Why I Chose The Celtic Catholic Church, Part 1

Part 1, My journey

When I was born, my father was a music director in a Presbyterian church. My grandfather had been music director at Tabernacle ARP in Charlotte (it eventually died and is currently being used by the Great Aunt Stella Center and Uptown Church). My great-grandfather had been pastor of several Presbyterian churches in Concord. I grew up in the Presbyterian Church.

In one of those churches (Sugar Creek Presbyterian), my parents were confronted with the idea that the Bible was to be read and obeyed, and it changed their lives. It was also at that church that they were exposed to the charismatic movement. Eventually, my father took a call as music pastor for Clear Creek Baptist in Midland, NC. We went there for several years and then my parents started a full-time counseling ministry. During that period, my father was asked by a friend to help with music at his Methodist church. We also attended a charismatic leaning, non-denominational church for a while. We eventually settled into a Baptist church, but we traveled and sang in a variety of church throughout the south until I left for seminary. These churches ranged from heavily liturgical to whatever the opposite of liturgical is.

I went to Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, but I wasn’t a died-in-the-wool Baptist. My years of exposure to a wide variety of different churches allowed me to see the strengths and weaknesses in those denominations.

In the late 90’s, my brother began having conversations with Roman Catholic priests and leaning in that direction. We had been raised to believe that the Roman Catholic Church was the “Whore of Babylon” in Revelation and the Pope was probably the Anti-Christ. I was concerned for my brother and quite frankly, I wanted to “save” him. I joined a forum in which he was involved and began asking questions. Rather than being completely put off, I gained understanding. I didn’t agree with it all, but I learned things about Catholics that I never knew. I didn’t reject it out of hand any more, but I couldn’t accept it either. My biggest hang-up were the extreme issues within the Roman Catholic Church during the Middle Ages, many of which led to the Reformation.

My brother felt the same way and continued his search. Several years later, he came across the Celtic Catholic Church. They are an independent Catholicism that pre-dates the time when Rome basically “took over.” I was intrigued for a variety of reasons that I will spell out in later blogs. I might have made a move then, but I had one problem…how was I going to provide for my family? There are no CCC congregations on this side of the country and I was not even thinking about church planting at the time. For the sake of a job, and money, I walked away. I kept in touch, but I stayed at a distance.

Then the events at First Baptist happened. I found out from one of the deacons that the person the NC Baptist State Convention sent to “help” actually advised the church mafia on how to get rid of me. I tried to plant a church through the NC Baptist State Convention, but they slammed every door in my face (I want to add, however, that the leaders of the Cabarrus Baptist Association were incredibly supportive). I was being punished for obeying the Bible and doing what was right in that “church.” This was the straw for myself and Marilyn. I felt so betrayed that I nearly left ministry for good. We floated around various churches for next few years, but we realized that we would never go back. It was clear that the “everyone does what is right in their own eyes” version of Christianity practiced in most Protestant churches was wrong, destructive, and we weren’t going to participate any longer. I’m also going to break this down a little in the next few posts.

Now I want to be really clear…there are many great and Godly people in every church. It’s just the system that is broken. It’s like public education. I think most teachers are amazing, but the system is flawed. I am telling you what I am doing, and why. If you, dear reader, choose to do something different, that is between you and your Savior. However, if you are intrigued and/or convinced as I was, read on! I would love to converse with you further!

Living Stones

After many days of rain, the builders across the street have started to lay brick for the house. I love watching a house go up because it reminds me of something we are told in the Bible.

In 1 Peter 2:4-12, we are called living stones, building God’s temple. Jesus is the cornerstone. We all have a part to play in the structure God is building, and without our part, something is missing.

Over Memorial Day, I was thinking about that and wrote this on Facebook:

I was thinking about what I’m going to say at the Memorial Day Ceremony in Kannapolis today. I was asked to speak about mental health, among other things. One of the greatest predictors of someone’s ability to be able to handle traumatic situations is involvement in a faith community.

That got me thinking about the numbers of people who say they follow Jesus, but only join their church family when they have nothing better to do. In my church, most people show up less than 50% of the time…twice a month. That’s pretty standard across the country. It used to be that the norm was more like 10 times a month (Sunday AM, PM, and Wednesdays).

