Doing church

February 28, 2006

One phrase of church-speak that really irritates me is talk of “doing church.” I’ve never thought too much about why it does until I read the following on the Kruse Kronicle:

Kruse Kronicle: Toward an Evangelical Public Policy: Chapter 3

So, if I may be forgiven from cribbing a quote from a quote from a book review, which practically guarantees losing its original context, here is what author Paul DeVries says about Presbyterians, compared to Lutherans.

While Lutherans believe that we should obey the Lord in our daily occupations, Calvinists believe that we should seek to obey God through our daily occupations, because we cannot blindly assume that our occupations actually serve the common good.

This neatly captures one of the reasons why I am a card-carrying Calvinist. I see a clear distinction between what we churchgoers do and who we really are (or should be). I, for one, don’t want to be known as a do-gooder. Maybe some day I will try to elaborate on that thought, after I calm down.

Dave, mostly irritated with himself.

Posted by Dave | Filed Under Presbyterian 

Comments

One Response to “Doing church”

  1. Michael Kruse on February 28th, 2006 8:37 pm

    Interesting that you picked up on this quote. It has been one of my favorites in the early chapters of the book.

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