Rack up One for the Apostes

Written By Jonathan Krogh

Dear Confessors:

I want to start today’s musing with a shout-out to Susan Rusk, who provides, along with dozens of other quiet services to FPCLG, regular cleaning of the hymnal racks in the Sanctuary. I have always been an admirer of an orderly hymnal rack; when you are seated for worship and things are neat and tidy, you feel prepared for. Like going to a messy friend’s home for dinner and realizing they vacuumed just for you! It makes the invitation feel authentic. I have visited churches where a reach for the pew Bible yielded a two-year-old Christmas Eve bulletin, a flyer for last spring’s Scout Sunday and a crumpled tissue; clearly that church was not expecting company. But thanks to Susan Rusk and a small revolving crew of clean-pew-rack elves, offering envelopes, scribble pads, hymnals, brochures and Bibles are all neat and tidy for worship. So, it gives me pause to consider adding another flyer to the literature rack in front of you.

Every Sunday following the sermon, we speak a word of public confession and articulation of belief. There are a dozen options from our tradition’s Creeds and Confessions, but each Sunday I default to the Apostles' Creed because of its historic continuity and brevity. Technically it is only three sentences, each dedicated to a manifestation of the Trinity, although the second sentence about Jesus Christ is a bit of a run-on. With guidance from Steve Prodanich, our Session has approved a brochure to share with the congregation regarding this ancient creed, and today I am musing about its introduction to the congregation.

It is interesting to me that most constructive theology is an act of opposition. At no point have church theologians gathered to assert positively their identity. Creeds and confessions are formulated in response to perceived errors—to define our boundaries. While the Nicene Creed (a longer and more cumbersome articulation of the faith) was completed prior to the Apostles' Creed, the roots of the latter were formulated a century before the Council of Nicaea, so many scholars contend that it is older. The primary problem with any of these doctrinal statements is how irrelevant they feel to our contemporary concerns. Theological battles from seventeen hundred years ago seem petty to our modern ears; but I am quite sure our arguments will feel equally silly to future generations. Thus, the need for a brochure.

I am linking a web version of the document here if you are interested. Or you can pick up a copy in our Sanctuary any Sunday. They may be in a literature rack in the Narthex rather than in the pew. Susan Rusk has enough to organize.

Dedicated to explaining stuff you may not care about (it is part of my job), I remain,

With Love,
Jonathan Krogh
Your Pastor

Jonathan Krogh
Next

Confessions of a Political Junkie