Catholic Teaching, Evangelical Ministry: An Ecumenical Approach

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
Romans 12:5

When Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, was an archbishop in communist Poland, he encountered a powerful spiritual revival taking place among the young people in his archdiocese. They showed a spiritual hunger that he had never seen before on such a scale among young people. Wanting to see the participants in this revival develop a strong and lasting Spirit-filled faith, he looked around for help.

Where did he turn? He had the wisdom and humility to turn to Bill Bright and Campus Crusade for Christ. Leaders from Campus Crusade went to Poland and, using their experience discipling young people, worked hand in hand over a number of years with their Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ to help make this revival something that would last. Perhaps this is one reason why Poland is likely the most Christian country in Europe today.

We evangelicals have much to offer the Roman Catholic Church, especially in the areas of lay ministry and evangelism. How it must please God when we share in this way. But this is a two way street. There is much Catholics can share with us. To me, nowhere could such sharing bring greater benefits and blessings than from what Catholics have to offer in the area of teaching and theology regarding the related matters of life, reproduction and sexuality.

My prayer is that, just as the future Pope was open to the primarily Protestant Campus Crusade, we evangelical Christians will explore the richness and depth of Roman Catholic understanding of matters of life and sexuality.

For Evangelicals, our weakness in these areas is easily illustrated.

Many may be surprised that when Roe vs. Wade was handed down legalizing abortion in all 50 states, the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution hailing the Court's decision. How could it be? Apparently the Baptists then, like most of us, lacked a deep and broadly accepted theology of life. And so, we once viewed abortion as a "Catholic" issue. (The Southern Baptist Convention repented of this move years later.)

In addition, at one time many states had laws outlawing the sale of contraceptives. You may not have known it was conservative Protestants who brought the pressure to enact theselaws. So then, on what basis did Protestants change their minds regarding contraception? Was there a change in theology, or was there simply a drift in thinking because we lacked a clear and broad theology of sex and reproduction?

Today, we are in the midst of battles over in-vitro fertilization, stem cell research, and yes, gay marriage. And with increasing frequency, we are finding that some of the most well thought out arguments against what we know to be immoral are coming from Catholic studies and Catholic thinkers.

In the matter of homosexuality, we have much to offer each other. Catholic teaching is clear and unambiguous regarding homosexual behavior, and yet ministry to people dealing with same-sex attractions have grown extremely slowly in Catholic countries. Courage, the Catholic ministry to homosexual people, has spread gradually over the years, but Exodus-type ministries almost never take root in predominantly Catholic countries — until those countries start to develop strong Evangelical minorities. Catholics could benefit greatly from studying our systems of lay ministry.

On the other hand, in teaching on the wrongness of homosexual acts, evangelicals most often focus on either the Biblical prohibitions or the harm that so often comes from leading a homosexual life. This is fine and true, but Catholics are more apt to introduce into the discussion a focus on God's purposes for our sexuality — the understanding that homosexual behavior is wrong, not just because the Bible says so, but also because it violates God's glorious plan for how we are to use our sexuality.

We live in a culture that is increasingly hostile to orthodox Christianity. Gentle, feel-good Christianity is no problem with the culture. But a bold Christianity as lived out primarily by evangelicals and Catholics who adhere to their church's teaching, is a threat to the culture. It dares to proclaim a creator God who has a claim on the life of every man and woman. One of the great blessings coming out of today's cultural battles is that in the abortion protest, in fights to preserve marriage, and in the battles to restrict pornography, evangelicals and Catholics are standing together. As we do, let us each look to the other, appreciate and emulate the great and wonderfully special gifts given to each part of the body.