protestant denominations. Webber boldly discusses how he was rooted in the pride of the Puritans against Anglicans and Lutherans for what they perceive to be “rags of popery” and against Anabaptists for their pacifism. He said all these biases were good and fine until he would actually meet an Arminian, Lutheran, Anabaptist, or Roman Catholic who was devout in the Christian faith.
“Eucharistic Spirituality is the experience of being spiritually nourished and strengthened by eating the bread and drinking the wine… The mystery of what Christ did for me on the cross reaches into my inner person in a way that I cannot describe.”
- Pg. 83.
Webber has a chapter on “Growing into a Holistic Spirituality” that really captures the essence of having a spirituality of experience; namely, to be in Christ. Both justification and sanctification are communicated at the Lord’s Supper in a tangible, physical way. Webber also shows the spirituality of experience in following the church year as a personal devotion.