That got me thinking about Memorial Day, and the thousands who have died so we can have the freedom to attend church, or synagogue, or temple, or mosque, or whatever; freely and without fear of reprisal. When we don’t exercise that freedom and take it for granted, what are we saying to those who gave up their lives for it?

Let me challenge you: if you are a person of faith, then exercise it regularly! Make a decision today to be in your church every week unless something major prevents you. That’s a great way to honor the sacrifices of those we honor today, and it provides other health benefits as well!

I want to be clear…I’m not trying to make anyone feel guilty. On the contrary, I want people to have the BEST life they can possibly have, and joining their church family regularly does that!

Now there are lots of reasons why people don’t attend church. Here’s a few articles about that.

This one speaks to people outside the church: https://www.hopechannel.com/read/why-people-dont-go-to-church

This one speaks to people inside the church: https://careynieuwhof.com/10-reasons-even-committed-church-attenders-attending-less-often/

And this one is just hysterical: http://thomrainer.com/2017/04/15-really-strange-reasons-not-attend-church/

Personally, there are two major things Christians say to me when they tell me why they aren’t in church:

1. “I’m too busy.” I get it. This is addressed some in the second article. There are many more demands on our time than there were 75 years ago. But the truth is that we always make time for our priorities. Watch this:

If I say I’m too busy for church, what I’m saying is that it isn’t a priority. That’s not a judgement, just a fact! Show me your weekly schedule, and I’ll tell you what is important to you.

2. “I don’t have to go to church to be a Christian.” On its face, that statement sounds really nice. I have two responses to that, though. First, replace the words and let’s see if it works in another situation:

“I don’t have to go to work to be an employee.”

“I don’t have to go to drill to be in the National Guard.”

“I don’t have to go to practice or the games to be on the team.”

Do any of those make sense? Then why do we say it for church?

Second, saying I’m a “Christian” is saying that Jesus is Lord of my life…He’s in charge. The Bible explicitly says to meet together with other believers. If I am not trying to obey Jesus, then can I really say He is my Lord?

In the end, though, you should be in church because you contribute something that no one else can do as well as you! God has a mission for you through the local church that only you can do. When you are missing, it’s like removing bricks from the foundation being built in the picture. Eventually, the structure will collapse. You church needs you, and God wants you! Will you follow Him?

Wednesday Funny

This is from one of my favorite comedians, Michael Jr. He does a series called “Break Time” and I’ve decided to share them over the next few months because they’re HILARIOUS!

Roger Moore and Clancy Bowick

I just found out this morning that Roger Moore died today. I love James Bond movies and Roger Moore’s version of Bond, especially the early ones, was really good. I’m sure that the rest of this week, my Facebook feed will be inundated with condolences, remembrances, articles, lists of his movies from best to worst, etc. I’m sure that many will be going and rewatching his movies as a tribute.

Late last night, I also found out that someone else I know died, Clancy Bowick. I met Clancy at James Island Baptist Church in 2004. I was the Minister of Students and he approached me about a mission opportunity. You see, several times a year, migrant Hispanics would descend on John’s Island (the next island south) to pick whatever was in season. Tomatoes was the thing I remember most. They had several little villages they would occupy, mostly cinderblock houses with basic facilities. They would come for several weeks and then move on to the next crop. Clancy had a fire to share Jesus with these people. Actually, to call it a fire is an understatement…it was more like a blazing inferno, a forest fire of passion to have a chance to tell these migrant families about the amazing grace of God!

His passion was infectious and I thought this would be a good way to introduce missions to the youth, so we got involved and every year for as long as I was on staff, we joined Clancy in sharing Jesus. I think his favorite thing was to drop me into the most unfamiliar situation he could find and see how I would respond. One time, he grabbed me and said, “Hey Josh, I want to introduce you to some people!” We left the youth with the women and children and he took me to where the men had gathered to fix food. He sat me on a bench, made introductions, and asked the men if they would share some food. Then HE JUST LEFT!!! Now, I have about a Sesame Street level of Spanish, so I couldn’t understand what they were saying to me, but they brought me a bowl of thin stew with some meat in it and pointed to a huge stack of tortillas. I know enough about cross-cultural engagement to know that if they give you something to eat, you eat it. Thankfully, I’m a pretty adventurous eater, so I didn’t mind. I took a spoonful, got some meat and liquid, and put it in my mouth. It was VERY spicy (which I could handle in 2005). I started to chew the meat…and chew…and chew…and chew…and chew…I turned to the nearest guy and asked in my horrible Spanish, “What is this?”

