“If we give God thanks for sunsets,” Andy finally
asked, “shouldn’t we also praise the Lord for hurricanes?” It wasn’t hard to cipher his meaning. We’ve exchanged hundreds of letters. My pastoral
writing interests have taken clear shape because of Andy. I’m passionate about the historic catechumenate and con- vinced that the “express conversion” practiced in many churches helps neither the convert nor the congregation. A quick baptismal splash into the arms of God is possi- bly not authentic given the rather strange life into which Jesus invites followers. The Spirit moves in strange ways. I can’t help but con-
clude that the Spirit may use folk who never set foot in a church to shape our church communities.
Faith by imitation “Join in imitating me, and observe those who live accord- ing to the example you have in us” (Philippians 3:17). “I appeal to you, then, be imitators of me” (1 Corinthi-
ans 4:16). “For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate
us ...” (2 Thessalonians 3:7). Some people come to faith in Christ through imita-
tion, not unlike my cat Raney. Christ reached them when they were half-dead and brought them into community with his people, the church. They were fed, loved and cared for. They were brought into the fold. Grateful recipients of this love come to love Jesus in
ways similar to those who first shared it. There’s a lot to be said for imitation and holy repetition in the Christian life. Congregations dare not abandon an evangelistic form that was favored by Paul. Thirty years out as a pastor, my fear is that imitation
dominates in our churches today. Churches become closed because guests may learn on that first Sunday that “I must become just like these people or never fit in here.” The following three questions might help redirect
“evangelism committees” or whatever this ministry might be called in your congregation: • Conversion to Christ is a lifelong turning. But what does the “conversion process” look like in your congrega- tion for adults who are brand-new to Christianity? • Christianity is a ponderous and rather complex faith, difficult to summarize on a handy pamphlet in our nar- thex tract rack. How do we convey this truth to others? • A holy assumption: your non-Christian friends did not become your friends by accident. What questions are they asking about God in your conversations that never get voiced in your congregation?
Author bio: Honeycutt, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Walhalla, S.C., and his cat Raney. His latest book is Jesus and the Family: Crisis
and Conversion in the American Household (Cascade).
Resources: • The Resource Centers in all the regions of the ELCA. • The Christian Education Network of the ELCA (
www.faithfulteaching.org). • Faith practices on the ELCA website (www.elca. org/FaithPractices). • Story Matters combines the ELCA Book of Faith initiative, the ELCA Faith Practices initiative and mission planning (
www.bookoffaith.org). • North American Association for the Catechume- nate (
www.catechumenate.org).
Books • Te Call to Discipleship by Karl Barth (Fortress Press, 2003). • Discipleship: Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Vol. 4 (Augsburg Fortress, 2003). • Faith Forming Faith: Bringing New Christians to Baptism and Beyond by Paul E. Hoffman (Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2012). • Go Make Disciples: An Invitation to Baptismal Living (Augsburg Fortress, 2012). • Martin Luther’s Catechisms: Forming the Faith by Timothy J. Wengert (Augsburg Fortress, 2009). • Te Mission Table by Stephen Bouman (Augsburg Fortress, 2013). • On Our Way, edited by Dorothy C. Bass and Susan Briehl (Upper Room Books, 2010). • Real Faith for Real Life: Living the Six Marks of Dis- cipleship by Michael Foss (Augsburg Books, 2004). • Shalom Church by Craig Nessan (Fortress Press, 2010). • Discipleship resources by John Herman (five books in a series titled “Going Deeper: A Journey with Jesus” help individual and small groups grow in their practice of the faith). Contact Herman at
johndherman75@gmail.com.
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