“Baptized, but not Evangelised” Why the Church seems to be dying.
Devotional Thought of the Day:
7 And so the word of God continued to spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem grew larger and larger, and a
At the dawn of the third millennium not only are there many peoples who do not yet know the Good News, but there are many Christians who need the Word of God to be re-announced to them in a persuasive manner so that they may concretely experience the power of the Gospel.
Many of our brothers and sisters are ‘baptized, but insufficiently evangelized’. In a number of cases, nations once rich in faith and in vocations are losing their identity under the influence of a secularized culture … The Church, sure of her Lord’s fidelity, never tires of proclaiming the Good News of the Gospel and invites all Christians to discover anew the attraction of following Christ. (Benedict XVI, Verbum Domini, 96)
The history of Evangelization across the centuries witnesses that the great missionaries were also great people of prayer, more specifically that they were authentic adorers. Indeed, the Eucharist is ‘the source and the summit of the Christian life’ (Lumen gentium, 11), and the ‘source and summit of all evangelisation’ (Presbyterorum ordinis, ).
608 Against those who reduce religion to a set of negative statements, or are happy to settle for a watered-down Catholicism; against those who wish to see the Lord with his face against the wall, or to put him in a corner of their souls… we have to affirm, with our words and with our deeds, that we aspire to make Christ the King reign indeed over all hearts… theirs included.
The church pictured above has been empty for decades. The doors are bordered up, and voices have long been silent. There is no prayer offered, not voices lifting up praises as the realize the love and mercy of God,
There are other churches just as lifeless, even though the bodies are in them, even though voices can be heard, their words empty, vain. They try to make things better in life, they try to either legislate it or inspire people to behave, to live inspiring, meaningful lives. Some consider themselves traditional (or faithful) and others claim to be progressive and socially active.
And they are as empty and lifeless as St Anne’s.
They have been, “baptized, but not evangelized.”
They’ve been made part of the church, but they haven’t experienced the love of God. They haven’t learned to sit in silence and contemplate how much God desires to be with them, to guide them through life, to fix their brokenness, to forgive their sins.
So they put God on time out, reaching out to him the least amount of times they feel necessary, or reaching out to Him when there is trouble or trauma.
The priests in Jesus day were like that, they knew the scriptures, they put their trust in the promises that were theirs because they were circumcised, but the idea of talking with God, interacting with God, being guided by God, those were all missing.
But they heard the gospel, and they were changed.
And so can our people, our pastors, and priests, our ministers, our worship leaders. They can experience the breadth and width, the height and depth of God’s love.
They can realize they are loved, and adore God, not forced or manipulated, but simply adore Him – because He loves them. And their prayers and their worship will rise louder and stronger, and it will impact more and more.
Lord, reveal yourself through those who serve you, to both the church and the
Rey, D. (2012). Adoration and the New Evangelization. In A. Reid (Ed.), From Eucharistic Adoration to Evangelization (pp. 3–4). London; New York: Burns & Oates.
Escriva, Josemaria. Furrow (Kindle Locations 2579-2582). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Posted on February 4, 2019, in Devotionals, The Furrow, Theology in Practice and tagged empty churches, hope, Missional, New Envangelization, prayer, Revitaliztion, revival. Bookmark the permalink. 4 Comments.
Thank you for this!
Your welcome. Did something spark some thoughts?
A church is meant to be a hospital for sinners and not a museum for saints. People also seem to have lost the idea that we are the body of Christ in action – a church is just a building where we meet together.
The Church hs to be more than a hospital for sinners (and those who are saints as well) That is but one aspect. She also is a lighthouse, and a place that people are sent from, to bring the light of Christ into all the world.
But it can be none of those things unless its people know the love of God, unless it is comforted and empowered by the Holy Spirit, and is being transformed by the Spirit. Without a deep intimate relationship with God, both indiviually and communal, the church is not the church.
evangelism is simply revealing the hope that knowing God in such a way gives us. And while we focused on baptisms and conversions, we have done so well revealling this love..