I became a theologian because I could not be saved.
I was baptized at Pleasant Mound Methodist Church in ”” you will not be surprised ”” Pleasant Mound, Texas. Pleasant Mound Methodist was Methodist, but like most folks in that area, we were really Baptist, which meant that even though you had been baptized and become a member of the church, you still had to be “saved.” Baptism and membership were Sunday morning events. Saving was for Sunday nights. Sunday night was an hour hymn sing, a time for “personal prayer” at the altar rail, a forty-five minute to an hour sermon, and then a call to the altar for those convicted of their sin.
If you came to the altar, it was assumed that you had struck up a new relationship with God that was somehow equivalent to being saved. I wanted to be saved, but I did not think you should fake it.
I am not sure how old I was when I began to worry about being saved, but it was sometime in my early teens. I had begun to date a young woman who also went to Pleasant Mound, which meant I was beginning to sin. I was pretty sure I needed saving, but I just did not think I should try to force God’s hand. All this was complicated for me because the church was at the center of my family’s life.
Our minister was Brother Zimmerman. Brother Zimmerman had actually gone to college and maybe seminary, but he preferred to be called “Brother” to show, I suspect, that even though he was educated he was not all that different from the rest of us. He was thin as a rail because he gave everything he had to being a minister. I remember him as a lovely, kind man, but he believed we did need to be saved.
I heard it once remarked that Hauerwas would be the only pacifist you would ever want to have in a bar fight. He is a delight to read and always incredibly thought provoking. Thanks for posting this.
[blockquote]Acts 2: Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.[/blockquote]
I guess I’m bothered by the subtle mocking of this theologian for his humble roots. He seems to be saying “How unsophisticated were those people for being concerned for people’s salvation.”
I am from a similar background, growing in a conservative denomination. I too worried that my “salvation” did not come with the immediate life-changing assurance that so many others could witness to. But that is between me and God. I would never conclude from that experience that concern for another’s salvation was misplaced or inappropriate.
#2,
Hmmm. I interpret his testimony more positively. I took Hauerwas’ tone in describing his church roots as affectionate, teasing, and poking a little fun at those revivalistic roots, but in a goodnatured way. I don’t see any sign that he disparages concern for the salvation of others, as you suppose; I only see him rejecting the idea that “being saved” is to be understood in revivalistic terms, i.e., as responding to an altar call, etc.
Anyway, I found this bit of his story rather winsome and charming. Thank God for the prayers of devout mothers like his! Or like Augustine’s famous mother Monica, or my own devout mother, who was a Religious Education major in college, though she ended up a public school teacher.
David Handy+
Thank you, #1 and #3. Ever since I read, “Resident Aliens”, I’ve been a Hauerwas admirer. David, even Augustine had some ambivalence about Monica (see “The Confessions”).
I was born in 1955. I don’t know what my mother may have prayed regarding my salvation nor do I know what her motivation was in raising me in the church (Presbyterian). But I do know that I will be eternally grateful that she did insist on my attending church. She did her part, God did his and over time I did mine. Eventually my salvation was worked out. Thank you Lord Jesus and thank you Mom.