single denomination and its most politically influential” (Warf & Winsberg, 2008). Undoubtedly, the Baptist religion has reached people’s heart to join and experience a new form of faith. Though Pastor Jose’s church wasn’t large and didn’t have an overwhelming number of people, what made it special was how faith was expressed joyfully during the worship. Together, each member sang and prayed to God. This worshiping is all part of Christianity as seen in many Christian denominations. Furthermore, “Baptist view Christianity as way of life, indeed as a life, of worship and obedience in faith and fellowship” (Hays & Steely, 1963, p. 35); in such an intimate setting, members of the church worship as a whole. As any other church, a worship consist of different elements that represent the faith. During the Baptist worship, I observed many different elements that were different to my Catholic faith. As I’ve attended Catholic masses, there’s an intuitive structure of the mass that’s followed by each Sunday. Everything seems to be planned and formal. At the Baptist worship I attended, I felt as though there wasn’t as much structure or a typical way to go about the worship. The reason being is that, “these services do not follow any single standard plan,
During a Catholic mass, towards the end, Holy Communion is compared with body and blood of Christ. This is where the body and blood of Christ is represented by bread and wine. The priest prepares the bread and wine and blesses it, then it is shared with all at the mass. As I interviewed Pastor Jose, he did acknowledge that the Baptist don’t participate and accept communion. Communion for the Baptist is also known to be the Last Supper. Pastor Jose’s view of this was that, “there’s no need to have representation of the body and blood of Jesus” (J. Giron, personal interview, February 20, 2016). Essential, communion
Comparison of the Roman Catholic Church and the United Reformed Church All Christian denominations celebrate Holy Communion in some form, although how they do this varies. The two I have chosen to compare are the Roman Catholic Church and the United Reformed Church. In the Roman Catholic Church the act of worship is called Mass. Catholics are expected to attend Mass. Only those who have been Christened and then later confirmed can receive Holy Communion. The Mass consists of six parts as follows : The Foremass consists of the entrance, procession, and chant, which are then followed by the confession, which includes a litany ( Kyrie eleison) and ends with the Gloria.
Parishioners often ask me if there is really any difference between United Methodist and the Baptists down the road. The answer, “quite a lot,” generally surprises them. When they ask me to explain, I often point them in the direction of our polity and the theology it reflects.
This mass enterprise is reviewed through five traditions in the early nineteenth century: the Christian movement, the Methodists, the Baptists, the black churches, and the Mormons. Hatch explains that these major American movements were led by young men who shared “an ethic of unrelenting toil, a passion for expansion, a hostility to orthodox belief and style, a zeal for religious reconstruction, and a systematic plan to realize their ideals” (4). These leaders changed the scope of American Christianity by orientating toward democratic or populist ideals. Their movements offered both individual potential and collective aspiration, which were ideas ready to be grasped by the young and booming population. These early leaders had a vision of a faith that disregarded social standing, and taught all to think, interpret, and organize their faith for themselves. It was a faith of “religious populism, reflecting the passions of ordinary people and the charisma of democratic movement-builders” (5).
Attending a non-denominational church we start out with worship and being free to sing and dance and let our spirits take over. This may come out as someone running around the pews, or on their knees, but while in the Catholic Church the environment was much different. It was a lot more structured and formal in a sense than that of the non-denominational church where I practice my faith. Another difference was the offering, or as the Catholic Church calls it, the Gift. I am use to this concept, but rather than taking Gifts at the beginning of the service they take it at the end; then came communion. This is where you take part in eating the bread and drinking the wine in symbolism of Jesus’ body and blood. This I was also familiar with, but was informed by the couple that I went with that they partake in com...
