Catholic- Protestant Dialogue On TBN

Catholic-Protestant Dialogue to air on
Trinity Broadcasting Network

CURRENT & RELEVANT
That Protestants may not be Christians is an issue raised by the Vatican's reinforcement of how it defines a "Church." In COMMON GROUND the issue is raised on several fronts. The Catholic Church's position is clearly explained by Fr. John Riccardo in answer to questions from a probing, but friendly, Pastor Steve Andrews.

AIR DATE

COMMON GROUND, a groundbreaking Protestant-Catholic Television Special consisting of a 90-min. dialogue between a Catholic priest and an Evangelical pastor will air on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN),
July 14, 2007 5:00 PM Eastern, 2:00 PM Pacific Time.

COMMON GROUND: What Protestants and Catholics Can Learn From Each Other (the full title) is a television special produced by Kensington Community Church, (Evangelical-Protestant) and approved theologically by a Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit theologian.

The project promises strides in clearing up nearly 490 years of misunderstanding by Protestants about Catholicism.

Endorsements

Here is an honest conversation between two deeply committed men of faith, an Evangelical pastor and a Catholic priest, about their shared faith in Jesus Christ. I recommend this resource to all who are interested in Christian unity, in keeping with a prayer of Jesus himself that his disciples be one as he and the Father are one, so that the world may believe.

--Timothy George, Dean
Beeson Divinity School
Christianity Today, Senior Editor

An astonishingly honest, lucid, and winsome conversation about what unites and divides Catholics and Protestants. Father Riccardo and Pastor Andrews exemplify the kind of encounter made possible and necessary by the fact that we are, in the words of Evangelicals and Catholics Together, "brothers and sisters in Christ."

--Rev. Richard John Neuhaus
Editor in Chief, FIRST THINGS

The fact that a prominent Evangelical admits that Protestants have long misunderstood a range of key Catholic teachings is noteworthy. The fact that a Protestant church has produced this barrier-breaking interview is astonishing.

--Tom Allen
Editor & President
Catholic Exchange

This is a great tool for the Kingdom of God. It can bring peace to the body of Christ in a beautiful way. Every Evangelical pastor needs to see this DVD. I do not have the words to say how important this is.

--Rev. Martin Lombardo
Evangelical Missionary
Jesus Cares Ministries

Background

Kensington Community Church, a large non-denominational, Evangelical-Protestant church was growing by leaps and bounds under the leadership of founding pastor Steve Andrews.

Many of those attending Kensington were disgruntled ex-Catholics. Concerned that these former Catholics were inaccurate and uncharitable in their assessment of Catholicism, Kensington's Spiritual Formation Director (Dan Kopp) started a mid-week small group in his home to talk about the common ground shared by Roman Catholics and Evangelical Protestants. He refused to allow any Catholic bashing. Dan, a lapsed Catholic himself, also created a "Pastors & Priests" seminar that he taught at Kensington, which examined at what Catholics and Protestants believe and why - topics included the Pope, the Virgin Mary, Confession, and Purgatory. The seminar was so popular Kensington's leadership decided to get a Catholic Church and a priest involved.

In the Spring of 2006, hundreds of members from Kensington gathered with members of nearby St. Anastasia Catholic Church (pastored by Fr. John Riccardo), for a "dialogue." Held at St. Anastasia, an SRO crowd showed up. During the two-plus hour event, Bobby Hesley, a Catholic apologist and Dan Kobb presented short talks on the differences between the two faith traditions. It was not a debate, but a respectful pairing of presentations about how Evangelical-Protestants and Roman Catholics understandings differ on the subjects of "Divine Revelation," "The Eucharist," and "Salvation."

On another evening, shortly after the first, Fr. Riccardo spoke from the Kensington stage along with Kensington staff on "The Da Vinci Code: Fact or Fiction."
So successful were the first two gatherings, that the leaders at Kensington wanted Fr. Riccardo to come and be interviewed during their Sunday morning services. But because Fr. Riccardo was busy with Sunday Masses, they decided to videotape an interview and use that in their services. A 1-hr. 48-min. interview resulted. In addition to answering Protestant objections to Catholicism put to him by Pastor Andrews, Fr. also suggests some important things that Catholics can learn from Protestants.

Large portions of the interview were played before the Kensington congregation on two Sunday mornings, and over the next few weeks over 2,000 copies of the interview on DVD were sold through the Kensington Church's bookstore.

Fr. John Riccardo's explanations of Catholicism were later reviewed and approved as being faithful to the magisterial teachings of the Roman Catholic Church by Robert Fastiggi, a theologian at Detroit's Sacred Heart Major Seminary, and later by the theologians at EWTN.

Contact Information

Pastor STEVE ANDREWS
Kensington Community Church - 248-786-0655
Karl Nilsson x-700, Director of Communications
www.kensingtoncc.org

Fr. JOHN RICCARDO
St. Anastasia Roman Catholic Church - 248-689-8380
www.stanastasia.org

STANLEY D. WILLIAMS
Nineveh's Crossing Distribution - 1- 877-606-1370
www.NinevehsCrossing.com.
A 1 hr 48 min. DVD screener is available.

(H/t to Susie from Recon)