Church History Report
http://www.angelfire.commi2/robhenderson/
robnaomi@oceana.net
As a third grader I recall one wintry week the project. It all began as a small snowball. Very innocently it grew into a larger snowball. Perhaps the original goal was to be the start of a snowman but as the ball was rolled through the snow, with the temperature just right, it became bigger. Before the first day was over, we had a snowball on the baseball field at least three feet tall.
The second day I remember arriving to school and seeing the ball even bigger. More kids joined in the effort. We pushed and grunted as a team: sixth-graders with second graders, black students and white students, all together pushing this giant snowball that had grown to more than six feet tall (no exaggeration). Every recess and lunch break found us out there pushing with all of our strength.
On the third day I arrived to school: what a sight. I would daresay the ultimate snowball had grown bigger with bigger kids now involved. But we had arrived to that place where we could no longer hardly push this massive roll of snow. It was so big and so heavy that our combined grunts could not get the ball rolling. We left school that day with new determination for the next.
But, alas, all good things must come to an end. Just as Frosty met his demise on a warm sunny day, so too the Snowball met its demise: a maintenance worker’s ax. We came to school the next day and saw the remains of our great Snowball. I suppose the risks of a seven foot plus mountain would be self-destructive to those who were prone to climbing such mountains. Chopped in pieces lay our project for the week and our purpose for coming to school.
And as we look at the Church- In the World but not of the World I cannot help but see the comparison. The Church- the body of Christ, the moving hand of the Holy Spirit, the collection of saints- cannot move forward in this fallen world by getting bigger and bigger just as a snowball moves across the playground of a child’s dream. The Church has proven that whenever it has gotten bigger it has become like the Snowball- unmovable and ineffective for practical use.
I believe that throughout Church history, there is more than enough evidence that shows the Church as being more ineffective when seemingly at its zenith and most influential. The dynamic has intrigued me and haunted me at the same time.
On one hand, with the hand of God moving this giant mechanism, why does it seem that whenever we as Christians reach that Golden Age, somehow we falter? Or why would God choose to use a tiny outpost to reach whole tribes only to see the Faith wiped out a generation later?
When considering the Church and her place in history I am confronted with this truth: Christianity is a continued unfolding of God’s revelation of Jesus Christ to the world. Without Roman Catholicism there would have been no “95 Theses” or the rise of Puritanism and without the “95 Theses” and the rise of Puritanism there would have been no Protestant movement and without the Protestant movement there would have been no Aldersgate experience and without an Aldersgate experience there would have been no Methodist movement and without the Methodist movement there would have been no Wesleyan Methodist Connection and without a Wesleyan Methodist Connection there would have been not merger of two great denominations and without that where would I stand today?
I am not stating that God cannot move without men standing up at particular times or without men listening to the God of their consciences but I suppose I am stating that God desires to use men who will hear His call to an Athanasius decision just as John Wesley encouraged William Wilberforce to stay true to when he was disheartend about the British desire to continue the slave trade. (Chuck Coleson, Kingdoms in Conflict pp. 104-105)
History would be so much different if men and women did not hear the call of God to stand up for what was right and true.
I wonder what must have gone through the mind of Francis of Assissi as I watched the movie “Brother Son, Sister Moon.” Somehow and in some way God reached into a young man’s heart and mind and something clicked. A desire to want to know God more and to such an extent that he would literally leave his mother and father and follow Christ. It seems that throughout Church History men and women have been drawn to the holiness of God and have wondered how they too might be able to see God in a more real way. The frustrations that some had with life’s pleasures (Augustine) caused them to strive for answers and a deeper commitment to understanding God.
Men and women have had to stand up in face of opposition in the world throughout history. And this is what is remarkable to me: Church history has been imparted page by page, chapter by chapter. God has continued to woo mankind through the mechanisms of the Church through good times and not so good times.
What I see when I look at John 17 is a very misunderstood context of scripture.
There have been those Christians who have taken this scripture and have used it to shut themselves out of the world. They isolated themselves from the world’s temptations and oftentimes from reality. The world is very real, very lost, and very much in need of a Savior. I have been personally frustrated with this attitude in churches.
I call this the Castle Syndrome.
Edgar Allan Poe wrote a story called The Mask of the Red Death. In that story, there was a plague that was killing people. All around people were getting the disease and dying. there was no cure. And you didn’t know if you were next. There was a prince who wanted to live and enjoy life. He built a seven room castle. Enough food and drink was brought in so that no one would be without need. Along with his friends, they locked themselves within the enclosure of this stronghold. The plague was on the outside and he and his friends were on the inside. Safe and secure away from the ills of the outside world. But suddenly, there it was: Death. He ran from one room to the next trying to elude the plague that he had thought he had outwitted. But he had failed.
