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Alan Creech
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March 20, 2006
> 12:00 PM
what am I? I suppose, off and on, I've thought about this a lot here lately. What am I? I mean, as concerns the Church in it's various expressions, theological distinctives, etc. Why does it matter what I am? Good question. I'm sure it does matter in some ways and not in others. It probably matters in that I know what I believe and why I believe it and how it works itself out practically in my life and in the world. That matters. That's pretty important actually. It doesn't matter that much as it relates to me having to feel like I'm a part of this or that Christian "club" or something like that, as separate from the rest of the Church. It doesn't matter that I feel special because I'm part of the right one, again, as opposed to those who are a part of the wrong ones. My pride doesn't matter. My so-called security really doesn't matter. The Truth matters. My spiritual health matters. Relationships and Love matter. So, again, I ask myself, what am I? Am I a Catholic? That, as you can imagine, comes up in my mind and heart quite a bit? I think the answer is, yes and no. Was I spiritually planted in Catholic ground and did I grow there? I was and I did. I received life from that Mother and still, to a great degree, receive nourishment from her table. And the no, because I am presently not officially connected to the Roman Church. I celebrate a "mass" of sorts in my living room every week. We consecrate the Eucharistic elements and offer Jesus to one another and I believe His Presence is in it and with us and His Grace is imparted as we take His Body and Blood into us. Yeah, I'm not hardly what you'd call faithful to the Magisterium on that matter. So, am I Catholic? I am, but mostly, I think I'm catholic. Does that make me a Protestant? Not necessarily. It might make some people Protestant but, in my estimation, not me. In-between land people, in-between. What am I? Am I part of the "emerging church?" Some of you will hate this answer, some will resonate with it, others will be indifferent. Yes and no - there I go again. The emerging church is not so defined as is Roman Catholicism. It's not nearly the same thing at all. So, yes, I'm a part of it. The community I have planted, am a part of, and lead, is a part of it. I am/we are definitely an example of what is going on in the Church today, the kind of Christians and faith communities which are emerging for various reasons. The emerging church phenomenon being what it is, and isn't, I am some of it and I am not some of it. Maybe it's that way with anything if we're honest, but it's that way with me and this. I've written about the specifics of this before. It's interesting stuff, perhaps, for me, not as interesting as it used to be. Some of it is very important. Some of it is the same old silly stuff. But yeah, I guess I'm loosely a part of it. I am a human being who is spiritually and mystically bound together with God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. In my humanity I am in relationship with other humans. I am particularly connected to my wife, having chosen (and choosing every day) to be with her for the extent of my life. I am also very importantly, a father to children with the connected responsibilities and relationships inherent therein. I am in relationship to other people as friend, as Christian sibling, as Teacher, spiritual father, pastor, theologian, prophet, etc. That's all the really important stuff, pretty much in order. The other is worked out along the way in the midst of the big stuff. technorati tags > church, christianity, catholicism, emerging church, truth Labels: catholic, emerging church 0 Comments:| permalink | e-mail me | 
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