Common Ground: An Exciting Ecumenical Venture and DVD I'm Privileged and Honored to Participate In
Sunday, June 03, 2007
It all came about out of the blue, with a phone call from a friend of mine and fellow Catholic convert, Stan Williams, who is a filmmaker. He oversees a Catholic media and distribution apostolate called Nineveh's Crossing. Stan told me about an undertaking between a pastor and a priest, recorded onto a DVD, and called Common Ground: What Protestants and Catholics Can Learn From Each Other. See also the amazon page; it offers the following brief description:
. . . a revealing and candid conversation between the leaders of two large churches in Troy Michigan, just North of Detroit: Father John Riccardo of St. Anastasia Roman Catholic Church, and Pastor Steve Andrews of Kensington Community Church. Seeking common ground, "the priest and the pastor" respectfully examine the similarities between the two great traditions they represent. Regardless of your religious background, you'll be intrigued by their open discussion about: * Salvation * Holy Eucharist * The Virgin Mary * Confession * The Saints * Prayer & Worship * Evangelism * Christian Unity.
Dr. Timothy George
Timothy George, Dean of Beeson Divinity School and Senior Editor of Christianity Today, exclaimed about the film:
Here is an honest conversation between two deeply committed men of faith, an Evangelical pastor and a Catholic priest, about their shared faith in Jesus Christ. I recommend this resource to all who are interested in Christian unity, in keeping with a prayer of Jesus himself that his disciples be one as he and the Father are one, so that the world may believe.Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, editor of First Things magazine, praised it also:
An astonishingly honest, lucid, and winsome conversation about what unites and divides Catholics and Protestants. Father Riccardo and Pastor Andrews exemplify the kind of encounter made possible and necessary by the fact that we are, in the words of "Evangelicals and Catholics Together," 'brothers and sisters in Christ.'
You can read more about the background of this tremendous joint endeavor. Here are some highlights (written by Stan Williams):
A couple of years ago some members and leaders at Kensington [Community Church] became disturbed by the bad rap that a number of the ex-Catholics attending Kensington were giving Catholicism. While the leadership was not going to become Catholic by any means, they definitely considered Catholicism a significant part of Christianity and thought there was a lot of miscommunication and misunderstanding taking place.As Stan told me about what was going on with these two congregations: Protestant and Catholic, I became very excited, as I have been intensely interested in ecumenism for years: especially between evangelical Protestants and Catholics. He sent me the DVD, and when my wife and I watched it last weekend, we were deeply moved and impressed. I wrote to Stan:
Kensington's Spiritual Formation Director (Dan Kopp) started a mid-week small group in his home to talk about the common ground shared by Roman Catholics and Evangelical Protestants -- and he refused to allow any Catholic bashing. Dan also created a "Pastors & Priests" seminar that he teaches at Kensington, which looks at what Catholics and Protestants believe and why -- including the Pope, the Virgin Mary, confession, and purgatory. This seminar has been going on for a few years now and has seen hundreds attend.
. . . The leaders at Kensington had wanted Fr. Riccardo to come and be interviewed during their Sunday morning services. But because Fr. Riccardo was busy with Sunday Masses, they decided to videotape an interview and use that in their services.
The interview was conducted by Kensington's lead pastor, Steve Andrews, in the sanctuary at St. Anastasia, just in front of the Blessed Sacrament tabernacle. Pastor Andrews asked about, and Fr. Riccardo cleared up, many of the misunderstandings that Evangelicals and Protestants have toward Catholicism. Fr. John also suggested some important things that Catholics can learn from Protestants.
. . . There are still differences that divide us. But a great deal of the misunderstanding and miscommunication between these two large congregations is slowly dissolving away; and hopefully the community around us will know we are Christians by our love.
It's very well done. Kudos to all involved! You feel like you are sitting right there with these two real, genuine human beings. . . . You couldn't have found a better representative of a Catholic priest, . . . Pastor Steve comes off as tolerant, friendly, genuinely interested in Catholicism and in actually listening to Catholics, and in basic decency and fairness towards others; an impressive Protestant Christian man. Great job! I'm excited to have any involvement at all in this amazing endeavor.The video was made entirely by Kensington Community Church. I wrote in another letter a few days later: "I think Common Ground is an amazing, extremely impressive piece of work: almost 'inspired'. This is a very special project indeed, and I am honored to have any part in it at all." I also wrote to Stan in another e-mail:
The sad thing about the good thing is that these sorts of projects are so rare (especially so well done as this) that it becomes extraordinary when they happen. That was behind some of my reaction, I'm sure. The extraordinary ought to be routine and ordinary, but of course it isn't, so everyone is amazed when Christians manage to rise to the level of rudimentary obedience to the Bible for the goal of ecumenical unity as much as possible. The divisions of the 16th century (and I mean emotional and irrational elements; beyond the theology) are still very much with us.But the story may have only just begun. The video was aired on EWTN recently, and is scheduled (most exciting of all) to be shown on TBN in prime time (as early as this coming week, but probably in June sometime). Also, there is talk of a possible article about it in Christianity Today.
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Stan thought that I could be of some assistance, and asked me to write a Study Guide for the DVD. I was happy to do so, and finished the project yesterday. I often cite some of the words of Fr. John and Pastor Steve to kick off the discussion and the Guide almost serves as a "catechism for Protestants who seek a basic understanding of Catholic doctrines and reasons why Catholics hold them." I either focused on issues or doctrines or practices where both sides agree (per the title of the DVD), or on gently presenting the biblical basis for Catholic teaching with (I hope!) no material that might be considered "polemical".
It is suited to its purpose: an ecumenical undertaking of better understanding each other, and is as ecumenical in emphasis as it is apologetic, which makes it a bit different from my usual work (and exciting to me). I'm usually (not by my choice but by necessity and "apologetic duty") writing to those who are either hostile or vigorously opposed (whether in amiable terms or not) to Catholic teaching, and at times (after ten years of online debating) that gets old and wearisome, so this is a refreshing change.
I'll be working together with Stan as apologetic advisor to the Nineveh's Crossing apostolate, and will be involved in some live ecumenical gatherings, where I would be fielding questions from open-minded evangelicals on the Catholic faith, and engaging in the sort of frank, amiable dialogue that I love with a passion. As always (and especially in this context), I am not directly trying to pressure anyone into "becoming a Catholic." I simply explain and defend Catholic teachings. If (in part because of my writing or spoken communication) someone converts, that is their business and the work of the Holy Spirit (as in any major spiritual move, whether Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, or anything else to do with God moving in people's hearts). I've often called myself "the most low-key, low-pressure evangelist of all time."
I will be posting excerpts from my Study Guide. Stay tuned!
