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KingdomBuilder wrote:

Bootstrap wrote:And so often, a surprisingly healthy and biblical congregation belongs to a denomination that has real problems. Go figure.

I'd say I'm in such a church now

gcdonner wrote: It is true that a congregation often reflects the pastor(s). That is the main reason why there is such a wide variation from one congregation to another in the same denomination. That is true across the board, and I think it would include EO & RC.
What say ye, Max?

Bootstrap wrote:

Josh wrote:The masses I visit (Catholic) sometimes have a brief homily. The priest is pretty much interchangeable with anyone else.

I have been to masses that had excellent homilies, and some parishes are certainly much more effective than others in reaching out to their neighborhoods and showing real love.

In a lot of ways, Catholics are at the opposite end of the spectrum from Mennonites, but priests aren't robots, and some of them are very much servants of God.

MaxPC wrote:Absolutely agree. Broad brush descriptions rarely exhibit a fair depiction of any denomination, congregation, fellowship, parish, or individuals.

I'm a lifelong Catholic and in my 80 years I've heard many homilies and sermons. I've visited Non-Catholic fellowships and denoms. If the sermon is made up of generalized cliches and platitudes, I would consider it less than excellent. I've heard those both in Catholic World and elsewhere.

I've also heard some truly outstanding pulpit thumping challenges both from priests and non-Catholic preachers that exhort and encourage the congregation to more fully embrace their Christian discipleship. Some even elicited a standing ovation (which isn't supposed to be done during Mass but it happened anyway) because the priest fearlessly taught about abortion, Biblical marriage and maintaining authentic loyalty to Christ.

Bootstrap wrote:

MaxPC wrote:Absolutely agree. Broad brush descriptions rarely exhibit a fair depiction of any denomination, congregation, fellowship, parish, or individuals.

I'm a lifelong Catholic and in my 80 years I've heard many homilies and sermons. I've visited Non-Catholic fellowships and denoms. If the sermon is made up of generalized cliches and platitudes, I would consider it less than excellent. I've heard those both in Catholic World and elsewhere.

I've also heard some truly outstanding pulpit thumping challenges both from priests and non-Catholic preachers that exhort and encourage the congregation to more fully embrace their Christian discipleship. Some even elicited a standing ovation (which isn't supposed to be done during Mass but it happened anyway) because the priest fearlessly taught about abortion, Biblical marriage and maintaining authentic loyalty to Christ.

We use the same Bibles, after all.

Still, you won't hear a Catholic priest urge parishioners to wear Amish clothing or conservative Mennonite clothing, or to identify themselves with Anabaptists. Most priests in America probably do consider us Christians too, but they don't exactly identify with us.

Then again, a lot of plain Mennonites and Anabaptists wouldn't even identify with non-plain Mennonites and Anabaptists ...

Josh wrote:

Bootstrap wrote:

Josh wrote:The masses I visit (Catholic) sometimes have a brief homily. The priest is pretty much interchangeable with anyone else.

I have been to masses that had excellent homilies, and some parishes are certainly much more effective than others in reaching out to their neighborhoods and showing real love.

In a lot of ways, Catholics are at the opposite end of the spectrum from Mennonites, but priests aren't robots, and some of them are very much servants of God.

My point was that a typical Catholic parish isn't priest-driven to the same degree that Protestants tend to be pastor-driven.

gcdonner wrote:

Bootstrap wrote:

MaxPC wrote:Absolutely agree. Broad brush descriptions rarely exhibit a fair depiction of any denomination, congregation, fellowship, parish, or individuals.

I'm a lifelong Catholic and in my 80 years I've heard many homilies and sermons. I've visited Non-Catholic fellowships and denoms. If the sermon is made up of generalized cliches and platitudes, I would consider it less than excellent. I've heard those both in Catholic World and elsewhere.

I've also heard some truly outstanding pulpit thumping challenges both from priests and non-Catholic preachers that exhort and encourage the congregation to more fully embrace their Christian discipleship. Some even elicited a standing ovation (which isn't supposed to be done during Mass but it happened anyway) because the priest fearlessly taught about abortion, Biblical marriage and maintaining authentic loyalty to Christ.

We use the same Bibles, after all.

Still, you won't hear a Catholic priest urge parishioners to wear Amish clothing or conservative Mennonite clothing, or to identify themselves with Anabaptists. Most priests in America probably do consider us Christians too, but they don't exactly identify with us.

Then again, a lot of plain Mennonites and Anabaptists wouldn't even identify with non-plain Mennonites and Anabaptists ...

That is also true of evangelical churches, but it depends on the pastor and the church, and I suspect that it is true in RC and EO as well. Considering that the first Anabaptists were originally RC, well....

gcdonner wrote:

Bootstrap wrote:We use the same Bibles, after all.

Still, you won't hear a Catholic priest urge parishioners to wear Amish clothing or conservative Mennonite clothing, or to identify themselves with Anabaptists. Most priests in America probably do consider us Christians too, but they don't exactly identify with us.

Then again, a lot of plain Mennonites and Anabaptists wouldn't even identify with non-plain Mennonites and Anabaptists ...

That is also true of evangelical churches, but it depends on the pastor and the church, and I suspect that it is true in RC and EO as well. Considering that the first Anabaptists were originally RC, well....

MaxPC wrote:Spot on, GC. 1.2 Billion members in the Catholic Church, which equals the population of India. We have members from every culture in our rolls. One of my favorite memories is going to a Mass in a large city parish and seeing African dress, Korean and traditional Japanese clothing and even a few kilts. No one gave me a second look because of the variety. It was a normal Sunday as well, no special celebrations.