I’ve been engaged with the Catholic Church for about the last 10 years. Well, if I really go back, I’ve been engaged with the Catholic Church probably my whole life. I still remember my Catholic friends on my club soccer team back in the 80s. They were going through confirmation (“What’s that?” I asked ) and that sparked my curiosity in Jesus and the church. I went home and asked my mom about going to church and we cracked open the Yellow Pages to find one (Christ Episcopal Church Plano). Those initial experiences are my earliest memories in the church and I thank my mother for her responsiveness to me and my naive inquiry. Ironically about that same time, my two oldest sisters joined the Catholic church with their husbands who grew up Catholic. After that I took a deep dive into the evangelical movement, got my seminary degree (Thm at DTS), served overseas, and the sprit of that journey continues today.
A few decades after that initial curiosity, I am an organizational health consultant working for the most passionate evangelical Catholic (“what’s that?” I asked) I’ve ever met. His name is Patrick Lencioni. My neat categories were being shattered as I heard him talk about speaking at Willow Creek Church year after year, consulting with Carmelite nuns, having a causal conversation with Rick Warren, and attending daily mass. Through our firm, The Table Group, I started to work with Catholic ministries as a consultant. So, here I am teaching organizational health principles and then finding myself becoming the real student of life, faith, and a devotion to Christ that I’ve never known. Along the way I got to see firsthand this example of faith with so many new brothers and sisters in Christ (thank you Bonnie, Lucy, Father John, Pat, Daniel, Kevin, Rick, Jeff, Joyce, Scott, Mike, Father Shawn, and more). I began my own personal journey with a quick google search and some simple times of morning prayer at Saint Mary’s in Walnut Creek, CA. This is Pat’s parish but, ironically, I never attended with him. I just met friends there and started praying with them. This began to grow into a beautiful journey of fellowship in the Catholic Church. My dear friend Daniel walked with me through it as we read the Catechism of the Catholic Church together. There’s too much to share here about that journey. But for whoever is interested, I’ve been writing reflections and stories along the way in a collection I am calling “Journey Home.” I add reflections in it each year and I’d be happy to send it to anyone interested. I’ll share samples of some of those stories in this blog.
I certainly understand that many of my family and friends receive this update in different ways. I’m not the first evangelical or protestant to cross these lines and find full fellowship in the Catholic Church. But, for many people in my network, I’m perhaps the first one they know personally (ex. first classmate from DTS, first fellow parent at my kids evangelical private school, or first fellow grandparent with common grandkids). I recall one time recently when I went to mass at Christ The King Catholic in Little Rock with my son Sam. I looked around at the packed sanctuary preparing in prayer for mass. I whispered to Sam a simple question as I pondered, “do you know anyone here?” He looked around, and plainly said, “I think one person.” That was a reminder to me of the divided church. It’s is a relatively small city. But there’s very little fellowship that I’ve experienced between Catholics and Protestants. And, of course, I perpetuated this dynamic myself. If this is the case in a town like Little Rock, obviously, that dynamic exists in many other places as well.
Yes, there are real divisions among us. But I’ve been the most impressed with misconceptions and the rich history of reconciliation. Ironically in the Catholic Church I’ve found many familiar ‘protests’ appropriately addressed. I’ve seen a spirit of constant ‘re-formation’ of church practices confirming into the likeness of Christ and His vision for the church. And I’ve found men and women who are more evangelical than I’ve ever been. I certainly understand that there’s still a lot of confusion, tension, and division in the church. But those dark spots have been overshadowed by the beauty, the truth, and the power of the gospel at work in the lives of so many. This may sound a bit odd. But in joining the fellowship of the Catholic Church, I can’t really say that I believe anything differently. I do worship more. I do pray more. And I understand much deeper what I already held in my heart. The biggest difference? The fellowship. I was not in fellowship at all before. Now I’ve found a deep and rich fellowship that’s hard to describe. It makes me want to say like the Apostle Andrew said, “come and see.”
For those of you who are unfamiliar with this process of joining the church it’s called the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults. It is very similar to what young people experience in confirmation. Like they say, “better late than never.” I should call some of my Catholic soccer teammates and tell them thanks for the prompting 30 years ago! I never went through confirmation then, but finally did in 2018 at Saint Francis church in Grapevine, TX. And on November 25, 2018 (which is called Christ the King Sunday) I was confirmed in the church. My father and dear friend Daniel were in attendance standing with me in support. When someone is confirmed they are given a Confirmation name after a saint. I chose Saint William (died c. 1201), also known as Saint William of Rochester who was a Scottish saint and martyr. He is the patron saint of adopted children. I have to confess that I chose this name due in large part to the legacy in my family. My mother has roots in Scotland and named me after my grandfather, William Gordon McCabe. To read more about my namesake click here.
It’s important to know that I continue to be in fellowship with all my existing friends and family. Being in full fellowship with the Catholic Church is not drawing a line in the sand but hopefully walking back-and-forth across that line and building bridges for the glory of Christ (see His own prayer in John 17). There’s no better example of walking across real and perceived borders than our Lord and Savior. He walked right through Samaria when His disciples wanted to take the long way around. He called a despised tax collector to be one of His 12. He reached out his hand to an oppressed and condemned harlot, silencing her self-righteous accusers and initiating her into his band of followers. He converted a murderer who was sponsoring the elimination of the early church into a great Apostle. The Holy Spirit, indwelling James, presided over the first church council to resolve the earliest divisions between the first communities of the church.
Divisiveness is nothing new to the church and to the world. And hopefully there’s still lots of opportunity to be building peace and unity across that those same divisions. As many know, the Eucharist is the called the “source and summit” of the Catholic church and every mass celebration. And before partaking in that communion celebration, we do something that’s very simple, but very powerful. We extend peace to one another waving, shaking hands, and smiling saying “peace be with you” or “may the peace of Christ be with you.” These are the very words of the risen Christ as He entered into a room full of dejected and divided followers who were trying to figure things out and reconcile their various accounts.
In that same spirit I remain in fellowship at Saint Andrew’s Anglican Church together with my family. I engage with my kids youth groups which have been at Bible and Baptist churches. And I continue to consult and partner with churches and ministries across the continuum in the body of Christ. The Catholic Church teaches that the family is the “domestic church,” so that has been a great reminder of the sacred role that our family plays in God’s plan.
Peace be with you!