“Menudo.”

Since I was sure I wasn’t eating the Mexican boy band, I had no idea what it was. After playing cross-cultural charades, I finally figured out I was eating pork stomach. It didn’t taste bad…it was just really chewy. I finished my bowl, put out the fire in my mouth with tortillas, and then waited so I could show Clancy how much I appreciated him!

Here’s the thing: I’m sure Roger Moore is a wonderful man, but in the end, what he’ll be remembered for is playing a womanizing, alcoholic, murdering secret agent on a series of movies. Millions will mourn his passing until the next news cycle, and he’ll be remembered through his films, until they become obsolete. On the other hand, we have Clancy Bowick, who will only be remembered by a relative handful of people on earth. However, in Heaven, he will be greeted by throngs of those who have come to faith through his ministry, he will be joined by more throngs who will come to faith in the future, and he will be greeted by Jesus with the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” Clancy never worried about how to pay for ministry…he just did it. He never worried about the rules…he just did it. He never allowed anyone to discourage him…he just did it. And my ministry and the people I touch are partly due to his influence in my life.

Who had the greater impact: Roger or Clancy? I’ll let you decide!

I hope that one day, when I see him in Heaven, he’ll look at how I served Jesus and tell me I did a good job…and then maybe take me to some Hispanics who are there and leave me behind for a bowl of menudo.

Change

(Please read all of this…I have a point!)

This picture was the view from my back door this morning. Right across the street from my house (the parsonage of the church), they have started building what looks like 3 or 4 houses. This is in addition to the 2 that were built in the last few months just down the street, the one built across the street, another one being built across the street, the 10 or so lots being sold about a mile from the church, and the apartments that opened in December. I would classify that as a building boom (at least for the tiny hamlet of Mount Pleasant)!

All this growth has the leaders of the town working with the community asking residents about the future of the town. “Growth is here, more is coming, and we need to get ahead of it” is what they’re thinking. But change can be scary! There are those in the town that would prefer that things stay just as they are; or even better, go back to “the good old days”, whatever that means to them. Change means more people, and who knows  what that might look like!!!

On one end of the spectrum, there is the very reasonable concern that growth be managed well. The other end of the spectrum is reflected in a conversation I had waiting for my car to get inspected at a local shop. The man was asking me what I thought about the new apartments, and then basically told me that he was concerned because it might bring in people of other ethnic backgrounds (Mount Pleasant is about 95% Caucasian), and we were lucky we weren’t as mixed as other cities in the county. WOW!

Quite honestly, I don’t care about whether the town grows or not. The reality is that if things aren’t growing (whether it be towns, people, or churches), they’re dying. there’s no such thing as maintaining the status quo. Things either move forward or backward. However, I do love change! Change means opportunity, it means growth, it means something new is coming! In the case of the town, I’m excited because new housing means new people, and new people means new opportunities to share Jesus.

In the Gospels, we see a significant conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees and religious leaders in Israel. All they wanted was to keep thing the way they were. They were comfortable in the religious system they had created which benefited them and shut out anyone they considered “undesirable.” Jesus came to upset the status quo and to return people to a true worship of the Living God. He came to bring change. And aren’t we glad? If He hadn’t, we would still be drowning in our sin, bound for Hell! Rather than being something to be avoided, change is the thing that allows us to have a relationship with God. Hallelujah!

As you look at your own life, you may see a lot of change. God is not surprised by it. Instead of looking at it in fear, try a different view. See it as God’s opportunity for growth, for future ministry, and for expanding the Kingdom of God in your life and the lives of others. Step out in faith and let God take you to places you could never imagine!

I am excited about the future of First Baptist, and I am excited about the new ministry opportunities opening up in the area. I can’t wait to see what God is going to do through us in this community, and I can’t wait to see what God is going to do through each of you in your personal mission fields!

Wednesday Funny (Mother’s Day Edition)

In honor of Mother’s Day, and my amazing wife…

My sin, O the bliss of this glorious thought…

Recently, I have been faced with my sin, my lack of worthiness, and my continuing need for the daily cleansing of Jesus. Rather that driving me away from fellowship with my Creator, it has placed in me an intense desire to draw closer and closer to Jesus.

