Evangelical and Catholic

In a previous post, I asked Tim Glass of A Word on the Word what verses are most important if one wants to understand what Scripture teaches.  Tim is a (former) evangelical  who has found his way to the Catholic church.  He obviously reads the Bible assiduously.

This is not an idle question. Rich Cleveland has authored a three-book discipling tool, Emmaus Journey, designed especially for Catholics. The series preserves the values and distinctives of Navigators, an evangelical parachurch ministry that has introduced the Bible to hundreds of thousands of people, but incorporates Catholic terminology and theology, and concentrates on memorizing a set of Scripture verses that is more inclusive than the standard evangelical set. Passages like Matthew 16:15-19 and Colossians 1:24 are memorized, verses mysteriously left out of the standard evangelical set of prooftexts. As Allen Johnson wrote to a fundamentalist bent out of shape because the Navigators and Catholics are working together, “You will need to reconcile yourself to the fact that there is a growing Evangelical movement in the Catholic Church. I just received a letter from Rich Cleveland and in his letter he writes, ‘I wish you could have joined me (referring to a recent weekend conference with catholic collegians and collegiate workers in Madison WI) to see the enthusiasm these students and leaders professed for being committed Catholics who are very evangelical in their orientation; in the Word, sharing Christ, forming disciples, and committed to their faith.’”

I remember meeting Rich at that conference. As for Tim Glass, I think he brings to Catholicism a number of evangelical distinctives which, in a Catholic context, act as helpful leaven. He is an evangelical Catholic. Would he self-identify as such?

Comments

[Tim]

"As for Tim Glass, I think he brings to Catholicism a number of evangelical distinctives which, in a Catholic context, act as helpful leaven. He is an evangelical Catholic. Would he self-identify as such?"

Yes, John. I am definitely an evangelical Catholic! I believe it is important to share the truth of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, not only my personal Savior, but the Savior of the world through His Church.

God bless you, your family, and all your readers.

[John Hobbins]

Thanks for dropping by, Tim.

You are part of something larger that is happening, a gift of God in my view, to the Catholic church.

In turn, the Catholic church is blessing other parts of the Christian family in this generation in ways that have not been seen in the past. It is an exciting time.