There are so many Christians who have secluded themselves away from the world in order to strive to live holy and better lives. I have heard it said that some Christians live in a “castle of righteousness in the sea of iniquity.” “Build communes and shut ourselves out from the world and we will no longer be tempted.” “Raise our children in a Christian home, take them to a Christian church, send them to Christian school, have them marry a Christian spouse, and they in turn will raise Christian children.”
How naive some Christians have become. God has not created the “Christian race” that is propagated through a bloodline that we create. What He has offered is an eternal relationship with Him through his Son Jesus Christ to anyone who accepts. We are IN the world but not of the world.
We are “born-again” into the family of God. But yet there are those who have chosen to exclude themselves from society.
I understand the mindset of the Castle dwellers. We want our families to be safe. I want my children to be safe from a world that is so full of evil and allurement. I am concerned that they might see the wrong things or hear the wrong messages. But yet, I also realize that in order to be salt and light they need to see the hurting and dying. They need to see the consequences of wrong choices. That doesn’t mean we throw our children to the wolves but it does mean to bath our family in prayer and spiritual nurturing so that they can go out and be effective witnesses to a dark world.
I want my church to be safe from the onslaught of the media and the evils of modern medium. But yet, my church must continue to be fertilizer to the soils of men’s hearts.
I do not believe that God has desired for the church to be simply Castle Dwellers yet I do believe that to be the city on a hill we must recognize that we are human beings who live in the world. We are IN the world. This has been so often overlooked.
And in our own country of the United States, I am confronted today with the whole issue of Church and State. How involved should a Christian be in politics? Should Christianity look to control America? Do we set up standards in the Church in order to be exclusive? What kind of agenda should a Church have? What is the responsibility of the Church to the State?
When I look back into history my eyes and thoughts are drawn to that pivotal year of 1517. Why 1517? What was significant about that year? Two births took place.
The first and most significant was the birth of the Reformation movement. Martin Luther tacked his “95 Theses” which outlined his frustration with the Roman Catholic Church. Various issues were of concern and this ushered in a vast change for Christianity. We recognize even today the great influence of Martin Luther and those who stood against the “Establishment.”
The other, and at that time a very insignificant birth for most, was the birth of John Foe. John Foxe would have a great influence on the Christians of his time through his writings and in particular Foxe’s Book of Martyrs.
Erroll Hulse, the editor of Reformation Today magazine (September/October 1996 issue) made this observation:
When the 16th-Century Reformation took place three different sectors of reformation developed: the German, the Swiss (including France) and the English. Of these three the weakest and least hopeful was the English.
England was about to embark on a Reformation of her own but yet seemed to lack the will or fortitude. Until God began to light a spark of holiness in hearts of a few Christians and leaders in the mid-1500’s.
Foxe’s Book of Martyrs was about the years of the Queen Mary (1553-58) who instigated the martyrdom of those Christians and leaders who opposed her quest to return the Church of England to Roman Catholicism. Not only was this her goal it was an obsession. Christians on the other hand were looking not only in opposition but wanted to reform the Church itself. What rose from those years after the end of Mary’s reign and the beginning of Queen Elizabeth was John Foxe’s book that reminded Christians not to allow those who died to die in vain: “Lest ye forget.”
Three groups arose from the ashes of the Bloody Mary years: the Puritans, the Separatist Puritans, and the Anabaptist.
The Puritans were the Christians who desired to purify the Church of England and the State of England. They received their name because they sought to purify the “National Church of England.” (Hulse) Their goal was that the nation and church be immersed in the scriptures and operate from a scriptural perspective. This proved to be a great struggle with Queen Elizabeth who attempted to keep both sides of the issue pacified. They were adamantly passionate about their faith and desired to see their church changed.
For the next hundred years the issue would not subside for any royalty. Consequently, Parliament responded by creating rules that the Puritans just simply could not obey. by 1662 more than 2,000 Puritan ministers and leaders were forced to leave the Church of England. (Hulse)
The Puritans were divided among themselves into a second group that were influenced a great deal by Robert Browne and his book entitled Reformation Without Tarrying for Anie first published in 1580. “Browne might be called a disillusioned Puritan.” Thence, the “Separatist Puritans” emerged.(Dr. Samuel T. Logan, Tabletalk magazine, Nov 1996)
The Separatist Puritans (later called the Pilgrims) decided that they couldn’t take on the Church of England and simply withdrew and established their own reformation through separation. They were still very much English but yet saw their Christian faith as pre-dominant.
A third group of committed Christians emerged: the Anabaptists. The Anabaptist began their religious quest with Ulrich Zwingli, a Swiss monk. ( The group eventually developed into what would be recognized today as the Mennonite Church and Amish religious- cultural communities.) Menno Simmons was an early leader who redefined the movement. (The Chronicle of the Hutterian Brethren, Vol. 1) They “retreated from society on the grounds that society was sinful and corrupt.” (Hulse) They wanted no part with the government, the Church, or with war. They were pacifists. And they were very much against involvement with the outside world.
