Feast of St. Thomas of Canterbury, bishop and martyr + 1170

Lord God, who gave grace to your servant Thomas Becket to put aside all earthly fear and be faithful even to death: grant that we, disregarding worldly esteem, may fight all wrong, uphold your rule, and serve you to our life's end; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP)



Well...today I finally did it. I wrote the pastor of the Evangelical church I love so much and have been a partner at these three years, and resigned. A sad day, to be sure...but also a happy one, because I know I am acting in obedience to the Spirit. Henceforth I am nothing but a Roman Catholic, though I pray that I will never cease to learn from my Protestant brothers and sisters, and never forget the great gifts The Austin Stone has given me.

As I have said, it is very difficult for me to convey what The Stone has meant to me over these years, and how much I have learned there. The worship is sincere and joyful, and the preaching is fantastic. I have learned a great deal about Scripture, and how necessary it is for the faithful to read and study it actively. As Matt said in a recent sermon, the Bible is like the sea, whose depths we will never completely plumb. Catholics do not, in general, pay enough attention to it (neither do the "mainline" Protestants). I look forward to going to the Scripture Study at the Cathedral and seeing how they do it there.

Another thing I learned at Austin Stone Community Church (ASCC) is the absolute indispensibility of true community in the life of faith. They have there what they used to call "community groups" (after a re-vamping and emphasis on smaller ones, they are now called simply "small groups"), where partners are encouraged to "do life" together. I can tell you that when a group of believers really commit themselves to each other, and meet weekly to read and discuss the Bible and pray together, remarkable things can happen. That is something I miss sorely, as my own group was dissolved when the re-vamping took place, and I have not found another to replace it. Of course, we Catholics have something like these groups, "small Christian communities", and I plan to check out a few of them at St. Austin's parish (there are none presently at the Cathedral, but that will not be the case for long if I can help it).

In short, I know that God brought me to ASCC for several reasons : to provide me with a circle of faith that would help me learn about how to live a life in community with other believers, how to have a personal relationship with Our Lord, and how to live a missional life, one that was about what God wants rather than about what I want. And beyond that, to take what I have learned and share it with people who don't know about those things, inside and outside the Church. My time as a member is completed...but I pray I never lose the friendships God has forged there, nor cease to be a part of them in the Spirit.

May God continue to bless The Stone with His Presence, and use it as a part of that Light which the darkness will never shut out.