I really enjoy your reflections. Thank you for taking the time to do them. I've been churched all my life, but in mainline congregations that have held doctrines and creeds fairly loosely, and weren't hung up on "belief". I don't think you could find a single congregation where every person believes every line of a creed. That said, you can find plenty congregations--mostly conservative and evangelical--where people are expected to believe, and where people would never admit that there are parts to which they don't subscribe. I meet "refugees" from those churches all the time. In conversations, I can see how strongly they react to certain things precisely because they were stuffed into such a narrow church box for parts of their lives. For me, because I've never felt the pressure to "believe" a doctrine or creed, I've actually felt the freedom to enjoy saying them in a body of people, to think about them and explore their history. In other words, I've been able to go deep in them and contemplate their meaning. Years ago, I heard Nadia Bolz-Weber say of her church that no one believes every line of a creed or doctrine, but for every person who doesn't believe a particular point, there's someone across the aisle who does, and so the whole body is covered. I loved that. To me, it personified holding these things loosely. It was also a reminder that we are the BODY of Christ, working together. We carry and cover one another. Whereas (correct me if I'm wrong), it seems like the evangelical thing is that each person is focused on their personal perfection/salvation, but to a level that seems impossible to live up to, and which also has the perverse and counter-intuitive effect of distancing the presence of God in their lives. I guess if I had to sum up what I see with ex-evangelicals who come to my church, it would be that. Because they don't believe without question so much they were told to believe without question, they have a sense of God being distant at best, and absent at worst. It takes a while for people to leave that behind and learn that they have freedom to explore. Some people I know have been out of that world for years, but that foundation is still so strong that they are more reactive than those raised in mainline congregations. Keep in mind I'm generalizing here. There are plenty of exceptions. I've known plenty of evangelicals with spiritual imagination and openness and plenty non-evangelicals with dry, bloodless faith. Anyway, thanks again for your reflections. They're always thought-provoking.
You're definitely right, every church is different - some are very strict with their beliefs and others hold them more loosely. My thoughts stem (also) from my time as a pastor, which I didn't really get into in this post as it was already long enough haha. But I can remember interviewing for a pastoral role and spending 2 hours being grilled on theology questions by denominational leaders and being pressed as to how firmly I held onto my beliefs - hell, women in ministry, the return of Christ, etc, etc, etc. In the world I came from, having a firm grip on theology and doctrines was of the utmost importance for a pastor ... and then I was expected to preach those things without hesitation to 100+ people every week.
"When will you be preaching through the Heidelberg Catechism and the Canons of Dort?" were questions I received at least 3 or 4 times a year.
Sadly, my experience with evangelicals has not been one of openness or imagination. I know a few, but they are the exception and not the rule. Having gone through Bible College and Seminary in an Evangelical school and then being on the preaching team of a large Evangelical church back in my hometown, I can say without hesitation that many (not all, of course) students are being trained (and pastors are being pushed by their boards) to never doubt, never question, and never hesitate in what they believe about God and the various doctrines they cover in Systematic Theology courses.
Again, my experience isn't everyone's experience - it's just mine! - and it's taught me to rely more on my experience when it comes to understanding God and less on what a book or institution tells me I need to believe.
Thanks again for sharing and reading - grateful to be on the journey with you!
I really enjoy your reflections. Thank you for taking the time to do them. I've been churched all my life, but in mainline congregations that have held doctrines and creeds fairly loosely, and weren't hung up on "belief". I don't think you could find a single congregation where every person believes every line of a creed. That said, you can find plenty congregations--mostly conservative and evangelical--where people are expected to believe, and where people would never admit that there are parts to which they don't subscribe. I meet "refugees" from those churches all the time. In conversations, I can see how strongly they react to certain things precisely because they were stuffed into such a narrow church box for parts of their lives. For me, because I've never felt the pressure to "believe" a doctrine or creed, I've actually felt the freedom to enjoy saying them in a body of people, to think about them and explore their history. In other words, I've been able to go deep in them and contemplate their meaning. Years ago, I heard Nadia Bolz-Weber say of her church that no one believes every line of a creed or doctrine, but for every person who doesn't believe a particular point, there's someone across the aisle who does, and so the whole body is covered. I loved that. To me, it personified holding these things loosely. It was also a reminder that we are the BODY of Christ, working together. We carry and cover one another. Whereas (correct me if I'm wrong), it seems like the evangelical thing is that each person is focused on their personal perfection/salvation, but to a level that seems impossible to live up to, and which also has the perverse and counter-intuitive effect of distancing the presence of God in their lives. I guess if I had to sum up what I see with ex-evangelicals who come to my church, it would be that. Because they don't believe without question so much they were told to believe without question, they have a sense of God being distant at best, and absent at worst. It takes a while for people to leave that behind and learn that they have freedom to explore. Some people I know have been out of that world for years, but that foundation is still so strong that they are more reactive than those raised in mainline congregations. Keep in mind I'm generalizing here. There are plenty of exceptions. I've known plenty of evangelicals with spiritual imagination and openness and plenty non-evangelicals with dry, bloodless faith. Anyway, thanks again for your reflections. They're always thought-provoking.
Thanks for sharing!
You're definitely right, every church is different - some are very strict with their beliefs and others hold them more loosely. My thoughts stem (also) from my time as a pastor, which I didn't really get into in this post as it was already long enough haha. But I can remember interviewing for a pastoral role and spending 2 hours being grilled on theology questions by denominational leaders and being pressed as to how firmly I held onto my beliefs - hell, women in ministry, the return of Christ, etc, etc, etc. In the world I came from, having a firm grip on theology and doctrines was of the utmost importance for a pastor ... and then I was expected to preach those things without hesitation to 100+ people every week.
"When will you be preaching through the Heidelberg Catechism and the Canons of Dort?" were questions I received at least 3 or 4 times a year.
Sadly, my experience with evangelicals has not been one of openness or imagination. I know a few, but they are the exception and not the rule. Having gone through Bible College and Seminary in an Evangelical school and then being on the preaching team of a large Evangelical church back in my hometown, I can say without hesitation that many (not all, of course) students are being trained (and pastors are being pushed by their boards) to never doubt, never question, and never hesitate in what they believe about God and the various doctrines they cover in Systematic Theology courses.
Again, my experience isn't everyone's experience - it's just mine! - and it's taught me to rely more on my experience when it comes to understanding God and less on what a book or institution tells me I need to believe.
Thanks again for sharing and reading - grateful to be on the journey with you!