One of the things I am doing is praying more fervently every day. I will often go into the sanctuary of the church and pray there. I have been using a book called “The Valley of Vision.” It’s a collection of prayers written by the Puritans and they are deep. This is one I read this morning:

Thou Eternal God,

Thine is surpassing greatness, unspeakable goodness, super abundant grace; I can as soon count the sands of ocean’s ‘lip’ as number Thy favors toward me; I know but a part, but that part exceed all praise.

I thank Thee for personal mercies, a measure of health, preservation of body, comforts of house and home, sufficiency of food and clothing, continuance of mental powers, my family, their mutual help and support, the delights of domestic harmony and peace, the seats now filled that might have been vacant, my country, my church, Bible, faith.

Buy, O, how I mourn my sin, ingratitude, vileness, the days that add to my guilt, the scenes that witness my offending tongue;

All things in heaven, earth, around, within, without, condemn me –

the sun which sees my misdeeds,

the darkness which is light to Thee,

the cruel accuser who justly charges me,

the good angels who have been provoked to leave me,

Thy countenance which scans my secret sins,

Thy righteous law, Thy holy Word,

my sin-soiled conscience, my private and public life, my neighbors, myself –

all write dark things against me.

I deny them not, frame no excuse, but confess, ‘Father, I have sinned’;

Yet still I live, and fly repenting to Thy outstretched arms; Thou wilt not cast me off, for Jesus brings me near, thou wilt not condemn me, for He died in my stead, Thou wilt not mark my mountain of sin, for He leveled all, and His beauty covers my deformities.

O my God, I bid farewell to sin by clinging to His cross, hiding in His wounds, and sheltering in His side.

What a powerful prayer! We excuse our sin, hide our sin, deny our sin…anything but admit and repent of our sin.

I have nothing to offer, Lord, but what You have given me. And so I say with the writer of the hymn, “My sin, O the bliss of this glorious thought! My sin, not in part, but the whole is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, O my soul!”

Wednesday Funny!

I love this video! It’s funny AND informational!

Rags

This past Sunday, I preached on Jesus healing the leper. I want to comment on something I didn’t spend a lot of time on when I spoke.

I’ve included the narrative from the Gospels here.

Matthew 8:1-4, Mark 1:40-45, Luke 5:12-16

Large crowds followed Jesus as he came down the mountainside. Suddenly, a man with an advanced case of leprosy came and bowed with his face to the ground, begging to be healed. “Lord, if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said.

Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed. Then Jesus sent him on his way with a stern warning: “Don’t tell anyone about this. Instead, go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.”

But despite Jesus’ instructions, the man went and spread the word, proclaiming to everyone what had happened [and] the report of his power spread even faster. As a result, large crowds soon surrounded Jesus to hear him preach and to be healed of their diseases, and he couldn’t publicly enter a town anywhere. He had to stay out in the secluded places, but people from everywhere kept coming to him. But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.

First, my brother and I were discussing the possibility that Simon the leper mentioned toward the end of the Gospels might be this same man. This event is mentioned in all four Gospels, but I like Luke’s account. It’s in Matthew and Mark that we find out he was a leper. We know he isn’t currently a leper because people are in his house eating with him, so he must have previously been a leper. Luke mentions he was a Pharisee, so it might reveal why he would have been listening to The Sermon on the Mount. If that’s true, it sheds a different light on what happens in Luke. Tell me in the comments if you agree.

The other thing has more to do with me, and all of us. How many times do I come to Jesus for healing, receive that healing, and then go back to that same destructive issue again? The Bible is clear: if I’ve been set free, then I am FREE! But how often do I go back and take up the decaying, putrid, gangrenous leper’s rags, put them back on, and parade around in them? More often than I care to admit…and I’m sure it’s true for you as well. It’s as if that life has become so familiar, so acceptable, so comfortable that I cannot seem to help myself.

Freedom is hard because when I am free, I must be responsible for my own actions. I must face the fact that my sin is my own choice and no one else’s fault. It’s so much easier to blame others. I say I want to live in freedom, but often what I mean is I want to benefits of freedom without the responsibility.

But maybe that’s just me.

You can hear the whole sermon here: