Who we are

I wrote this little essay the other night after I left a meeting at First Baptist Church here in Coleman. We are trying to organize a community fellowship by having a short devotional and then sports and snacks. We have invited every chuch in Coleman county. As of right now only First Baptist, Sacred Heart Catholic, Concho Baptist, Central Baptist and maybe Elm St. Church of Christ have shown any interest. Even with that my own priest has started to show some cold feet on the idea. Everyone is so afraid of celebrating what we agree on instead of what separates us. This can be a very good thing for Coleman if we can just get it off the ground. If your church is interested in knowing more about it get in contact with me.

We organized this community fellowship to join believers in the presence of the one true living God. For far too long we have allowed ourselves to be separated by a common God. The amazing thing about the Bible is that we can all read the same scripture and, being inferior human beings, we come to different conclusions.

We each tend to believe that we are on the straight and narrow path to God and that is good, he wants that type of devotion to him. I think from time to time we don’t realize that just because our brothers and sisters in another congregation don’t worship in the same manner, with the same rituals we use they must be missing something, perhaps we know something they don’t.
Most reasonable Christians will accept the fact that we are all on our way to the Father we are just taking different roads to get there. Each of us thinks we are on the interstate while our brothers and sisters are taking the back roads.

As far as the Roman Catholic church is concerned the leadership gathered in 1964 in what is known as Vatican II. Basically the church decided it was time to bridge the gaps with our brothers and sisters in Christ. The following quote is from the opening introduction on this subject “The restoration of unity among all Christians is one of the principal concerns of the Second Vatican Council.” For us Catholics this means we have a duty now to reconcile with our fellow believers. This is why we at Sacred Heart are so eager to participate in fellowship with our brothers and sisters.

I believe we must focus on what we all believe, we must concentrate on what joins us together. Too often when we want to know about our fellow Christians of another denomination we tend to ask people from our own church instead of actually getting in contact with the leadership of that denomination or with people who are very active in that denomination. It is very easy to come to the conclusion that the other guy is a clueless idiot if you only conferring with people who worship as you do.

I think we can all agree that there is ONE true living God. He sent his only son Jesus here to Earth to die for all of our sins and we are saved through his grace. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of those sins. After Jesus died he was buried and rose again after three days. He ascended into Heaven and he is not seated at the right hand of God. The Bible is the absolute word of God. It is infallible and it is not up for compromise. Make no mistake these are the positions of the Catholic church.

We must all keep in mind that just because we may not understand why our brothers and sisters do things in a different way we must accept that we can all back it up with scripture which brings me back to the topic that we can all read the same Bible and come to different conclusions.

God is perfect, we are not, Catholics and Protestants both over the generations have had leaders who have abused children, had extra-marital affairs, embezzled money, admitted to homosexual relationships and many other sins. This is where we have fallen short of the glory of God.
Some people may think that this fellowship of different Christians will not work because of our own personal prejudices. I believe all things are possible through Christ our Lord!

　
　
1 Corinthians 1:10-17
10 Now I beseech you, brethren, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
11 For it hath been signified unto me concerning you, my brethren, by them that are of the household of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
12 Now this I mean, that each one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos: and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized into the name of Paul?
14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, save Crispus and Gaius;
15 lest any man should say that ye were baptized into my name.
16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not in wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made void.
　
God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. (1 Corinthians 1:9 NIV)
　
Here is a couple of thoughts from Billy Graham and Pat Robertson on the Catholic Church:

(from Larry King Live)

"Dr. Billy Graham said that that Pope John Paul II was the most influential voice for morality and peace in the world in the last 100 years.
Dr. Graham told Larry King he had the privilege of seeing the Pope on several occasions at the Vatican.
"And tonight, I have a very strange feeling of loss. I almost feel as though one of my family members has gone. I loved him very much and had the opportunity of discussing so many things with him. And we wrote each other several times during the years," Dr. Graham said.
Larry King asked Dr. Graham: "Did he actually say to you once, "We are brothers' "?
GRAHAM: That's correct. He certainly did. He held my hand the first time that I met him about 1981 -- he'd just been Pope for two years when I saw him first. Because when he was elevated to the papacy, I was preaching in his cathedral in Krakow that very day. And we had thousands of people in the streets. And watching the television today of Krakow has brought back many memories.
KING: You said that he was an Evangelist.
GRAHAM: He was, indeed. He traveled throughout the world to bring his Christian message to the world. And we see tonight the outpouring from the world that he touched. And I think he touched almost everybody in the whole world."

"I am deeply grieved as a great man passes from this world to his much deserved eternal reward. John Paul II has been the most beloved religious leader of our age – far surpassing in popular admiration the leader of any faith.
He has been a man of great warmth, profound understanding, deep spirituality, and indefatigable vigor. It was my great honor to meet with him at the residence of my good friend, Cardinal O’Connor, in New York, and to sit in the Consistory during the mass he conducted in Central Park. I told him at the time how much the American people loved him, and he merely smiled. That love was shared not only in America but by millions all over the globe.
He has been a steady bridge in the transition of Eastern Europe from communism to freedom. His personal magnetism brought together all Christians in new bonds of understanding.
I pray for the Cardinals of the Catholic Church that they might have God-given wisdom in selecting the successor to this great man. Their task will not be easy, but with God all things are possible."


Here a couple of statements from the Catholic Church on reconciling with Protestants:

1. VATICAN CITY (CNS) - The importance Pope Benedict XVI places on the search for Christian unity was evident in his decision to focus on ecumenism during a Nov. 23 meeting with members of the College of Cardinals, said two U.S. cardinals. Cardinal William H. Keeler, the retired archbishop of Baltimore who has been involved in ecumenical and interfaith activities for years, said the fact that the pope chose ecumenism as the theme for the meeting shows "that this is a very vital thing for the church worldwide." Cardinal Keeler, who was one of 33 cardinals to speak during the meeting, told Catholic News Service the discussion demonstrated that there are different experiences and levels of ecumenical dialogue. "Different ecumenical forms have evolved in different parts of the world, and the progress in each region is different," he said. "For the pope, ecumenism is not a subject for discussion, but a mandate," German Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the main speaker chosen by the pope to address the meeting, told journalists afterward.

2. This movement toward unity is called "ecumenical." Those belong to it who invoke the Triune God and confess Jesus as Lord and Savior, doing this not merely as individuals but also as corporate bodies. (from vatican II)

3. Even in the beginnings of this one and only Church of God there arose certain rifts,(19) which the Apostle strongly condemned.(20) But in subsequent centuries much more serious dissensions made their appearance and quite large communities came to be separated from full communion with the Catholic Church-for which, often enough, men of both sides were to blame. The children who are born into these Communities and who grow up believing in Christ cannot be accused of the sin involved in the separation, and the Catholic Church embraces upon them as brothers, with respect and affection. For men who believe in Christ and have been truly baptized are in communion with the Catholic Church even though this communion is imperfect. (vatican II)

God and Texas,

Jason Watson