"I think truly, that
no man preaches that sermon well to others, that doth not first preach it to
his own heart. He who doth not feed on,
and digest, and thrive by what he prepares for his people, he may give them
poison as far as he knows; for, unless he finds the power of it in his own
heart, he cannot have any ground of confidence, that it will have power in the
hearts of others." (John Owen, "The Duty of a Pastor").
All right. Here is my first question to throw around to everyone: "Why am I not Roman Catholic?" (of course, if you are, help us understand why you are and why we should be(?)) Sounds like an easy question, but not so easy. Let me ask a few penetrating questions to get us going. These are all questions I've heard in different forms... Does Christ not have only one church? Does Rome not have the only consistent historical connection to the early church? Did not Rome determine the new Testament cannon of Scriptures? Does not Rome have what so many evangelicals lack: mystery, awe, contemplation, etc.? One more, does our theology go asunder so irreparably? Consider these Evangelical favorites: J RR Tolkien, G K Chesterton, and Mother Theresa. Are they not a sterling model of Christian imagination , thinking and service ? Hope this gets some discussion going.
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