Compiled by Chaplain Mike
“I believe that we are on the verge- within 10 years- of a major collapse of evangelical Christianity; a collapse that will follow the deterioration of the mainline Protestant world and that will fundamentally alter the religious and cultural environment in the West. I believe this evangelical collapse will happen with astonishing statistical speed; that within two generations of where we are now evangelicalism will be a house deserted of half its current occupants, leaving in its wake nothing that can revitalize evangelicals to their former ‘glory.'”
• From “The Coming Evangelical Collapse, I”
I think we can rejoice that in the ruins of the evangelical collapse new forms of Christian vitality and ministry will be born. New kinds of church structure, new uses of gifts, new ways to develop leaders and do the mission- all these will appear as the evangelical collapse occurs.
• From “The Coming Evangelical Collapse, III”
“I am passionate about preaching. I read and think and write and breathe preaching all the time. I do not understand men who have the calling and the opportunity, but have no love for books or preachers or preaching. I go to conferences, listen to tapes and, if I can, rehearse. I preach in the car, and go to sleep preaching in my head. I dream of preaching the Word, not of money or pleasure or fame, but of the joy of a message in my heart and mind coming to life in my words. I grieve the replacement of preaching with “praise and worship,” and I would gladly go to war for the preaching of the Gospel in my generation.”
• From “A Career in Foolishness”
“Today, revivalism scares me to death, and the comfortable predictability of the common liturgy is home for me and my family. When ministers start “winging it” and talking about what has God laid on their hearts, I want to go out the back door. The 1928 Book of Common Prayer ought to be the law of the land as far as I am concerned.
“My friends often talk about liturgical churches as if they were dens of open Satanism. There dead, phony Christians, bound in Papist chains of tradition and quenching the Spirit at every opportunity, sit frozen, worshiping God in a box and considering themselves the only real Christians. Meanwhile, down at the Free Pentecostal Last-Days Assembly and Revival Center, real Christians, free in the Spirit, get high on Jesus, get saved every Sunday and see God working miracles at every service. Shambala-shingi.”
• From “Dr. Strangeliturgy”
“It’s remarkable, considering the tone of so many Christian sermons and messages, that any church has honest people show up at all. I can’t imagine that any religion in the history of humanity has made as many clearly false claims and promises as evangelical Christians in their quest to say that Jesus makes us better people right now. With their constant promises of joy, power, contentment, healing, prosperity, purpose, better relationships, successful parenting and freedom from every kind of oppression and affliction, I wonder why more Christians aren’t either being sued by the rest of humanity for lying or hauled off to a psych ward to be examined for serious delusions.”
• From “When I Am Weak”
“What I will say is this: The “wretched urgency” that pervades much of evangelical Christianity isn’t Biblical. It’s a hoax, and a sick one. In fact, I will go so far as to say it is an outright distortion and perverting of the New Testament into saying something it never says, and ignoring plain truths it lays out for anyone to see.”
• From “Wretched Urgency”
“I have my doubts. About it all. God. Jesus. Life after death. Heaven. The Bible. Prayer. Miracles. Morality. Everything.
‘But you are a pastor. A Christian leader.’ That’s right, and I am an encyclopedia of doubts. Sometimes it scares me to death.”
• From “I Have My Doubts”
“In my office is a sign that says “Someday you will… preach your last sermon. What if today is it?” Richard Baxter said we should preach as a dying man to dying men. Will I get another thirty years to preach? I do not know, though I have a strong premonition that I am on the other side of the mountain in my preaching career. Baxter’s advice is not just about how long one preaches, but about how one preaches.”
• From “A Career in Foolishness”
“If Christianity is not a dying word to dying men, it is not the message of the Bible that gives hope now.”
• From Michael’s final post, 2/10/10
The Internet Monk Archives 
Took a look down the link. First time I’d seen the flamefest associated with that cartoon. Lots of the passive-aggressive character assassination by gossip and innuendo my writing partner tells me about (i.e. IMonk not being SCRIPTURALLY qualified to be an Elder because he cannot rule his household, i.e. uppity wife went Romish).
That blog can be summed up in two words: NO. POPERY. (TM)
The Treaty of Westphalia ended the Reformation Wars in 1648. It is now 2011, and apparently some STILL haven’t gotten the news. Or a clue. Or, being Hyper-C, were Utterly Predestined since the Foundation of the World to not get it.
P.S. While Evangelicals were holding their celebrity rock-show “Worship (TM)” last Sunday, the Processional (opening hymn) at St Boniface for this Sunday of Lent was by a certain J.S.Bach, with lyrics by a certain Pope Gregory the Great.
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I take being depicted as a goat following the iMonk as a badge of honor.
