Theological Arrogance and the Independent Sacramental Movement

My sisters and brothers in Christ,

Lately, I have found myself troubled by something I see too often within the Independent Sacramental Movement: theological arrogance. I say this cautiously because I know how easy it would be for a reflection on arrogance to become arrogant itself. I also know that I am capable of the very judgment I am criticizing. There are times when I read conversations online and find myself becoming frustrated, dismissive, or even contemptuous. That is not where I want my heart to be. If I am asking the movement to examine itself, then I must be willing to examine myself first.

Still, I believe the concern is real. I regularly see Christians within the movement arguing intensely over matters that seem very far from the center of the Gospel. Sometimes the arguments concern titles, vesture, jurisdictional status, ceremonial details, heraldry, or even coats of arms. Some of these things may have historical, ecclesial, or symbolic value, and there is nothing inherently wrong with discussing them. The problem arises when such matters begin to consume our attention, divide us from one another, or become measures of legitimacy and importance. We can become so preoccupied with the symbols surrounding ministry that we forget the One whom ministry is supposed to serve.

Jesus had no coat of arms. He possessed no elaborate ecclesiastical title. He did not build his ministry around status, heraldry, or institutional prestige. He washed feet. He touched the sick. He welcomed those others avoided. He ate with people whose reputations made religious leaders uncomfortable. He proclaimed good news to the poor, mercy to sinners, and the Kingdom of God to those willing to hear it. When his disciples argued about who among them was greatest, Jesus repeatedly redirected them toward service.

That should trouble us whenever our own religious conversations become dominated by questions of rank, appearance, recognition, lineage, and status. These things can become especially tempting within independent sacramental communities because many of us value apostolic succession, liturgy, tradition, ecclesial identity, and sacramental order. Those are genuine gifts. Yet every gift can become an idol when it begins to draw attention away from God.

Theological humility asks us to return continually to the center. The center is not our jurisdiction. The center is not our episcopal lineage. The center is not whether another bishop recognizes us, whether our vestments are correct, whether our coat of arms follows heraldic convention, or whether someone addresses us by the title we prefer. The center is Jesus Christ.

This does not mean that order, tradition, theology, or ecclesial identity do not matter. They do. I have spent considerable time writing about formation, sacramental theology, ecclesiology, apostolic succession, and the need for healthier structures within the Independent Sacramental Movement. But all of these things are meant to serve something greater. If our theology does not make us more loving, our ecclesiology does not make us more faithful, and our sacramental identity does not make us more willing to serve, then we should ask what all of it is accomplishing.

Saint Paul warns us that “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (1 Corinthians 8:1, RSV). I increasingly believe that this verse should become something of an examination of conscience for those of us who care deeply about theology and the Church. What is our knowledge producing in us? Does it make us more patient with one another? More willing to listen? More capable of admitting that we may be wrong? More willing to forgive? More attentive to the poor, the lonely, the sick, the imprisoned, and those who have been wounded by religion? Or does our knowledge make us combative, defensive, suspicious, and eager to demonstrate that our particular expression of the movement is superior to someone else's?

The Independent Sacramental Movement has enormous gifts, but it also has wounds. One of those wounds is our tendency toward fragmentation. We speak frequently about independence, jurisdiction, validity, authority, and identity, but perhaps we need to speak more frequently about humility, repentance, communion, and mission. We will never become healthier merely by proving that our apostolic succession is valid or our ecclesiastical structures are legitimate. We will become healthier when our sacramental life visibly forms people in the likeness of Christ.

That means our conversations need to change. There is room to discuss heraldry, liturgy, vesture, titles, history, and ecclesial structures, but those things cannot become the center of our life together. We should spend far more energy asking how we can serve people, form clergy responsibly, care for those who are suffering, strengthen sacramental communities, support one another across jurisdictional boundaries, and proclaim Christ with credibility. The movement does not need more people trying to appear important. It needs more people willing to become servants. I include myself in that call.

I am also aware that I have not been as present this year as I had hoped to be. I had planned to complete more interviews and continue developing resources for the Independent Sacramental website, but this year has taken an unexpected turn. I have faced a number of health concerns, including a recent hospitalization, and I will soon undergo surgery that will require several days in the hospital. I am disappointed that I have not been able to accomplish everything I intended, but I am also being reminded in a very personal way that we do not control nearly as much as we imagine.

I would be grateful for your prayers as I prepare for surgery. Please pray especially for peace, healing, wisdom for those providing care, and strength for the days of recovery that follow. I hope to return to interviews and other projects when I am able, but for now I am trying to accept the limits placed before me and trust God within them.

Perhaps that is part of theological humility as well. We are not the center. Our projects are not the center. Our churches are not the center. Our titles are not the center. Our arguments are not the center. Christ is the center.

The Independent Sacramental Movement will be at its best when we remember that. We do not need to become less sacramental, less theological, or less serious about the Church. We need to become more deeply centered upon the One whom the sacraments reveal, theology seeks to understand, and the Church exists to serve.

May God give us the humility to distinguish what is important from what is merely impressive, the courage to repent when pride has distorted our ministry, and the grace to become a movement known not for how loudly we defend ourselves, but for how faithfully we love.

Peace,

Rev. Ben