Of the three groups, the Puritans and Separatist Puritans made the greatest impact on Christianity and North America. The Separatist Puritans settled at Plymouth Rock in 1620 (by accident- they missed Virginia, their goal) and later the Puritans settled in Boston. Their influence on early America can only be deemed as fantastic. (As a novice I must admit my insecurities in dealing with this part of American and Church history. I am not prepared to assume the reaching consequences of the Puritans but recognize their influences through the American Revolution and the writing of the Constitution.)
At this same time period the Age of Enlightenment was gaining ground. John Locke, Rene Descartes, and ultimately the pen of a Frenchman named Voltaire dusted off a world-view that said that God does exist but does not involve himself with the affairs of men. (History of Western Civilization, John B. Harrison, Richard E. Sullivan pp. 431- 434) They did not believe that the Church and State should be together. The only result was corruption and undo pressure applied to the populace to believe something that wasn’t true
The two world-views were merged when the US Constitution was written: That of Voltaire’s World (God exists but outside of this world and its happenings) and the Puritan world-view. (Chuck Colson, Kingdoms in Conflict pp. 118-121) The Puritans recognized that you cannot legislate morality and the Enlightenment Age recognized that there should be no state involvement in Church affairs. Both groups also recognized the need for freedom of worship and freedom of living. They also saw the need for a common denominator for society to function with laws and regulations. They both agreed for different reasons and “found a patch of common ground on American soil.” (Colson) And so the marvelous document was formed that gave balance and common sense to a republican democracy.
Where does the Church stand today? How are we to function in light of Christ’s words: in the world but not of the world?
Verse twenty-one of John 17 gives us this insight: “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.”
As a church we cannot be effective witnesses of Christ unless we have our house in order. And the main ingredient of that is UNITY. There must be a unity of spirit among God’s people and a sense of UNITY with God himself.
Any quarreling, bickering, and nonsensical disagreements should be set aside for the greater good: the Great Comission that Christ has given us. So often Christianity has shot itself in the proverbial foot (or even feet) because of disunity with one another and disobedience to God. The Puritans discovered the way of holiness that binded men’s hearts with one another and with God.
I would agree that there are extremists in every religion. Christianity is really no different when it comes to radicalism. There are those who propose that we are indeed “in the world” and do not hesitate to live accordingly. At the other end of the spectrum there are those who go the extreme and disband themselves from the world in as many ways as they can justify. We can, however, find common ground and that common ground among Christians is found in Jesus Christ.
The Puritans and Separatist Puritans found that common place among believers. They were able to see one another, not as the enemy, but as “the city on a hill.” They understood their place in the world and wanted to glorify God.
Verse 23 gives us the exclamation point: “May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”
God’s love pre-emanates everything. Before anything was created God’s love for mankind was evident. And before the world can know that Christ is Lord God’s love must be witnessed. Noone can come to God unless they realize His love. It is impossible. The Church is the witness of that LOVE.
And verse 24 gives the believer the hope of all hope: “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you have loved me before the creation of the world.”
To be like Christ. To dwell in His glory. To one day see Christ in all of his glory. This is the great hope of believers. And this is the goal: to bring as many as we can to this very place of hope.
The world may call us a fool. They may despise Christianity but they cannot deny the truth of history. Whenever the Church has grown lethargic God has stirred the hearts of men and women to dig a little bit deeper.
I think of that grueling trip across the Atlantic Ocean of our forefathers on the Mayflower. Their resolve was to build a city on a hill. The seeds of truth were planted in their hearts in the lights of the burning martyrs of Queen Mary. They did not let their comrades die in vain. For today we have a nation that is still a shining city on a hill. Despite our adversity America still is seen by the world as a Christian nation.
As I toured the Gettysburg countryside my mind attempted to conjure up a picture that I would not forget: of boys and men fighting a battle they believed in the name of God. I looked around me and saw the remains of the War Between the States (Civil War means that there was an attempted overthrow of the government of which there wasn’t). Statues honoring the dead and wounded, and the heros both small and great. I ran Pickets charge with my son on a hot June afternoon and reached that place where a division of North Carolina troops nearly broke through the lines. A monument stood silently in the hot breeze.
As an American we live in a society that has been largely melded together by courses of action that divided us yet made us stronger as a nation. “Lest we forget.” Both sides to the war fought with honor and dignity that comes with being an American. there is probably no other nation in the world that honors both sides of a terrible divisive internal struggle. We do.
As a Christian I look back and see the struggles of my Christian brothers and sisters of whom I owe a debt of gratitude that I could never repay. Men and women who took the scorn of the world to advance the cause of Christ. Some I disagree with religiously but agree with relationally. Being one in Christ. I say I cannot agree with the Puritan ways (and other “overly conservative” churches) but I see and respect the principles they advanced. “We are in the World but not of the World.”
I have heard it said over and over and believe it to be true: More Christians have been martyred this century than all others put together. As I look to lead my church into the next century I do so with these words in mind: “Lest I forget.”
