Saint John the Baptist Orthodox Christian Church
  • Home
  • Orthodox Christian Faith
    • What we believe
  • Parish
    • Our Patron Saint - Saint John
    • Our History >
      • Where we were and where we are...
      • "Remember your leaders..." (Hebrews 13:7)
      • What's in the name?
    • Administration
    • Christian Faith formation (Church School)
    • Chapel
    • Become a member!
    • Parish Library
    • Service request form
    • Donate
    • AmazonSmile
  • News
    • Sermons & Articles
    • Pictures & Videos
    • Looking Ahead to Next Sunday (LANS)
    • Weekly e-Bulletin
    • Service Texts
    • Quarterly Newsletter
    • Friends & Neighbors
  • Calendar
  • Contact Us
  • Useful Links
    • Choose Life!
    • Online Christian Bookstores >
      • St Vladimir's Seminary Press
      • St Tikhon's Seminary Press
      • Holy Trinity Bookstore, Jordanville
      • Eighth Day Books
      • Hermitage of the Holy Cross Monastery, WV
      • Nevsky's Books
      • Fr Daniel Sysoev Bookstore
      • Издательство Московской Патриархии
      • Магазин Сретенского Монастыря, Москва
      • Православный Книжный Магазин
    • Orthodox Intro
    • Orthodox Christian Radio

Foundations of an Orthodox community

8/2/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
By Father Lawrence Farley
​A large part of the problem with some Orthodox parishes (at least of my acquaintance) is not lack of money or lack of a nice building (nice as money and good buildings are), but the fact that they have not been built upon a proper foundation. The Scriptures have lots to say about the value of a good foundation, and the Lord teaches us that if the foundation has not been properly laid, the whole edifice built upon it is in danger of being swept away (Matthew 7:24-27), if not literally, then certainly spiritually.

I know of a number of parishes which have been thus swept away – not that they no longer exist as parishes, but that they no longer exist as true temples of God. Some have become spiritually toxic, and are more accurately described as synagogues of Satan (compare with Revelation 2:9). To be a truly Orthodox temple of God, the community must first have in place a solid foundation. And as Saint Paul reminds us, “no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid, and that foundation is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11). One can try to lay other foundations, setting in place the wood, hay, and straw foundations of ego and the cult of personality. But Jesus Christ is the only real and lasting foundation, either for a parish or an individual’s life. How can one build on this foundation to become a truly Orthodox community? I suggest five ways.

First of all, the priest of the parish must dedicate himself to his people and to washing their feet, as the Lord Himself gave both example and command (John 13:1-20). Too often young priests assume they are entitled to be respected simply because they wear a cassock. It is true that all persons should be treated with respect and courtesy, but it is also true that respect must be earned. The priest’s ordination does not entitle him to respect so much as it gives him the opportunity among his people to earn it. And he earns it by selflessly serving them, counselling them, loving them, weeping with them, sharing their burdens, and being accessible to them at all times. By doing so he earns credibility, so that he will be cut some slack when he errs or makes unpopular decisions. But it takes time to earn such credibility, as some young clergy have learned to their cost.

Secondly, the priest must preach Jesus Christ, and nothing else. What else, you may ask, would a priest preach? Alas, there is a long list of possible alternatives. He might preach simple moralism (“Let us be loving and nice”), or he might preach the glories of his ethnic heritage. I remember a very nice Greek bishop enthusing at a church’s dedication about “our beautiful religion,” by which he almost certainly meant his beautiful Greek religion. Better to enthuse about our beautiful Savior, for to enthuse about our religion is another way of enthusing about ourselves.

And one might preach Orthodoxy – the subtlest of all snares. That is, one might describe the glories of the Orthodox Faith, its sound doctrines, its wonderful sacraments, its glorious icons – and how Orthodoxy is a superior faith to all the other faiths on the market. In other words, one might preach about our beautiful religion, shorn of its ethnic components, which is still a way of preaching ourselves. The apostles preached Jesus Christ as Lord, God, and Savior, and how one could live in obedience to Him and become transformed. Orthodoxy is not the content of our Faith, but the mode of its reception. We serve the Christ preached by the Orthodox Church, not the Christ preached by (say) the Mormons. But Christ remains the content of our preaching.

Thirdly, the parish council must be united in standing behind and supporting their priest. Too often parish councils become the sites of a tug of war, a struggle for power, with the priest pulling in one direction and his council pulling in the other. In this struggle, no one wins, especially not the supposed winner. The council must have the same goal as the priest – that is, not to collect and retain power, but to serve Christ and His flock, and they must support their priest because he is in the forefront of fulfilling this common goal. He is not their employee, but their papa, and should be treated as such.

