Jesus Creed

Jesus Creed

Lengthening our Memory 1

posted by Scot McKnight

Pantocrator.jpgI met Professor Chris Hall at Eastern University a few years back and decided then and there that I’d read his stuff. A new book of his, Worshiping With the Church Fathers
, is one I want to use for a series on worship — and his focus will be  on what it was like to worship with the ancient fathers of the Church. This post is just a notice that we will do the series, but I want to begin with his own words:

My evangelical roots, first planted during the Jesus Movement of the late sixties and early seventies, have been nourished by the fathers’ perspectives. The Jesus Movement, for instance, had no ecclesiology. In many ways, Jesus freaks like me, though we loved Jesus himself, were highly suspicious of the church and authority in general, whether institutional or individual.


I have learned from the fathers that the church is much broader and deeper than I had ever imagined. My individualistic, evangelical bent has been tempered by a historical, theological and spiritual lengthening of memory. … This is not to say that I always find myself in agreement with the fathers. We still have our disagreements, but our quarrels now resemble family squabbles and in-house arguments (13).



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RJS

posted January 17, 2010 at 7:16 pm


Sounds interesting.



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Chuck

posted January 18, 2010 at 1:40 am


That one small quote is me, except I came of age a bit after the Jesus Movement. I left Catholicism at age 21 (1981) and have been in evangelical churches since (Independent Bible). While I am content where I am I have since realized that my vision of the church had become very tribal, contemporary, and narrow. Reading the fathers has broadened my appreciation of the church in all of her diversity and expressions. I look forward to more of this series.



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Chuck

posted January 18, 2010 at 1:40 am


That one small quote is me, except I came of age a bit after the Jesus Movement. I left Catholicism at age 21 (1981) and have been in evangelical churches since (Independent Bible). While I am content where I am I have since realized that my vision of the church had become very tribal, contemporary, and narrow. Reading the fathers has broadened my appreciation of the church in all of her diversity and expressions. I look forward to more of this series.



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Karen

posted January 18, 2010 at 7:28 am


The Haitians response of singing and praying in the midst of such great despair has prompted me to reconsider the importance of worship.



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John C

posted January 18, 2010 at 10:19 am


Really nice quote. I like the idea of lengthening our memories. This is about overcoming our collective amnesia about our family’s past.
To put it another way, going to the Fathers (and subsequent generations of believers) adds to our conversation partners, and enriches and deepens our faith.



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James

posted January 19, 2010 at 1:23 pm


Describes me to a “T.” I used to pooh-pooh the Fathers and Reformers—until I hit seminary. Then I fell in love with them. But, for some reason the mystics always appealed to me; can’t understand that.



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