Posted on 07/26/2014 4:41:46 AM PDT by michaelwlf3
I am coming up on my first year as an ordained minister in a continuing Anglican church, and I have noticed that participating on political forums (even when the topic is religious) I find that my opinions and postings more often than not generate more hatred than anything else. Among the things I often hear are that the laity are the real priests and that I am a Pharisee, that my vocation disqualifies me from offering an opinion on anything Christian because I am too narrow minded, and (my personal favorite) because I look too Catholic I must be a child molester.
Are these people really Christians?
” I don’t think God calls any of us to earn a paycheck peddling Him”
I don’t think G_D calls any of us to build big buildings.
I don’t think G_D calls any of us to be over others.
I don’t think G_D calls us to pay someone to pray for us.
I don’t think G_D calls us to pay someone to read the Word to us.
Leave the milk people and look for yourself for the meat of the Word.
Why are you concerned with political forums?
I pretty much do everything, along with my Bishop, music, liturgy, hospital visitation, jailhouse ministry. I earn no salary and haven’t even recovered any of my expenses in about four years. I throw money into the collection plate I earn on my day job. I paid for my own education, my own vestments, my own books, and so forth.
OUR laity is not the problem. The problem is the laity that does not attend my church but answer me in places like this.
I am afraid you have misjudged me.
By all means, show me the way of humility...
I am a Deacon, a servant. I will stay in this station if God allows it.
Thank you.
LOL ... If you mean that a man, apart from enabling grace given through the Holy Spirit, is capable of choosing to be saved, then that's the definition of the heresy of semi-Pelagianism, infallibly condemned by Rome 1400 years ago.
You hate what you do not even begin to understand. It's sad.
I must say, I have to agree. The proper term is “the ministry of the laity.” Using the term “lay people” implies an inferior position, and in Christ their are no inferior positions.
The pastor of my Southern Baptist Church has been there since 1978. Church people love him just as people in this town do. They know he is honest, loves people, and teaches from the Bible. None of this feel good junk. We are thankful we have him.
Sorry you had such a distasteful experience. Which continuing church, might I ask?
Many people here will simply not understand the sacramental part of your vocation. That is part of the execrable heritage of the Reformation I’m afraid. You will be up against this your whole life and I think you will drive yourself batty trying to expect anything different from those firmly in the Protestant camp. Of course they will resist your vocation—your priesthood is the heart of what their ancestors were Protesting and Reforming in the first place. Your priesthood cannot and will not fit into their paradigm, because they have constructed a paradigm specifically to exclude it. Bluntly, your very existence is an attack on their theology. That’s why the hatred, misplaced though it be.
To answer your question, yes they are Christians, they have been baptized into the Church same as you or I. It’s just that the legacy of the Reformation has left them with such a stunted, deformed version of Christianity that they have learned to hate what Christ gave us. That is the world as we have inherited it. Our response can be either to despair the fact or try to repair it as best we can by showing people what they lost when they abandoned the ordained priesthood and the sacraments.
Meanwhile, there are plenty of Anglican/Catholic/Orthodox threads and ping lists you are welcome to participate in here and where you will find people who hold dear to the tradition of the Universal Church in regard to the priesthood and where you will find a sympathetic ear. You may find us proselytizing a little bit of course, but one thing’s for sure, we Catholics and Orthodox will get your vocation 100%.
Oops deacon sorry. But it still applies. :)
You do not speak for most Protestants. My Southern Baptist pastor has been there since 1978. We know a great teacher when we hear one. This whole city will miss him if he ever decides to retire. He walks the walk and people know that.
It would seem that that kind of preaching would turn more people off than it would bring in.
What did you expect? Are you not in good company? Didn’t Jesus say they would hate you as much as him?
Having said that it is very difficult to be a pastor. I would not last very long before they kicked me out. But I know that you are stronger...........................
>>OUR laity is not the problem. The problem is the laity that does not attend my church but answer me in places like this.
It’s the internet. Nobody is real here. Just look at how many people here claim to be ready to fight Civil War 2, but won’t take a day off to attend a weekday rally or get arrested for civil disobedience.
I left the UMC Because of the attitude of the ordained pastors, but my new church has a pastor like you: a part-timer who works a day job and still finds a way to shepherd the flock with love, energy, and enthusiasm. I love pastors, even the ones with a overblown sense of entitlement. But, I won’t “serve” one if he isn’t prepared to serve us.
They can’t. For too many their very definition of themselves is”non-Catholics.” Without the Catholic Church their own churches would vaporize.
I’m a protestant and I have a great pastor. In general, I get along wonderfully with clergy of essentially all denominations. I am a mature enough Christian to enjoy and profit from their opinion without feeling the need to knee-jerk agree with all of them.
Maybe this one’s problems are just with people ON-LINE. I think we all know we’re a little different on-line than in person. :-)
One final thought: my pastor is a very hard-working pastor. He takes his “shepherd of the flock” role VERY seriously. Between studying, visiting the sick, doing good in the community, preparing and giving sermons and Bible study, etc., I doubt he wastes much, if any, time on line in political forums. Maybe the pastor doing the complaining is spending a bit too MUCH time in political forums?
>> It’s the internet. Nobody is real here.
Dang! You broke the code. Our fantasy armies will be overrunning your position any second now...
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