An Evangelical's Confessions

I used to more Protestant, more Evangelical, even more Baptist. My second year at Georgetown I took a class on the Protestant Reformation, an eye-opening and thought-anchoring study on the background of my faith. The coursework came after a freshman year of spiritual dialogue and friendships with everyone from papist Catholics to un-orthodox Protestants. In my sophomoric studies, though, I saw more than ever the differences between the denominations and the theological particularities that set each apart from the others. I was proud and unique to be a conservative believer with Anabaptist roots at a liberal Catholic (and Jesuit, at that!) university.

Today, I’m in a different place. I’m not sure if this place is better or worse than where I was at a couple years ago, but it is very different. This fact came to light recently when I was chatting with my roommate, a stalwart Catholic who is willing to partner in the Gospel and dialogue on matters of faith with Protestants like me. He shared how, in his own witness and outreach, it’s important for him to bring non-believers to a point where they accept Christ as Savior and declare Jesus as Lord of their lives. After that, he said, their relationship with God can be primarily grown through the work of the Holy Spirit and their spiritual lives can be crafted by a loving Creator. Of far-less and secondary importance, he said, is his desire that they get plugged into a specifically Catholic church. I agreed with him in my desire to bring people to Christ and not to a specific denomination or particular creed. All Matt and I want to know and to make known is “Christ, and him crucified.”

This view is far different from the perspective of Mike, an acquaintance of mine and friend of Matt’s, whose passion for the Catholic Church may be just as strong as his passion for the Gospel. He sees Roman Catholicism as the earthly institution where God works to suit-up Christian believers for service in the Kingdom of Heaven. Mike’s commitment to the Roman Church is evidenced by his desire to reach out even to Protestants in an effort to bring them into the fold that he loves so much. He sees the Roman Catholic rite as having the most complete expression of Christian faith and the greatest amount of revealed truth to be found anywhere. Since he believes in the Catholic Church so fervently, it is his joy and privilege to share his Catholic faith with everyone he knows. He is unafraid of difficult doctrines, never shies away from condemning wrong teaching, and spends much of his time delving into the theological treasures of his tradition.

I don’t share this same passion for my conservative Evangelical brand of Christian faith. While I invite people to come to church with me, I never say that it is the Church or holds the unique set of keys to unlock God’s fullest revelation. I don’t consider Luther’s Reformation to be a hugely important development in the expression of Christian faith, nor do I consider Froehlich’s split from the Swiss national church essential for a complete understanding of Christ. I don’t idolize Dobson, Falwell, or even Piper, and I look down on people who give undue weight to the words of Wesley or Winthrop. I think I may be deficient in my devotion to American evangelicalism. I’m a bad Baptist. I was actually excited when I got see the welcoming of a baby into Christian community at a Catholic Church. I’m a sorry situation when it comes to believing the symbolic nature of the Lord’s Supper. I believe the ordinance is so much more than a symbol, and I’ve been looking for a better understanding of Christ's real presence in the Eucharist. I find value in the diverse expression of Christianity across denominations and traditions, with Christ the unmovable center of the Faith. This, I trust, is the true Church, “and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Still, I question sometimes what I believe and why I believe it. Along with a sense of ecumenicalism comes a deep questioning of what is essential for Christian faith. I hold to the authority of scripture, the creeds, and the testimony of what Christ has done in my own life, among other things, but I am very reluctant to commit myself to the specific doctrines of denominations. I feel at times like I am “tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine,” and wish I had Mike’s doctrinal stability. Perhaps, once I graduate and get a little more settled in life, this questioning will come to an end. Until then, though, I’m doing what I can to incorporate the best of Christian diversity and apply it to the work of faith that God is building in my life.