‘Precious Moments Christianity’

‘Precious Moments Christianity’ Theologian Roger Olson uses that term to describe many current churches. They "specialize in comforting the afflicted and present the gospel as all calm, fitness and light with no conviction or accountability".

On the official website for Precious Moments, it says “It started with a man who had a gift and vision to share love and life’s unforgettable moments with the world.” On that website you can find porcelain figurines commemorating the ‘high points’ of a Christian life; things like baptism, Christmas, communion and a series called chapel exclusives. I’m sure we all have pictures in our mind of a baby being baptized at the font, of a child at the communion rail, or of the sanctuary glowing with candles on Christmas Eve. These are indeed ‘precious moments’ in our Christian journey, moments we will relive over and over in our memories.

The problem, according to the quote from Olsen above, is when this type of moment is all the churches are offering to their people, or more importantly this is all that people are expecting or wanting from the church.

This past week I experienced a ‘precious moment’ in my Christian journey when I was privileged to hear 5 lectures by John Dominic Crossan over a period of 2 days. However this ‘precious moment’ didn't leave me with a memory that could be captured in one of the porcelain figures mentioned above. Instead, as I rethink what was said in those 10 hours, and attempt to integrate it into my understandings, what I have might be best illustrated by an unfinished jigsaw puzzle, with pieces waiting to be inserted … only first some of the pieces already in place need to be removed first! He brought a new understanding of the events from the raising of Lazarus to Easter Day and beyond… one that I can not only live with, but also challenges me to live into it. And really I can’t think of anything more precious than that, being given the knowledge to think about something in a new way that challenges my previously-held assumptions and moves me forward on my journey.

Then there was the response by Gretta Vosper the last afternoon to what we had all experienced. (Gretta, as many of you know, is the minister at Westhill United Church in Toronto and the author of two books, “With or Without God’ and ‘Amen’.) She spoke passionately about the journey that Westhill has been on for the last number of years, as by building on the scholarship of Crossan and others, they attempt to make their version of church one that works for, and speaks to, the people of the 21^st century.

As I travel through Holy Week this year, I shall be hearing Dominic Crossan’s passionate voice ringing in my ears “And he almost made it!”, as he encouraged us to follow that way of non-violent demonstration modeled by Jesus that last week so long ago.

Comments

UnknownApril 9, 2014 at 11:31 AM
Thanks for sharing today Lynn. Both Crossan and Vosper have been so influential in my recent journey.
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