So today in my 2nd visit to this congregation I had an unusual experience; at least unusual for me. Almost from the get go I got the feeling I have been to this worship service before. It seemed so familiar to me. Why? It was not a feeling of comfort/familiarity but of I know this worship service. It was not until toward the end that I could recognize what I was experiencing. Before talking about the experience let me say some things. This is by far the friendliest congregation I have been in in at least 3 years, greeted numerous times, the pastor makes a very good effort to greet everyone and despite the pastor and I know each other well he has made a real effort to greet me which has not been the case in the past 3 years. The service is well laid out, solid music, decent congregational singing, have not got a sense that the choir is saying hey look at us. The sermon is well prepared, well delivered. So what is the unusual experience? I described it this way to Bridget: I wish I could have video the whole service and played it to folks cold without them knowing where or when. The service was an iconic image of classic Liberal Theology. If the congregation clothes did not give it away this could have been late 70’s or the entire 80’s. Everything in the service said Liberal Theology. The songs, the sermon, was focused on social justice today. The tone of service was just a hint of evangelistic without being Evangelical. The Biblical Interpretation presented in the sermon was dead center Liberal Theology including the undertones of being what I call anti-sematic, the Jew of Jesus day had God all wrong with a hint of making fun of their unknowing of a better way ( nothing mean-spirited in this it is just how Liberal Theology understood the tension between Christianity and Judaism ). I want to be clear here I am talking Liberal Theology not liberal politics. Liberal Theology is a technical term as I use it here. What many folks commonly call liberal theology today is not Liberal Theology but Post-Modern Theology. It is true many ministers started out in their career as Liberal Theologians but now are Post Modernist many of whom do not even know this has happened. But today this minister has stayed the course and remained a Liberal Theologian, if today is any indication. By the end of the sermon I had put in my notes “I have not heard or seen this Liberal Theology worked out like this in a long time.” I plan on continuing worshipping in this congregation for at least several more Sundays.
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 04:47:46 +0000
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