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“When I am weak” is an essay I return to often. My walk in faith has been a battlefield, and I’ve traveled 98 percent of it wounded. I gave up on the promises that everything would be better if I were better; a better tither, if I read the bible “right”, prayed “right”, believed in YEC, the 5 solas, teetotaled, etc, ad nauseum. I’m not going to get any better. I can only hope to survive without causing or suffering much more damage. Knowing that Michael suffered the same types of wounds and conflicts has made me feel not so alone in the struggle. I have to believe that his grace is sufficient for me because my own actions usually go badly awry.
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Thanks, Chaplain Mike. This means a lot. Michael had so much wisdom. And I love that picture someone drew of him as the shepherd leading the goat. Classic iMonk 😀
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I commented at that blog during that hyper-C attack and had to take a shower afterwards. I just revisited that site again. Thanks for the reminder of why I’m in the wilderness. Now back to the shower…..
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Thanks, Brendan. Lots more iMonk to come. We will always have a “classic iMonk” post at least once a week (usually on the weekend), and I am open to requests like yours. Stay tuned.
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This is one of the reasons why I am a strong believer in denominations rather than independent churches.
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Isaac, thanks. I’ve been meaning to get a BCP (I’m Baptist but hang out with Anglicans). What you’ve said steers me to the ’28.
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So he took it as a badge of honor? Like the early believers adopting the insulting name of “Christian”? Could be.
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Duh – I didn’t even notice the link at first!
It was an excellent piece by Michael, and definitely laid out the issue. Fortunately, that approach has never been part of my spiritual experience. I was always taught that I was never responsible for anyone’s salvation – that was the Holy Spirit’s job. If He chose me to be a little piece of that process in someone’s life, great. But as Michael said, we are called to live faithful lives of quiet obedience and love, which is probably the most powerful witness there is.
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Thanks for filling in the history, Sarah.
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I remember that exchange…
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Both the ’79 and the ’28 have something that is not in the 1662: short devotions for use by families or individuals They both have four of these services. In the ’79 they’re about one page each for morning, noon, evening, and late evening prayer. In the ’28 there are a 3-5 page and a one page devotion for each of morning and evening. That’s actually the BEST place to start for your use. You can then learn more and work up to the regular daily services.
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Adrienne,
Yes, it’s the Book of Common Prayer being discussed. Much of the Puritan stance against the BCP is related to the early days of the English Reformation. The Puritans wanted a much more radical set of reforms than what ended up occurring in the Church of England. These conflicts eventually led to the English Civil War and lots of persecution (on both sides) that even resulted in not a little bloodshed. To the early Puritans, the BCP was a symbol of those conflicts and controversies. Ultimately, though, as you said, the Puritan argument against the BCP was that it is too “Popish.”
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Thanks! That was exactly the type of feedback I was looking for.
btw, I was asking for the purpose of personal/family devotion.
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Chaplain Mike ~ are he prayer books being discussed The Common Book of Prayer? Why did the Puritans and others protest the use of the CBP? I have been looking online and cannot find an explanation except to say it was too close to Rome – too “Popish”.
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At the risk of bringing up some bad memories (I remember the sad blogstorm of the hyper Calvinists publicly ganging up on the Imonk), it’s from here: http://everydaymommy.net/?p=1666
As I recall, Michael liked the cartoon and purchased it from its creator.
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My pleasure 🙂
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The Prayer Book Society exists to advocate/preserve the traditional Prayer Book (i.e. ’28 here in the States).
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Hey CM,
Lovin’ the flash backs!!!! I have one request… can we get a post that solely focuses on iMonk’s faith building works. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Michael’s criticism (best on the web) but he also had a lot of really encouraging things to say. You gave us a taste of it here, but what about a whole post dedicated to encouraging the faithful and the disaffected.
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In one or two of the articles cited at the top, the Original IMonk expressed a preference for the 1928 version over the 1979.
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Not just a monk. See that halo? In artistic tradition, that sort of crossbars on the halo are reserved only for Christ. I think that cartoon of IMonk was originally done by one of his detractors, showing him leading the Goats astray. In that context, the use of a cross-halo pattern would mean “False Christ.”
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I will have to go back and research that one. I vaguely remember when it first appeared, but don’t recall the details.
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BTW Mike, who drew that logo / caricature of Michael as a monk?
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Thanks, Isaac. These are helpful recommendations and suggestions.
