The Sermon (or Homily)

As I visited churches - many asked me what differences I observed.  One obvious difference I saw was in the sermon (or the homily).  The main difference had to do with the amount of time for a sermon, though I also observed many different styles as well.


An average pastor delivers a sermon in between 20 and 30 minutes, with some shorter and some longer.  In the Catholic Church, the priest delivers a homily usually no longer than abut 10 minutes (I understand they are suppose to aim for 8 minutes.)  Usually mainline church pastors deliver their sermons around 15 - 20 minutes.  Evangelical pastors usually deliver their sermons in around 30 minutes or so.  Baptist pastors tend to average around 40 minutes.  Pentecostal pastors may give a sermon that last up to an hour.

Though Catholic priests (pastors) gave shorter homilies (sermons) - they usually have longer Bible readings before it, including an Old Testament reading, an New Testament reading, and a Gospel reading.  So while other sermons may be longer, a good portion of the time involves the pastor reading an initial passage the sermon is based on (expounds), and many cross-references during the sermon.  So in a way, the Catholic homily is almost as  long because the Scripture readings are done before the homily (sermon)  (also in many mainline churches) and the priest refers to them in his homily.  I found in my visits the amount of time of the sermon was not nearly as important as its quality - and some pastors could say much without a great deal of time, and some could keep a lengthy sermon interesting.


As to style of sermon, there about as many different styles as there are pastors.  The style of the sermon is very important - whether to converse, project, be loud, be soft, plead, cajole, or be tender.  The better pastors tended to vary their style through the sermon.  However, the most important factor I observed was whether the pastor could be himself - rather than pretend to be someone else.  

Liturgical or Non-Liturgical

As I visited the churches, some asked me - what are some of the main differences you encountered? One of the biggest differences I encountered was between liturgical and non-liturgical churches.

As soon as I said that, some immediately knew what I was talking about, while most seemed confused and immediately asked what is a liturgical church?

A liturgical church follows a liturgy. Though liturgy is a Greek word which basically means ceremony, a liturgical church usually refers to a church that follows a script during the worship service, while a non-liturgical church, which often has an order of service, usually does not follow a script.

In most, though not all liturgical churches, the script for the liturgy is set by the denomination from the central bureaucracy, so that all the churches of that denomination follows the same script (though some variations are allowed). In contrast, while non-liturgical churches may follow some sort of a script, it is usually developed at the local level.

When you attend a liturgical church, the script is usually provided to you in a missal, in a prayer book, in the bulletin, or some other manner. If you attend a non-liturgical church, if there is a script, it might not be provided, or if it is, it is either in the bulletin, or these days, projected.

However, most visitors notice other aspects that indicate a liturgical or non-liturgical church. In liturgical churches, the priests or pastors tend to wear ceremonial robes, while in non-liturgical churches they do not. Liturgical churches tend to sing hymns, while non-liturgical churches focus more and more on contemporary music. Liturgical churches tend to a more elaborate Communion (Eucharist) portion of the service than non-liturgical churches. Liturgical churches tend to be much more ornate than non-liturgical churches. Liturgical churches tend to have a more formal service while non-liturgical services tend to be much more informal.

Many liturgical churches have tried to diverge by having a traditional service and a separate contemporary service. In the meantime, some non-liturgical churches have incorporated some liturgical elements into their service.

Liturgical or non-liturgical is not a Catholic-Protestant dividing line. While Catholic churches are liturgical, many Protestant churches follow a liturgical service, including Episcopals, Anglicans, Lutherans, Presbyterians, and Methodists, among others.

Church attendees tend to have strong feelings about this. Some strongly prefer a liturgical (traditional) service, while others strongly prefer a non-liturgical (contemporary) service. It often depends on their background and good or bad experiences they had in the past.

I enjoyed both during my visits. To the extent I could, I tried to alternate and go to a liturgical service one Sunday, followed by a non-liturgical service the next Sunday. I found a richness in both traditions, and did not see them as necessarily in conflict. I appreciated both traditions.

Agree More Than Disagree

Visiting all the churches in town confirmed to me that we agree on much more than we disagree. Sometimes it's a matter of where we place our focus. If we focus on areas of agreement, then we will tend to look for and find areas of agreement. If we focus on areas of disagreement, then we will tend to look for and find areas of disagreement. Of course, it's a lot easier to focus on areas of agreement if they outnumber the areas of disagreement, and that is what I found reconfirmed as I visited all the churches.

I don't mean we should overlook areas of disagreements. What I mean is we should put those disagreements in some sort of context, and weigh them against all the areas of agreement. Otherwise, our focus quickly gets sidetracked to areas of disagreements, and we can quickly get lost in what tends to become an ensuing spiral. We tend to lose all perspective on what we did, or might otherwise, agree on. More importantly, we tend to lose all or any sense of unity and love.

A very large area of agreement which almost all orthodox Christian churches agree on are

the doctrines found in the Nicene Creed, which some traditions recite every Sunday (and others recite less often - and some not at all). If we focus on these areas of agreement, it tends to put our areas of disagreement in perspective. We don't tend to think of the Nicene Creed as a set of doctrines because it was written in simple manner but yet addresses profound areas of philosophical questions and problems, as well as address deep matters of doctrines such as the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, and many other doctrinal matters. Though I don't have the time and space here to discuss it at length, I have posted about the Nicene Creed in my other blog (in four parts) - here are the links:

http://rudyrentzel.blogspot.com/2010/08/nicene-creed-intro.html
http://rudyrentzel.blogspot.com/2010/11/nicene-creed-part-1.html
http://rudyrentzel.blogspot.com/2010/11/nicene-creed-part-2.html
http://rudyrentzel.blogspot.com/2010/12/nicene-creed-part-3.html

The Joy of Fellowship

I haven't posted for a while since I have been busy helping to start a new church, The Vine Church of Petaluma.