Fourthly, the community must make love their aim – that is, the creation of genuine community. This is impossible to do without eating together and working together, and to this end all Sunday Liturgies must have a time of eating appended to it so that the people can eat, talk, and share together. All the Pauline epistles presuppose the presence of a close community, and without it Christianity remains a mere cultic experience, lacking its crucial social component.

One church I knew of always had a meal afterward, but they charged for the food, so that the social time functioned as a fundraiser. Not surprisingly many skipped this meal and left right after the Liturgy, especially those with large families who could not afford to pay $10 a head for perogies and borscht. When I suggested that they have a free pot-luck meal instead, they were aghast at the possible loss to their budget. They valued income over the creation of community – and over church growth. They have their reward.

Finally, the community must be eschatologically oriented. That is, they must regard themselves not primarily as citizens of this world or as Americans or Canadians or as citizens of any other country, but as citizens of the Kingdom. Patriotism is wonderful, but the good must not be allowed to become the enemy of the best, and the Church stands under the Cross, not under any national flag. To make the flag paramount is idolatry. Through his preaching the priest must encourage his flock to see themselves as sojourners in this age, with their eyes fixed on the horizon to behold the blessed hope of the Second Coming with the cry of “Maranatha!” (our Lord, come!) in their hearts.

Living this out consistently will mean that the society around them will increasingly regard them as aliens, as unwelcome intruders, and as disturbers of the secular status quo. We all know where the front line of this battle is being drawn, and we must not flinch or compromise. Our Lord’s words to the apostles, “If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world – therefore the world hates you” (John 15:18-19) have lost none of their relevance. The priest must preach and the people must accept that to become an Orthodox Christian is to leave one moral universe and to enter a different one. And they must read the fine print before making this decision – that of inevitable conflict with the world and of possible persecution.
​
These are the principles and the foundation upon which new missions should be built and already established churches should conform. Conforming to them does not require changes in the congregation’s constitution and bylaws, but only humility of heart and a desire to grow. In the end it comes down to vision: does one have a vision of one’s church as a place of counter-cultural transforming truth and a laboratory of love, or simply as a place to go to in order to fulfil one’s spiritual needs? If the latter, then you should know that God cares less than nothing about your spiritual needs. He cares about you and your transformation. And that transformation is only possible if you catch the vision of your church as a place of uncomfortable truth, and of healing love.
Source: No Other Foundation blog
Father Lawrence serves as pastor of Saint Herman of Alaska Orthodox Church in Langley, BC, Canada.He is also author of the Orthodox Bible Companion Series along with a number of other publications
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Administrator 

    Unless otherwise specified, the articles here are posted by Father Aleksey, who has no sense of humor and is extremely straight forward.