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A good online resource for BCP stuff is the Prayer Book Society, USA. You can find lots of articles in back issues of their magazine (all of ’em online as pdfs) that can help. As far as your personal use, are you looking to use it for personal devotions or as a minister? If it’s former, both the ’28 and ’79 are pretty user-friendly. Get a copy and start with morning and/or evening prayer. From there, maybe explore the catechism and/or the 39 articles. The rubrics are pretty self-explanatory for the most part. On the website of St. Peter’s Anglican in Tallahassee, FL there is a video in their media section that walks you through using the ’79 in daily life. All their videos are very good. If your goal is to use the BCP in ministry, there’s an old book written in 1904 by Bishop William Paret titled The Pastoral Use of the Prayer Book. It’s been a major help to me. It’s in public domain, so you can find it online. If you need a copy, find me on facebook (Isaac Rehberg) and I’ll get you a .doc or .pdf or .epub of the book.
As far as the differences, here’s a VERY brief summary: The 1928 is classically Anglican, while the 1979 is more representative of a post-Vatican II liturgical ethos. The 1928 is unambiguously grounded in the theology of the Reformers (albeit in the context of the ancient liturgical tradition) while the 1979 is a bit more ecumenical (and thus theologically ambiguous). The 1979 is more comprehensive in its content (more services, more prayers, etc). The 1928 uses traditional Elizabethan/Shakespearian/King James English, while the 1979 contains both modern and traditional English options. The 1928 is more literal in its translations from Latin and Greek antecedents, while the 1979 is more “dynamic equivalent” in its translation.
I like the 1979 for what it is, but I’ve recently come to prefer the 1928 for its theology, it’s classic Anglican feel, and the beauty of the traditional English. I’ve also used the 1662 BCP from England, but as an American, I’ve decided it’s better to use the liturgy geared for my national context.
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Michael has a way of cutting to the core of an issue. His writing ranks right up there with his preaching. Writing is a natural extension of his preaching.
My problems with a lot of evangelical churches (I know there are strong exceptions) is the lack of tradition, creed, and accountability. If something goes wrong in a church there is a tendency to just erase that part of the history, names, situations, etc. One can list the problems with mainline churches, of which there are many, but they still have tradition, basic creed, and accountability. If a bishop gets fired or resigns from scandal, the history is still there. His name does not disappear. The dirty laundry hangs out for all to see. Neither do many mainline pastors reach celebrity status, staring on their web page as the next messiah. And, guess what. A pastor can be a “traditional” evangelical and be a mainline pastor.
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Thanks for compiling this “greatest hits” list. I only discovered this blog shortly before Michael’s “graduation” (that’s how my Father-in-law described his mother’s death), but I’ve found his work to be helpful in clarifying some things and causing me to rethink many other things. His critique of “evangelicalism has both helped me identify some of the weaknesses of my own Church and showed me where my Church is much healthier than most that fall under the “evangelical” label. It has been encouraging to find others in the comments that ache for more “unity in the essentials, diversity in the non-essentials, and [most of all] charity in all things.”
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Isaac, your comments have been very helpful for me as I explore the liturgical traditions of the Christian faith. Thanks to one of your comments I discovered http://www.bcponline.org. I’ve seen comments referring to the 1928 BCP and the 1979 BCP here and online. Is it possible for you to give a brief summary of the differences? Also, is there a good resource (other than an Anglican priest) for learning how to use the BCP?
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“in their quest to say that Jesus makes us better people right now. With their constant promises of joy, power, contentment, healing, prosperity, purpose, better relationships, successful parenting and freedom from every kind of oppression and affliction”
Yes, and if I could add to that……these things will only come to you IF YOU _________________ (fill in the blank)
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PL, click on the link (the green bold title below the quote) and it will take you to the original post where Michael explains the whole concept.
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As if the Holy Spirit doesn’t even exist! Such silliness!
In the words of Winnie the Pooh, I say:
“Oh bother!”
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Amen.
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He’s talking about the pressure in some Evangelical circles to witness, witness, witness, because if you don’t people are going to Hell and it’s all your fault for not witnessing, witnessing, witnessing.
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Just reread the one on liturgy. Man, that’s a good essay! It wasn’t dated, but based on it being not on the blog but in the essay section, I’d assume it was one of his older works. Toward the end, he mentioned that Rbt. Webber had predicted that the generation following the boomers would be more appreciative of liturgy. To a certain extent, that seems to be true. I’ve mentioned this before, but at a recent Anglican church planting conference, everyone in their 20’s and 30’s that I talked to was advocating a more traditional (i.e overtly liturgical) approach to worship. I think there’s a lot of us younger folks that simply haven’t really thought about it, but many of those who have seem to be more appreciative of the traditional approach than our parents were/are.
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Sorry to display my ignorance here, but can someone explain to me what Michael means by “wretched urgency”?
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File this one under ‘saved to be returned to often.’ Thanks.
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the one about PREACHING. that’s me. i’m thankful for these words.
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Thanks for these profound and memorable quotes. Michael’s insight, wisdom, fear, and passion remain a beacon of light that helps illuminate the path ahead.
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