This concept boils down to the idea that even though they are a church, they are all still individuals. This is based upon the idea that every single person is created in the image of God. Due to this idea, Baptists are known as some of their individualism (p. 24). This idea of individualism is present even from the beginning of ones walk with a Christian. Saving faith is something that is personal to Baptist, not impersonal. This was an idea that was borrowed from the early reformers, most notably Martin Luther. The Baptist would agree with him in saying that salvation is between the individual and God (p. 25). Some would understand this to mean that this idea of individualism is one of human self-sufficiency, or man being able to save himself. This is far from the truth, we are saved by God’s grace; however, we are saved individual by individual and person by person. We are personally save. We are personally called to ministry or to join a church. And, we are personally called to the baptism and the Lord’s Supper along with being personally called to many other things (p. 26). The Christian walk, to Baptists, is one that is between God and an individual first and
Religious institutions have always been a fundamental piece of American culture, and their influence is evident in many aspects of American life. Especially during the 20th century, the spread of Christianity became more competitive as churches vied against one another to draw in new members. This was particularly evident in the development and growth of conservative Protestant groups. Protestant leaders responded to this competition for followers by developing radically new methods for the worship experience. They used their charisma and entrepreneurial spirit to send their messages to the masses. Protestant leader’s manipulation of these methods of outreach was able to attract many new members to the conservative protestant cause, and encouraged Americans to join these large groups of worship.
First off Catholics believe that they are receiving the very Body and Blood of Christ Himself. At the Last Supper Jesus said, "This is my body which is given for you" and offering His disciples the cup of wine said, "Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins." In the Gospel of John they read: "Jesus said to them, 'Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day, for my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink (St. Louis Parish para 1).” When receiving communion and the person ahead of you is receiving Communion you offer a simple bow of reverence with your head and then step forward. You receive Holy Communion either in your hands or directly on the tongue. If you receive in the hands you should take care that they are clean (as a sign of reverence) and place one hand over the other and raise them up high, forming a throne with our hands to receive Jesus. As the priest places the host in our hands and says "The Body of Christ" you should respond loudly and clearly "Amen (St. Louis Parish para 5)." Also, one major point in Catholic Communion is with non-Catholics. Non-Catholics are not permitted to receive Holy Communion. The very action of receiving Communion says that the church believes it is the Body and Blood of Christ and that we share in the whole life of the Catholic Church. Inviting non-Catholics to Communion can be an obstacle to one day reaching full communion by blurring the differences in belief among Christian denominations.
In an age when culture continues to lower standards of intellect, Marva Dawn makes compelling observations and suggestions for the Church to rethink its’ strategy on impacting society. How do we evangelize without weakening the message of what we are communicating? The majority of her text focuses on the worship environment generally, but later she focuses on music, preaching, and liturgy specifically. According to Dawn, a gathering of believers should emphasize God as the subject and object of worship, challenge each individual to grow in godly character, and accentuate the community of believers (not only in the room, but throughout history as well). Through this grid, she encourages leaders and participants to evaluate each worship element. If these primary goals are accomplished, then worship will not be empty and simpleminded. Instead the worship atmosphere would be held to a higher standard and, she believes, both pleasing to God and attractive to those who do not know God.
Mead, Loren B. The Once and Future Church Reinventing the Congregation for a New Mission Frontier . The Alban Institute, Inc., 1991. Kindle eBook file.
into a richer experience of worship and a more effect life of service" (Crabb, 1977, p.31). The method to establishing an
Before the beginning of the course, my perception of worship was far more limited and superficial then what it is now. Although I had heard sermons and encouragements on living a life of 'worship ' I never fully understood what that meant. To me, worship was the 20 minutes before the message began at church. Worship was one fast sing, followed by two slower
These three aspects of Shouter’s Baptist stood out to me and I maintain that it is a fascinating religion, which I want to know more about. I believe personally that their vociferous approach to worship is based on a heighten sense of spirituality which I hope to attain someday.
Both began with an entrance song and ended with a closing song. Everything in between was almost identical. The differences that stood out to me the most were Holy Communion and the collections. In English masses, people receive the Eucharist in a synchronized manner. People move pew-by-pew and wait until it’s their turn to join the line to the front of the church.
As I was attending mass, I noticed, it was very organized. There was a lot of sitting and standing, where I found myself struggling to understand. I noticed that they read some passages from the bible and sang a lot of psalms and hymns. The only thing that was familiar to me was the Eucharist.
Only through the words of consecration, “This is my Body… and this is my Blood”, can we truly experience the fruits of the Eucharist. This is only possible through God’s accordance with the Scriptures, Sacraments(the Eucharist in this case), minister(priest or bishop), and the people of the Church(The Body of Christ). Just like Jesus and his disciples during the Last Supper, all of the members of the Mass join in intercession in order to properly bestow power upon the Sacrament of the Eucharist. As the priest serves as a representation of Jesus, we serve as his disciples.