The Life We Claim. James C. Howell

      PREFACE

      ________________________________________________

      Many Christians have stood on cue in worship to repeat the Apostles' Creed, words they learned years ago, but have never thought much about them. Many churches have decided that the words of the Creed do not appeal to modern consumers and may even repel some of the very people we hope to reel in. Many so-called seekers have poked their heads into the Church, unsure what exactly would be offered: a satisfying experience? Intellectual content? Something old? Something fresh?

      The Apostles' Creed is spoken, in unison, perhaps thoughtlessly, or perhaps with the solid substance that is manifest when a couple parts in the morning with a kiss that is little bit perfunctory but bears witness to something deep and large. To reflect upon the depth of the repeated kiss is a good idea, and we may be sure that a close examination of the historic Apostles' Creed will more than repay the effort. We want to know what we really believe, and why. We need to know if there is anything substantive to hang on to in the Church. We need to ask questions, and to be asked questions, to test our minds and souls, to grow in a kind of spirituality that is not just freefloating, but coming from someplace, and going to someplace that is significant.

      Our time with the Apostles' Creed is richer if we explore these matters together, in worship, in classes, in common study and prayer. Originally, the Creed was designed for worship, and that is where the Creed is most frequently experienced today. A church family can discover a shared identity, and grow into a more zealous mission together by working through the Creed. This book unfolds into a roadmap for Christians to think carefully, pray diligently, and live faithfully around the Creed. It can be read solo, but it can also function as a book for common study; it offers suggested sermons (deeper reflections) and worship resources, which could be used in many settings, but with particular benefit in the actual worship life of the congregation.

       Two Challenges

      Should you as an individual or your church as a body delve into this series, you must know that a pair of dissonant melodies will be playing in the background. Many walk in the door with in an anticreedal mood: "I do not trust ancient, established authorities. I want to believe on my own. I am the one who will decide for myself." This mood is not random, but has fermented because established authorities have let us down quite a few times. We will need to help the skeptics see that the Creed was not birthed in a bullying, dictatorial way. The Creed was the focused, worshipful expression of people whose lives had been totally transformed by the Bible and by the risen Jesus Christ. The Creed's words are not windows with the shutters pulled down tightly, but windows thrown open into the very heart of life with God.

      Others walk in the door in a pro-creedal mood, but misconstruing the Creed as some sort of litmus test to be rigidly applied: "If you do not give assent to every word of our dogma, if you raise even faint questions, you are not worthy of the Kingdom of God." But the Creed was not designed as a massive stone wall to keep out unbelievers. In fact, there is a "blessed spareness"¹in the Creed, pushing no theory of sin, no theory of the meaning of Jesus' death, no prescription for how the Church should be structured. There is room in the Creed for many kinds of Christians, and there is room in the Creed for questions.

       About This Book

      How will we explore the Creed and its questions? This book provides brief, digestible lessons of roughly six hundred words each. You may simply read the lessons, or you may wish to use them in classes. You could print them in the church newsletter or bulletin— and in this modern, technological era, you would be wise to e-mail these to the congregation through the week in preparation for the coming Sunday. More and more churches are not just throwing up Web sites, but gifting people's e-mail boxes with inspirational, educational lessons. You'll have to collect addresses and promise the recipients you will not ask for anything except a little time and interest. The lessons must be personal, emanating from the senior pastor herself, or the teaching pastor himself.

      In the appendix, you will find detailed suggestions for music to use in worship. Remember: the Creed was sung in worship before it was analyzed and dissected in the classroom! We cannot believe in God or think about God somehow prior to worship; if we have faith or think faithfully, it is because we have met God in regular worship.² A worship series on the Apostles' Creed could extend over an indefinite period of time, or it could pass swiftly. But you probably need a minimum of ten weeks to touch on the major theses. This book falls into fourteen sections. Depending on the time of year, a series on the Creed can dovetail beautifully into the Christian year. When I did this series, we began the Sunday after the New Year—a good time, as people are fresh and motivated, in many places it's too cold to spend much time outdoors, and resolutions are still dancing in people's heads. Lent commenced right at the point of "He shall come to judge," "the forgiveness of sins" landed on Palm Sunday, and Easter culminated it all with "the resurrection of the body." The sermons included can be read as merely inspirational, or as exemplary of how to preach on the Creed. Dozens of sermons could be hatched on each article of the Creed: but know that at least one church in Charlotte, North Carolina, heard and received these with enthusiasm.