The Rule of St Benedict is helpful here. As was pointed out in above post staying when things get challenging is often our calling as Christians. When a church body publicly departs from the “faith once delivered” it is time to go. The challenge of course is determining the situation. No one would have faulted Bonhoeffer for staying in NYC and leaving the German Evangelical Church. I might suggest that an action such as that would have served as a faithful witness against the so called “German Christians” who co-opted the church.
It is possible that his public exodus would have served as a prophetic witness that his church had abandoned Christ. Then again, not all faithful Germans could flee as he did, and they needed pastors. This is what makes these choices so difficult, and we must finally say, “No, we cannot make perfect choices, but whatever we end up doing, we can do it in faith, hope, and love.”
I love this topic Amy! I serve passionately in an Episcopalian church. I love the Anglican tradition, but I don't love a lot of the slow creep away from Christian essentials. But the reason I stay is because I have seen the enormous damage that has been done to my church in the wake of waves of departures. People leave to go found churches that are really just homogeneous echo chambers, and the church they leave behind becomes more homogeneous as those of us who stay experience less dissent. Neither remotely approximates the NT vision of a church where the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you." Paul's whole point was that Christ creates the Church out of all peoples, and therefore we stay because we believe the Church can be made up of anyone whatsoever, not just the people we like or would choose.
What you have done in this lovely essay is extend this vision of the Church to national society. In the end, if we don't stay and bear witness to the truth that in Christ Jesus the dividing wall of hostility has been broken down, then we cannot assume there will be any witnesses to the truth in the wake of our departure. Thank you for another timely essay demonstrating that, in the end, all theology in practical.
Yes, that is such a difficult question of whether to stay or go. In general, groups that split away over doctrinal issues can tend toward an “ever purer” mindset where they continue to turn against whoever is perceived to be the most different from the rest. But then I would have trouble staying in a denomination if it was forcing me to step away from historic beliefs against my own conscience. These things have to be evaluated case by case, and godly wisdom must be applied. There is rarely a perfect answer.
Btw, I think you'd enjoy Rowan Williams' book on St. Benedict's Rule. One of the many theses he argues for in that book is that the Benedictine Rule is all about building persistent community in the face of conflict and different. The monastic commitment is like a marriage covenant, that assurance that I won't abandon the relationship when the going gets tough. He has really great suggestions about how monastic wisdom applies to the parish community.
The Rule of St Benedict is helpful here. As was pointed out in above post staying when things get challenging is often our calling as Christians. When a church body publicly departs from the “faith once delivered” it is time to go. The challenge of course is determining the situation. No one would have faulted Bonhoeffer for staying in NYC and leaving the German Evangelical Church. I might suggest that an action such as that would have served as a faithful witness against the so called “German Christians” who co-opted the church.
It is possible that his public exodus would have served as a prophetic witness that his church had abandoned Christ. Then again, not all faithful Germans could flee as he did, and they needed pastors. This is what makes these choices so difficult, and we must finally say, “No, we cannot make perfect choices, but whatever we end up doing, we can do it in faith, hope, and love.”
“Our reverent best guess” is sometimes all we have in these difficult circumstances
I love this topic Amy! I serve passionately in an Episcopalian church. I love the Anglican tradition, but I don't love a lot of the slow creep away from Christian essentials. But the reason I stay is because I have seen the enormous damage that has been done to my church in the wake of waves of departures. People leave to go found churches that are really just homogeneous echo chambers, and the church they leave behind becomes more homogeneous as those of us who stay experience less dissent. Neither remotely approximates the NT vision of a church where the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you." Paul's whole point was that Christ creates the Church out of all peoples, and therefore we stay because we believe the Church can be made up of anyone whatsoever, not just the people we like or would choose.
What you have done in this lovely essay is extend this vision of the Church to national society. In the end, if we don't stay and bear witness to the truth that in Christ Jesus the dividing wall of hostility has been broken down, then we cannot assume there will be any witnesses to the truth in the wake of our departure. Thank you for another timely essay demonstrating that, in the end, all theology in practical.
Yes, that is such a difficult question of whether to stay or go. In general, groups that split away over doctrinal issues can tend toward an “ever purer” mindset where they continue to turn against whoever is perceived to be the most different from the rest. But then I would have trouble staying in a denomination if it was forcing me to step away from historic beliefs against my own conscience. These things have to be evaluated case by case, and godly wisdom must be applied. There is rarely a perfect answer.
We humans can be so annoying. All the more wonder that Christ died for such as us.
Btw, I think you'd enjoy Rowan Williams' book on St. Benedict's Rule. One of the many theses he argues for in that book is that the Benedictine Rule is all about building persistent community in the face of conflict and different. The monastic commitment is like a marriage covenant, that assurance that I won't abandon the relationship when the going gets tough. He has really great suggestions about how monastic wisdom applies to the parish community.