Stephen: Evangelicals can learn a lot from the Catholic Mass. For instance the way Catholics do scripture readings. There is always a reading from both the Old Testament as well as the New Testament and they are scheduled to cover the entirety of the Bible every three years. This would definitely strengthen Biblical literacy in your congregation. Another valuable practice that could be learned is the recitation of the Nicene Creed. Its recitation would be valuable, because it could connect our congregations more deeply to the fundamentals as well as the history of our faith. Evangelicals can also learn from Catholic Sacraments. For example Evangelicals with communion, if we entered into it with more reverence by in preparing our hearts to receive Communion. We might be better prepared to commune with God. Confirmation is an excellent thing that is practiced in some Evangelical traditions, but not all. Setting aside time builds a good spiritual foundation in our children and will have a lasting impact on them throughout their lives. The Evangelical Church can learn a great deal from the way Catholicism approaches prayer. The important thing to note with this is that these prayers give structure and order to aid in the maturation of one’s prayer life. The Centering Prayer and the Daily Examen are both great ways to do this. The Centering Prayer can help a lot of people in the manner in which they approach prayer. The Daily Examen can really help shed perspective on situations that might seem bleak or hopeless. In those moments we are reminded that God is still with us.
Emily: I live, as an evangelical with Catholic roots, in a majority Catholic Country in Latin America. Catholics and Evangelicals can be very antagonistic towards one another here and I find myself struggling to find a balance between the two. On one hand, I don’t understand all the tension and feel energy could be better spent in discipleship than in trying to convert from one side to the other. But on the other hand, I see some troublesome theological beliefs in the Catholic Church that need to be redeemed.
The largest area of potential growth for the Evangelical Church I can see in light of the Catholic Church is in the area of spiritual disciplines and spiritual practices, such as those that Stephen presented in his blog on worship. I am personally drawn to the more contemplative spiritual disciplines, so I find these to be refreshing and purposeful. I love introducing others to practices like centering prayer to rattle the box that they put God and prayer in as evangelicals.
I am thankful for the unique relationship I have with the Catholic church through my grandparents and the five summers I spent working with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India and Phnom Penh, Cambodia. With all this, I have never thought about converting to Catholicism but my understanding of mission and spirituality have been shaped by the Catholic church in powerful ways and I am very grateful for the influence in my life.
Haley: While distinctly different from Protestant Church and Evangelical movement Catholicism has one of the richest and most active histories in community involvement. They have never shied away from taking part in all aspects of society including politics, education, and the welfare of the members of the community. Their outreach is not uniform with evangelism but it is geared at providing common good for the common people. It’s reach does not end at it’s doors but seeks to help those in the most need. In many communities the Catholic Church is also much more diverse demographically and ethnically. Families attend services together instead separately for youth and adult ministries, making the church intergenerational in its scope and not polarizing toward any certain group of people.
Personally I love attending Catholic services because I feel like I am taking part in another arm of the church. The community is rich in culture and tradition and it reminds me that a service doesn’t need to be catered to the person but simply a place to stand, pray and worship God in the communion of his people.
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