GOD IS PERSONAL, BUT NEVER
PRIVATE
August 2005
article for the Rubric, publication for
Saint Mark's Cathedral, Seattle
There’s a great scene in the book To Kill a Mockingbird in which Scout, the child protagonist, visits the church of her family’s maid. As the preacher wags his finger and rants about the dangers of sin, he doesn’t just speak hypothetically … he names names! He publicly scolds individuals for their known or perceived sins and insists they repent on the spot.
While we probably wouldn’t feel comfortable adopting this model, we have a tendency to live at the opposite extreme. Our dominant culture promotes faith as a private endeavor. In essence, it says, “We encourage you to believe in God any way you like, but we don’t want to hear about it.” Sometimes this makes us afraid to speak about our faith for fear we’ll be ostracized … or just given a funny look.
In my opinion, separation of church and state is great for our country, but it’s terrible for me. I can’t live a compartmentalized life. My faith is intricately woven through every decision I make, and there’s no reason for me to keep that fact hidden. Yes, my relationship with God is personal, but I also want and need to live my faith with other people.
The Episcopal Church already does public faith very well in one way: we worship together from the Book of Common Prayer. Each week, Episcopalians all over the country (and Anglicans around the globe) engage with God in standard forms of worship. In a mystical way, this method allows us to share our faith with past generations of Christians as well.
But our faith shouldn’t have to fade into the background when we leave the nave. At times other than regular liturgies, my faith grows in community with others. Usually, this takes the form of sharing stories from my life, expressing how these experiences have affected my faith, and inviting feedback.
Why should our faith be less private? Simply put, it’s impossible to build a solid faith on our own. No matter how certain I am about something, that doesn’t make me correct. I need to test my faith in community, learning from the experiences and perspectives of other people. In the end, it’s not about my personal belief … it’s about our community’s call to live in love. You can’t be a Christian in a vacuum.
Another reason for us to share our faith with others is that this can become the driving force for needed change in the world. With the guidance of Martin Luther King, Jr., the Civil Rights movement was sparked by faith. We are Christ’s hands and heart in the world; how can we keep from singing? And how can we help but change others when we dare to sing?
Many of you had the privilege of seeing author Jim Wallis when he spoke at First Baptist Church in April. In his book God’s Politics, Wallis writes, “God is personal, but never private.” Those words rang so true with us that we’ve decided to adopt them as our theme for Faith Formation events in the 2005-06 program year.
In the coming months, watch for events like these:
If weekly worship services have been the extent of your involvement at Saint Mark’s, consider taking the next step. Immerse yourself a little more deeply this year by trying out some Sunday forums, Wednesday night classes, and special events. Watch for brightly colored posters to announce all these offerings.
Come share your faith with the Saint Mark’s community this fall!