    Archives

    December 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016

    Categories

    All
    9/11
    Abortion
    Adam's Rib
    Addiction
    Advent
    Akathist
    AmazonSmile
    American Saints
    Anaphora
    Announcement
    Annual Report
    Annunciation
    Apostles Fast
    Archbp Dmitri Royster
    Ark Of Salvation
    Asceticism
    Baptism
    Baptismal Liturgy
    Beheading Of Saint John
    Be Still
    Bible
    Bible Study
    Bishop
    Calendar
    Canaanite Woman
    Children And Life
    Christian Burial
    Christianity
    Christ Is Risen!
    Christmas
    Christmas Sermon
    Clay In The Hands Of God
    Clean And Unclean
    Coming Home
    Compassion
    Conception Of The Theotokos
    Confession
    Conform To Christ
    Conversion Story
    Converts
    Coronavirus
    Courage
    Creation
    Creed
    Cross
    Death
    Deny Yourself
    Depression
    Division Vs Unity
    Donate
    Donations
    Dormition
    Dormition Fast
    Doubting Thomas
    Drug Of The 21st Century
    Elected By God
    Eve
    Faith
    Fasting
    Father Alexander Schmemann
    Father Andrew Stephen Damick
    Father Chad Hatfield
    Father Lawrence Farley
    Father's Day
    Father Sergei Kosich
    Father Stephen Freeman
    Father Thomas Hopko
    First Light
    Forgiveness
    Forgiveness Sunday
    Foundations
    Freedom In Christ
    Fullness Of Faith
    Funeral
    God's Invitation
    Gospel
    Grace Of Christ
    Great Flood
    Great Lent
    Grief
    Halloween
    Health & Happiness
    Help Wanted
    Hollywood
    Holy Friday
    Humility
    Icon Of Nativity
    Iconography
    Infant Baptism
    Interview
    Jesus Christ
    Journey
    Joy
    Keeping Kids Christian
    Kids And Faith
    Kids And Porn
    Kids Vs Technology
    Kiss Of Peace
    Kitchen Upgrades
    Knowing God
    Lamb Of God
    Lesson
    Life After Death
    Liturgical Commentary
    Liturgical Year
    Liturgy
    Living Together
    Lost Sheep
    Love
    Love Your Neighbor
    Maintenance
    Marked By God
    Marriage
    Mary
    Memory Eternal
    Mission Of A Parish
    Mission Of Orthodoxy
    Moral Compass
    Nativity Fast
    Nativity Of Christ
    Nativity Of Saint John The Baptist
    Nativity Of The Theotokos
    Newsletter
    New Testament
    New Year
    New Year Resolutions
    Normal?
    No War
    Nudity And Movies
    Orthodox Christianity
    Orthodox Church
    Orthodox Community
    Orthodox History In America
    Orthodox Saints
    Orthodox Wedding
    Orthodoxy & Catholicism
    Orthodoxy In America
    Orthodoxy Is Life
    Orthodoxy Is Not Religion
    Orthodoxy & Lutheranism
    Orthodoxy & Protestantism
    Paralytic
    Pascha
    Patience
    Patron Feast Day
    PayPal
    Pictures
    Pilgrimage
    Podcast
    Polemics
    Porn
    Porn And Brain
    Porn Is A Lie
    Porn Kills Love
    Power In Weakness
    Pray At Home
    Prayer
    Prayer Of St Ephraim
    Prayer Rule
    Prayers To The Theotokos
    Procession
    Pro-life
    Publican And Pharisee
    Reading Bible
    Relics
    Religion
    Repentance
    Resist Porn
    Royal Priesthood
    Sacraments
    Sacred Space
    Saint Alexander Hotovitzky
    Saint Alexis Toth
    Saint Herman Of Alaska
    Saint Innocent Of Moscow
    Saint James The Brother Of The Lord
    Saint John Chrysostom
    Saint John The Baptist
    Saint Juvenaly
    Saint Nicholas
    Saint Patrick Of Ireland
    Saint Peter The Aleut
    Saint Raphael Of Brooklyn
    Saints Peter And Fevronia
    Saint Theophan The Recluse
    Saint Thomas Sunday
    Saint Tikhon Of Moscow
    Salvation
    Sanctity Of Life
    Seal Of The Holy Spirit
    Search For Christ
    Self-care
    Sermon
    Seventh Day
    Sexual Revolution
    Sharing Faith
    Silence
    Sin
    Skillful Children
    Sower
    Sunday Of Orthodoxy
    Sunday Of The Blind Man
    Sun Of Righteousness
    Teaching The Faith
    Telling The Truth
    Temple Of God
    Temptation
    Thanksgiving
    Theophany
    Theotokos
    Thorn In Flesh
    Tolerance
    Tree Of Life
    Triumph Of Orthodoxy
    Unchangeable Christianity
    Unity
    Weakness
    Why Confess To A Priest
    Woman
    Words
    Youth Ministry
    Zacchaeus
    Антоний Сурожский
    Архим. Ианнуарий Ивлиев
    Вера и знание
    Воспитание
    Дети
    Иоанн Златоуст
    Исповедь
    Молитва
    Новый Год
    о. Александр Шмеман
    о. Ианнуарий Ивлиев
    Пасха
    Подготовка к исповеди
    Подготовка к Причастию
    Подготовка к Рождеству
    Пост
    Причастие
    Проповедь
    Проповедь
    Пятидесятница
    Рождественский Пост
    Рождество
    Современное поколение
    Троица
    Христос Воскресе!

    Archives

    December 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016

Picture

Jesus said to the crowds about John, “I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John the Baptist.” (Luke 7:28)


Address

29 Weaver Street
​Little Falls, NJ 07424

Email

StJohn.Singac@gmail.com

Telephone

(973) 256-0314

Join our mailing list

* indicates required
Picture
Picture
Picture

Search our website

  • Home
  • Orthodox Christian Faith
    • What we believe
  • Parish
    • Our Patron Saint - Saint John
    • Our History >
      • Where we were and where we are...
      • "Remember your leaders..." (Hebrews 13:7)
      • What's in the name?
    • Administration
    • Christian Faith formation (Church School)
    • Chapel
    • Become a member!
    • Parish Library
    • Service request form
    • Donate
    • AmazonSmile
  • News
    • Sermons & Articles
    • Pictures & Videos
    • Looking Ahead to Next Sunday (LANS)
    • Weekly e-Bulletin
    • Service Texts
    • Quarterly Newsletter
    • Friends & Neighbors
  • Calendar
  • Contact Us
  • Useful Links
    • Choose Life!
    • Online Christian Bookstores >
      • St Vladimir's Seminary Press
      • St Tikhon's Seminary Press
      • Holy Trinity Bookstore, Jordanville
      • Eighth Day Books
      • Hermitage of the Holy Cross Monastery, WV
      • Nevsky's Books
      • Fr Daniel Sysoev Bookstore
      • Издательство Московской Патриархии
      • Магазин Сретенского Монастыря, Москва
      • Православный Книжный Магазин
    • Orthodox Intro
    • Orthodox Christian Radio