S05E047, Old v New, Andy B 2 Minute Video
“Everything new must be better”. This must be the mantra on anybody involved in selling anything – that the new thing is better than the old because it is newer. But as we’ve seen with new and old version of the same cars this isn’t true.
Also, just because we can doesn’t mean we should. Marmite Easter eggs? No thanks!
When we think about styles of worship in churches, it’s easy to relegate robes and spoken prayers as so old fashioned and, therefore, no longer relevant. And yet robes worn by a minister can be tremendously helpful during a funeral – it helps the minister deal with the grief of a family; dog collars are a great way of assisting your local vicar visit you in hospital. It’s just a helpful bit of uniform! And it keeps you warm in a colder or draughty church: just sayin…
Written out prayers are not pointless either – if anybody tells you that, just point them to the most commonly known prayer in the world in the words that Jesus taught us a template, that we commonly refer to as the Lord’s Prayer. There are many people I’ve met over the years who would be much happier writing their prayers out, and crafting them, prior to reading them in a church context.
I’ve visited and worshipped many churches over the years and there is only one constant - there are many people who love Jesus in all sorts of settings – whether that’s a church using the Book of Common Prayer and strictly hymns, or a stage lit Pentecostal church with smoke machines and sound systems that render congregational singing redundant.
I’ve met Christians who remain in their Catholic church, their Jewish synagogue – because that is where they feel God is asking them to be, in order to win their friends to Christ.
There are people who love Jesus everywhere, and that is a good thing!
So, please don’t ever discredit people who worship differently from you. And don’t forget that God is looking at your heart so, if you’re prone to looking down your nose at ‘that church down the road’, remember that you’ll have to answer to God for that unpleasant perspective, just as much as you would for murder or gossip or theft. You’re saved by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on a cross, just like everyone else.
As a naïve teenager I refused to say the part in the Book of Common prayer about being part of one catholic church. Little did I know that the lack of a capital letter was rather crucial here because there truly is one church, and the word catholic merely means that we’re part of a broad church!
And WHAT a beautifully diverse church it is!
Just a thought...
Andy B
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[00:00:00] Andy B: So another Andy B 2 Minute Video. And I was listening to somebody the other day and I think at one level, they were trying ,to say, look, they grew up in one particular church and they preferred being in another type of church. And as they were speaking of it they were trying to illustrate the differences between the two. But what I heard was this, almost venom, about the word conservative church. Like somehow it's evil if you even consider a conservative church where you have hymns, and you have prayers out of books.
[00:00:35] Now in my own Christian faith, I've worshiped in many different denominations, many different formats and styles of church. I'm quite happy in a high Anglican church, where you've got hymns in the Common Book of Prayer.
[00:00:48] I'm also very happy in a Holy Spirit filled church, like a Pentecostal church ,where as soon as the music goes, you can sit your hands in the air and and give it some with the worship and people pray extemporaneously. Very complicated word, [00:01:00] just means without a book really.
[00:01:03] What really saddened me wasn't the way this person described how they were brought up. We have different experiences. It's the way in which they severely criticized conservative churches, as somehow being bad. But progressive liberal churches, obviously they're much better.
[00:01:17] And here's the thing. There is one God, there is one way to God. Jesus is the only way to the Father. If you want to go to heaven, there is one route. You can't go through Islam, you can't go through the Buddhist faith or religion or whatever. You, you can't go through it. The only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ. But there are many, many ways in which we can worship Jesus Christ.
[00:01:39] Here's a quick one for you. You ever heard of the word hymn? Hymns are old fashioned. It's what old, old people do in old churches, you have a song, a song in a church. Maybe you've been to Bethel. In, in America. You're sing a hymn. It's not called a hymn, it's called a chorus, which is a hymn. A hymn is just a spiritual song we sing to God.
[00:01:56] It's really easy to get so fixed onto [00:02:00] words that mean something that we think they mean when they don't. It's really easy to be critical of what we don't prefer. But I've met some wonderful Christians who worship Jesus Christ in very traditional Church of England settings. And I've met some folks in Pentecostal churches who talk about Jesus but have never met Him. And vice versa. I don't make judgements like that.
[00:02:21] Reality is, are you gonna go to a church where you can meet with Jesus Christ?
[00:02:27] The Book of Common Prayer, often criticized of being boring and out of fashion and all the rest of it. The Book of Common Prayer is full of scripture. It's rooted in scripture. It's not the Bible, but it's a great way of helping us understand the Bible.
[00:02:41] Don't criticize the past. It makes us who we are.
[00:02:44] Just a thought.