Church Visit #3

I went to church again this past Sunday.

I have this notion I ought to visit all the churches in my neighborhood, which I define as within, say, a fifteen minute walk.

So this Sunday I visited the nearest church. Maybe a three minute walk from my house.

Now, the first couple of visits in this little series have been pleasant enough, but the preaching confirmed a maxim of Brian Chappell's. He says that much modern evangelical preaching falls into two categories: 1) what you should know, and 2) what you should do. It is possible to preach such sermons in a Christ-centered manner, but this seems to be a difficult matter for many.

Well, in my first church-visit I heard a what-you-should-know sermon, and in my second visit I heard a what-you-should-do sermon. Both churches were cheerful places with friendly people and in both cases I enjoyed the music, but the sermons frustrated me.

I'm just looking for a Jesusy church, that's all.

Now, this week's church was the liturgical kind. Vestments. Processions. A very ceremonial form of communion. Also, most of the folks here were solemn, reverential, so there were no hearty greetings, no hands to shake and names to try to remember. Only the occasional furtive glance at the stranger in their midst.

Oh, I'll just come right out and say it . . . this was a Roman Catholic church.

Early Sunday morning, before deciding just what to do with myself (which church to go to, if any), I read Ted Gossard's post quoting Miroslav Volf. It seems that Volf was frustrated in the same way that I have been, and his response was to repair to a "Eucharist-centered" church.

With this in mind, I walked down the street to the local Catholic establishment. They meet in a big high-ceilinged space with beautiful artwork on the walls and a hymn-singing choir that sounds like angels. We sang Shall We Gather at the River, Precious Lord, and I Know that My Redeemer Lives. I was lovin' it!

And here's the thing. It was one of the most Jesusy church experiences I've had in years.

There were readings of extended passages of Scripture, and almost no sermon at all, but for a brief talk concerning a couple of the parables of Jesus (the lost sheep, the lost coins). The priest said, "The sheep doesn't have to prove itself worthy before the Shepherd will rescue, and the lost coin doesn't even have to cry out for mercy in order to be found. In fact, the coin can't cry out at all, but the woman searches relentlessly till she finds it."

Ummm, I hate to admit it (kind of), but that's more Gospel than I've heard in my two evangelical church visits combined.

Now, look, I'm not planning to "swim the Tiber" or anything like that. But as a confirmed evangelical, with charismatic leanings, I find it kind of embarrassing that a Catholic church beats us hands-down at preaching the Gospel, and without a 45-minute lecture, too!

That, plus the incredible choir, plus the beautiful and reverent space in which they meet (not to mention the three-minute walk), means I may be attending this church again from time to time.