In my last post, I mentioned I would offer my general observations and conclusions from visiting the various churches. So this is my first post on that.

I had a great time visiting all the churches in Petaluma. I really enjoyed meeting and spending at least a bit of time with all the brothers and sisters in Christ in all of the various churches who love the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course I didn't meet all of them, though in some smaller churches I did.

There is joy in fellowship, and I experienced some of that. It wasn't the sort of fellowship you experience when you join a church body, and develop relationships with the members of that body. However, I experienced a different sort of fellowship since there are so many Christians throughout Petaluma. It felt a little bit like heaven when we will be with Christians from every nation and from throughout the ages. I really enjoyed talking with Christians from the different churches, and finding out what was going on in their lives, and in the life of their church.

Almost Conclusion

Well, I completed my journey of visiting all the churches in Petaluma within the parameters I set forth in my Introduction. Altogether (and in summary), I visited (or attendeed) 33 churches, which I list below in alphabetical order (excluding the words The/A/De or Church/Iglesia, but including the word Petaluma if that is the first word in a name). (If I attended or visited a church more than once, I list my last attendance, or visit, and you can follow the links there to any earlier attendances or visits.) (Since St. is an abbreviation for Saint, I will use the full word.) (All dates are for 2011.) You can review this list to see if you missed a church you might be interested in knowing about. If you think I missed a church (that fits the parameters in my Introduction), let me know.

• 360 Church of Petaluma (October 2nd)
• Adobe Christian Center (November 13th)
• Iglesia Apostolico (March 20th)
• Iglesia Bautista de Petaluma (September 4th)
• Calvary Chapel (August 28th)
• A Church of Christ in Petaluma (May 22nd)
• Iglesia de Christo El Renuevo (December 4th)
• Eastside Church (August 14th)
• Elim Lutheran Church (February 13th)
• First Baptist Church (July 17th)
• First Presbyterian Church (July 3rd)
• Hessel Church (July 24th)
• Hillside Church (October 23rd)
• Living Word (Evangelical) Lutheran Church (August 28th)
• New Life Christian Fellowship (June 26th)
• New Life Seventh Day Adventist Church (February 5th)
• Open Door Christian Church (September 11th)
• Penngrove Community Church (September 30th)
• Petaluma Christian Church (June 19th)
• Petaluma United Methodist Church (July 10th)
• Petaluma Valley Baptist Church (March 13th)
• River of Joy (Fellowship) (Petaluma) (October 15th)
• St. James Catholic Church (November 27th)
• St. John's Anglican Church (March 27th)
• St. John's Episcopal Church (June 12th)
• St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church (May 29th)
• St. Mary's Chapel (August 7th)
• St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church (April 3rd)
• The Salvation Army (Church) (November 6th)
• Sovereign Grace Baptist Church (April 17th)
• United Church of Christ (January 30th)
• The Vine Church of Petaluma (November 20th)
• Village Baptist Church (January 16th)

Several of you have asked what I have learned from this journey. I will offer my general observations and conclusions in some upcoming posts.

Iglesia De Christo El Renuevo

This last Sunday (Dec. 4th), I visited Iglesia De Christo El Renuevo at 963 Transport Way. This is a Spanish pentecostalist church, similar to Iglesia Apostolico which I visited back in March, though different. They average about 25 members in attendance on Sundays, with mixed ages.

The pastor is Luis Signor. I believe he told me he is from Guatemala.

Spanish pentecostalists tend to have very lively and emotional services, though at times, the music slows down to allow a very intense connection with God and the Holy Spirit. It seems to work well in the Hispanic culture, which may explain why pentecostalism is one of the fastest growing church movements in Latin America. The service goes about 2 and a half hours, so plan accordingly if you visit.

They are part of a much larger organization called Ministerios Ebenezer. I am not sure what that is, but when I do a search on the web, they seem to be all over Latin America.

St. James Catholic Church - Roman Catholic Church History

I attended St. James Catholic Church this Sunday (Nov. 27th), and played guitar at their guitar mass. Since I wrote before about my attendance there (on Feb. 21st, May 10th, and Oct. 14th), on different aspects of the church, this time I will focus on the history of the Roman Catholic Church (often simply called the Catholic Church - though that term can apply to serveral churches/denominations).

The Roman Catholic Church ("RCC") is the largest Christian church (denomination) in the world at over a billion members, with roughly 74 million members in the United States. The word "catholic" derives from a Greek word which means universal, and so the early church called itself catholic - meaning the universal church. All christian churches derive their roots from this early catholic church (or Catholic Church), and most of those which are not Roman Catholic broke away from it (or were forced out) at some point or other in history.

The RCC teaches that it's history goes back to when Jesus told St. Peter he was the rock He would build His church upon. According to tradition, St. Peter became the first bishop of Rome, the first Pope (papa in Latin - a child's term for father) according to RCC teaching. The RCC teaches the following 264 Popes, down to the current Benedict XVI, follow in a direct line of succession (spiritual - not blood). In addition, it teaches that all of its bishops are successors to the original apostles. (Its' priests serving under the bishops.)

Obviously, the RCC has a very long history and tradition, which I do not have the time and space to review here. Needless to say, there have been good points in that history as well as bad points, which even the most ardent Catholic believer acknowledges. However, the vast majority of Catholics, whether traditional, liberal, charismatic, evangelical, nominal, cultural, folk, or other type of Catholic, feels an intense loyalty to, and love for, the Roman Catholic Church, even with all of what they acknowledge as its faults. Since I have been reconnecting to my Catholic roots, I have to say I have been almost stunned by the spiritual depth of many of my Catholic brothers and sisters.