Not So Hasty Departure

A dear friend responded to my last post with a fairly direct criticism. I have absolutely no problem with friends challenging me. I love having people speak into my life. However, what hurt about this comment is the fact that it is completely untrue. It did point out a glaring problem in my life that needs addressing, however. Those I love obviously don't know why I left the Catholic Church to become a Vineyard pastor. This is not to attack my friend, but to clear up misunderstanding.

I grew up in the American Catholic Church, which calls itself the Roman Catholic Church. I was a bit schizophrenic, because I was also raised in the Assemblies of God. Now, for those of us unfamiliar with Catholicism, one does not "attend" the Catholic Church. One says, "I am a Catholic". As an American Catholic, I was always "fed". I have never felt that I was not being fed in the Catholic Church, nor did I ever utter the words, "I am not being fed." My wife, who is always willing to point out my hypocrisy and inconsistencies (God bless her), agrees that I have never said that in our 11+ years of marriage. No, that is not why I left. When my first daughter, Grace, was born, my life was rocked. I was forced to face all of my fears and to look carefully at my life and my faith. I realized that the church where I ministered and worshipped was not Roman Catholic, but was very American. If I was going to call myself a Roman Catholic, I had to find out what that really meant.

I left not because of not being fed, but because of the following reasons. First, I felt a strong calling to be a pastor. As a married man, I could not do that in the Roman Catholic Church. As a professional Youth Minister in a large parish, I could go no further. Second, when I found the Vineyard, I found my Tribe. My Home. There was no reason to look any further. I simply was among my people in the Vineyard. Lastly, and most importantly, after studying the Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church, I realized I knew in my heart of hearts that much of the theology was simply wrong. Issues of trans-substantiation, birth control, Marian devotion, Papal adoration, the male-only & celibate priesthood, teachings from formal Cardinal Ratzinger and others centered around Mary as co-redemptrix, and putting tradition on the same authoritative level with Scripture are just a few of the glaring problems I encountered. I simply cannot be a part of a Church that is so wrong, and still declares that it is the only one with the Truth. There is so much that is right, true, and good about the Catholic faith, but is does not come close to having the corner on Truth. The Vineyard, where I am now, does not alone contain the entirety of Truth either. However, my church home does not claim to have the whole Truth. We understand that it takes all of the Body of Christ in all of its beauty, diversity, and expression to worship such an amazing, powerful, and all-encompassing God.

I simply needed to be free to worship God in Spirit and in Truth.