Argument from Church Services II: Narcissism
Another Unorganized Argument
When Jesus and John Wayne rocked the Evangelical world a few years ago, it catalyzed conversations about a persistent problem: narcissistic pastors. The problem is that pastors blessed with success have an extremely hard time keeping from becoming puffed up. Their churches flourish because of their preaching, or dynamic leadership, or talented musicians, etc. It is hard to give God the glory when everyone seems to be there for you. This eventually leads to some kind of character deterioration, which may come out in abusive management, sexual scandal, or financial duplicity. When I attended an Episcopal church for the first time, however, it dawned on me that there was a reason why this does not seem to happen as much among more ancient traditions.Â
Judging based on time allocation, what is the most important part of a Protestant service? For most denominations, it is the sermon. The service culminates in one man’s ability to research, write, and teach. His raw charisma may be the primary determining factor in whether the church grows or folds. The second most important factor may be the skill of the musicians. It is no wonder that, when 95% of a service revolves around the skill of one man and a team of five or so, humility is hard-won.Â
Contrast this with a Mass. The preaching will make up at most a quarter of the service, and it will not be the most important part. It will be preceded by more important things (the reading of the Gospels) and followed by the most important thing (Communion). The climax of the service is quite literally Jesus Christ. In a Protestant service, you are dependent on the pastor to mediate Christ to you through the Word, whereas in a Catholic service Christ also comes directly and bodily in the Eucharist.Â
One more interesting point: Despite Protestant devotion to the Word, more of the Bible is read in a Catholic service than almost anywhere in the Protestant world, since Protestants will typically read only the sermon text aloud. This is not an argument, just a small irony.Â
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